Personal Recollections of the Drama
by Henry Dickinson Stone (9780217247375)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V. SOUTH PEARL STREET THEATRE. "william Duffy's First Appearance Here, Playing Bertram? His Private And Professional Character?Extraordinary Memory?Business Capacities?He Assumes The ManageMent Of The Pearl Street Theatre In The Year 1829? Commences The Erection Of A Theatre In Buffalo?CereMony Of Laying The Corner-stone?Remarks Of The Mayor, And Mr. Duffy's Response?R. "W. Blake Assumes The ManAgement. William Duffy made his debut in Albany at the South Pearl Street Theatre July 22, 1827, in the difficult role of Bertram, one of the favorite characters of the elder Booth. Mr. Duffy came from New Orleans, where he had been playing as a stock actor for some time. His second appearance here was in the tragedy of " Venice Preserved," he doing Jaffier to ' Obe." Woodhull's Piere. Mr. Duffy was a native of Albany, one " to the manor-born," but, as did Forrest, he left Albany when quite a young man, to seek his fortune in the South and Southwest. In the year 1829, after playing occasionally at the South Pearl Street Theatre, at Providence, R. I., and in other theatres, he yielded to the urgent solicitations of many friends, and reluctantly assumed the management of the South Pearl Street Theatre. He, however, deemed the venture rather hazardous, involving large responsibilities, especially at that time, when theatricals were at a low ebb throughout the country. He was deemed on all hands to be one of the best general actors in the country, and when Forrest played star engagements here, Mr. Duffy seconded him in all his principal pieces. In the role of Pharsarius, in the Gladiator, Mr. Duffy won golden opinions from all sorts of people, Forrest pronouncing him most unequivocally and decidedly the best Pharsarius that ever assumed the role. Mr. Ditffy possessed a most rem...

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