Carrie Swain

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Carrie Swain
Carrie Swain in blackface as Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1882
Born
Caroline Madeline Wisler

April 7, 1860
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
DiedJune 20, 1944(1944-06-20) (aged 84)
Paris, France
Burial placeBatignolles Cemetery, Paris, France
Other namesCaroline Gardner
Occupation(s)Acrobat, actress, singer
Known forOne of the first women in minstrel

Caroline Madeline Wisler, better known by her stage name Carrie Swain and also by her married name Caroline Gardner, (April 7, 1860 – June 20, 1944) was an American actress, acrobat, and singer. One of the first female acrobats and belting vocalists to appear in vaudeville, she began her career performing in variety and minstrel shows during the 1870s. It is possible that she was the first woman blackface performer.

Early life and career[edit]

Portrait of Carrie Swain by painter Louise Abbéma. Published in The Lone Hand (1907).[1]

The daughter of Ignatz Wisler and Caroline Blust, Caroline Madeline Wisler was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 7, 1860.[2][3] The family relocated to San Francisco where Swain grew up.[4] She was one of the earliest female acrobats to perform on the vaudeville stage,[5] and was possibly the first female entertainer to perform in blackface.[6][7] According to theatre scholar Shirley Staples, "Carrie Swain may have been the first woman to attempt the acrobatic comedy typical of male blackface work."[6]

Swain began her career in the 1870s performing in both minstrel shows and variety programs.[8] She performed under the name Carrie Swain,[9][8][5] after marrying Samuel Colburn Swain (1848-1928).[10] Her performances in the 1870s were mainly done with Sam as her acrobatic partner,[6] beginning as early as 1877[9] and extending to as late as 1880.[11] Their marriage ended in divorce.[10]

As a pioneering female acrobat, Swain challenged 19th century perceptions of women as the "weaker sex". Her physicality and athletic ability were featured prominently in her marketing; often to intentionally shock and intrigue 19th century consumers. These adverts both challenged and reinforced 19th century stereotypes of women. For example, one of the advertisements for her show asked the question "Can a woman turn a somersault and remain a lady?"[12]

In addition to her work as an acrobat, Swain was also one of the first belting vocalists to perform in vaudeville.[8] Historical accounts of the period labeled her as a "rough soubrette" because of the strength of her voice.[8] When she appeared at Shelby's Theatre in Buffalo, New York in 1877, The Buffalo Sunday Morning News described her as "the only lady acrobatic song and dance artist in the world."[9] From February 16 through May 1, 1877, she appeared in nine stage works written by David Belasco at Egyptian Hall in San Francisco; starring in these works with her future second husband Frank Gardiner.[13]

In March 1878, Swain and her husband Sam performed at the Boylston Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.[14] They were engaged at Foresters Music Hall in London in October 1878,[15] and also appeared that same month at the People's Palace in Liverpool.[16] She returned to the United States where she spent the first part of December 1878 performing at Aberle’s Tivoli Theatre in New York City.[17]

The Swains spent the Christmas season of 1878 into January 1879 performing in a production of Humpty Dumpty at the New National Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut.[18] The following March they were performing in Detroit at the Coliseum Novelty Theatre located on Michigan Avenue across the street from Detroit City Hall; in a vaudeville sketch entitled "The Servant's Holiday".[19]

In October-November 1879, the Carrie and Sam Swain had a big in their comedic "One Hundred Virgins" which they presented at the Vine Street Opera House in Cincinatti. The Cincinnati Enquirer described the sketch as a "spicy comedy" and that the Swains "took the house by storm" and were the "biggest success" of the evening and "one of the hits of the season".[20][21] The pair remained on at that theatre in December 1879, performing in a pirated production of Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore. Sam portrayed Dick Deadeye and Carrie portrayed Josephine.[22] By the end of the month they had left Cincinnati and were at the Howard Athenaeum in Boston performing "The Servant's Holiday".[23]

In February 1880, the Swains were back at the Vine Street Opera House in a new sketch entitled "Johnson's Party".[11] The following month they performed in a variety show at the Detroit Opera House.[24] In April 1880 they were at Saint Louis's Theatre Comique (formerly Bates Theatre, opened 1851) at Fourth St and Pine, performing in blackface in the sketch "The Colored Waiters".[25] At the end of that month, the couple joined the theatre company of John P. Smith, signing a two year contract.[26] They made their debut with the company in The Tourists of the Palace Car (also known as The Tourists) at Haverly's Theatre in Chicago on April 15, 1880;[27] with Carrie as the maid and the Sam as the porter.[28] Soon after, Carrie was given the leading role of Miss. Baby in the production.[29]

Later career[edit]

Carrie Swain in 1886.

Carrie spent two seasons touring in The Tourists of the Palace Car (also called The Tourists in the Pullman Palace Car or just The Tourists), and the role of Miss Baby significantly raised her profile as an actress on the national stage. Her songs in this production included " The Bees Are Swarming, Charlie" which used words and music by Belle Cole, and "'Tis Time to Say Good Night" with music by Alfred Cellier.[30] Stops on this tour included performances at the Whitney Theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan,[31] the Academy of Music in Buffalo, New York,[32] and the Park Theatre in Boston.[33] The tour also included a stop on Broadway at Haverly's Lyceum Theatre, beginning a run there on September 13, 1880.[30] On May 22, 1882, she starred as Topsy in the world premiere of a musical adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia. The musical was created by composer Caryl Florio and dramatist H. Wayne Ellis.[34] In 1886 she returned to Broadway, appearing at the Union Square Theatre in the title trouser role in Jack in the Box.[35]

In 1886, Swain married Frank Gardiner who had been working as Swain's theatrical manager prior to their marriage.[10] She traveled to Australia where she gave her performance in the title role of Cad, The Tomboy at the Theatre Royal, Sydney; opening in that production on February 5, 1887.[36] In 1907 and 1908, there were reports of her reverting to performing under her maiden name Carrie Wisler or refer to her as Carrie Wisler-Swain.[37][38][1] According to her record in the American Foreign Service Association's U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974, Carrie Swain died in her home in Paris at the age of 84 on June 20, 1944. She is buried at the Batignolles Cemetery.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Brodzky, Leon (September 1, 1908). "Mime and Music: Reviving the Classic Dance". The Lone Hand. III. Australia: 603.
  2. ^ Carrie S Wisler in U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 1921, Roll 1643 - Certificates: 47626-47999, 06 Jun 1921-06 Jun 1921, National Archives and Records Administration
  3. ^ a b Carrie Swain Wisler in the U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974 American Foreign Service Association, National Archives and Records Administration
  4. ^ "A Long Swim: A California Lady Swims Over To Belle Isle and Returns In the Same Manner". Detroit Free Press. October 18, 1879. p. 6.
  5. ^ a b Slide, p. 3
  6. ^ a b c Staples 1984, p. 58
  7. ^ Staples 1981, p. 120
  8. ^ a b c d Fields, p. 63
  9. ^ a b c "Shelby's". The Buffalo Sunday Morning News. December 23, 1877. p. 4.
  10. ^ a b c "A Complicated Marriage Case: American Millionaire's Three Wives". Evening Standard. January 7, 1905. p. 8.
  11. ^ a b "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Daily Star. February 17, 1880. p. 8.
  12. ^ Samuels, p. 131
  13. ^ Belasco & Winter, p. 12
  14. ^ "Dramatic Matters". The Boston Globe. May 26, 1878. p. 3.
  15. ^ "The Foresters". The Era. October 13, 1878. p. 4.
  16. ^ "People's Palace". Liverpool Daily Post. October 14, 1878. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Amusements". New York Daily Herald. December 4, 1878. p. 1.
  18. ^ "Amusements". Hartford Courant. January 1, 1879. p. 1.
  19. ^ "The Coliseum". Detroit Free Press. March 25, 1879. p. 1.
  20. ^ "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 28, 1879. p. 8.
  21. ^ "Other Local Attractions". The Cincinnati Daily Star. November 15, 1879. p. 4.
  22. ^ "Vine Street Opera House". The Cincinnati Daily Star. December 2, 1879. p. 4.
  23. ^ "Howard Athenaeum". Boston Post. December 30, 1879. p. 3.
  24. ^ "Detroit Opera House". Detroit Free Press. March 28, 1880. p. 2.
  25. ^ "Theatre Comique". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 17, 1880. p. 6.
  26. ^ "Amusements". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. April 26, 1880. p. 8.
  27. ^ "At the Theatres". Chicago Daily Telegraph. April 26, 1880. p. 4.
  28. ^ "Amusements". The Cincinnati Enquirer. April 26, 1880. p. 8.
  29. ^ "In the Pullman Palace Car". Buffalo Courier Express. May 18, 1880. p. 4.
  30. ^ a b Benjamin & Rosenblatt, p. 727
  31. ^ "Amusements". Detroit Free Press. May 7, 1880. p. 6.
  32. ^ ""The Tourists"". The Buffalo Commercial. May 18, 1880. p. 3.
  33. ^ ""The Tourists" at the Park Theatre". The Boston Globe. June 3, 1880. p. 4.
  34. ^ Bordman & Norton, p. 72
  35. ^ Brown, p. 176
  36. ^ Brewer, p. 47
  37. ^ Shinkman & Shinkman, p. 73
  38. ^ "Music in Paris". The Musical Courier: 12. December 4, 1907.

Bibliography[edit]

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