Before Broadway: Where the Gilded Age Went to the Theater

The Gilded Gentleman

A look at New York's theater scene during the Gilded Age. Tim Dolan, theater historian and theater district tour guide (owner of Broadway UpClose) helps us take a look at the era's theater, including its shows, stars and theaters, some of which are still around.

Through most of the 19th century New Yorkers thought of "Broadway" as a street, not a term that meant great theater or even a theater district. This episode takes a look at what theater was like in the late 1800's and early 1900s just as Times Square was developing.

This was the era of shows like Floradora and the Ziegfeld Follies. Tim discusses some famous performers, like the star Lillian Russell and the fascinating Julian Eltinge. We look at a few theaters still playing to full houses from that time - the Hudson, the Lyceum, the New Amsterdam and the Belasco. (And a couple of those may contain a few ghosts that continue to wander their halls!)