Existing comment:
Carnival Edition of The Picayune "Comus Represents Scenes From Shakespeare". New Orleans: T. Fitzwilliam and Co., 1898. Reproduction.
Celebrations at Mardi Gras are always over-the-top, but this parade beats them all! Sponsored by club members from the Mystick Krewe of Comus, the floats feature eighteen Shakespearean plays from the well-known Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Tempest, to the more obscure Henry VIII and Pericles. The Mystick Krewe of Comus, founded in 1856, still has members today. (1)
Shakespeare's popularity across 19th-century America is demonstrated by these playbills from the Midwest and far West. Note the various entertainments offered in one evening after the two Hamlet performances. Attending the theater in those days was like sitting in front of the TV today and watching a variety of programs. Although the Keene production of Midsummer Night's Dream has no afterpiece, the elaborate scenery is described as a selling point. (2-5) |