"The Geisha" - Original 1896 New York Program Page

Original program page showing the cast of the first New York run of the influential musical play The Geisha, including a young Isadora Duncan as a chorus girl. Dated September 12, 1896 (shortly after the opening on September 9.) Trimmed close to the edges of the list of cast members. Wrinkling, creases, and some light toning; overall in very good condition. 4.25 x 6.75 inches (11 x 17 cm).

The Geisha, a successful musical in turn-of-the-century London, also made an impression across Europe and in the United States. The American production, mounted by Augustin Daly, opened on Broadway in September 1896. The young Isadora Duncan, who had joined Daly's company in Chicago, was brought in for the chorus, to her dissatisfaction. Describing the production as the "last straw" of her time with the Daly company, she shortly thereafter moved to London, where she began her influential work as a modern dancer.

Duncan recalled in her memoir My Life: "[Daly] put me in, to sing in a quartette. And I had never been able to sing a note in my life! [...] The stupidity of the Geisha was the last straw in my relations with Augustin Daly. I remember one day he came through the dark theatre and found me lying on the floor of a box, crying. He stooped down and asked me what was the matter, and I told him that I could no longer stand the imbecility of the things that went on in his theatre. He told me he did not like the Geisha any more than I did, but he had to think of the financial side of the affair." (15339)

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Program, unsigned

Theater

Dance

$200.00

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