By Molly Thomas
Roles:
Songs of Italy, Switzerland and Germany in Swiss and Italian costume
Jenny Leatherlungs in Jenny Lind (a burletta, also called A Day in Paris, Jenny Lind)
Ophelia in Hamlet
Pauline in Lady of Lynne
Judy O’Trot in Ireland as it Is (Henry Macarthy as Ragged Pat)
Faint Heart
Pocahontas
Bob Nettles
Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream
Maggie McFarline in The Bonnie Fishwife
Hetty Stubbs (a pet maid) to Laura Keene’s Fanny Kelly; song: “Cherry Ripe”
The Wildflower
Lady Gayspanker in London Assurance
Margaret in The Ghost of Lindenberg (or Raymond and Agnes, or The Bleeding Nun)
Fanny Gribbles in Object of Interest (an afterpiece)
May have also performed in:
Shylock
To Parents and Guardians
The Fox Hunt
The Young Actress
Vanity Fair
——————-
Marion Macarthy (also spelled Marian Macarthy, and sometimes referred to as Minnie Macarthy) was born 1838 in Hull, Yorkshire, England. She came to the United States with her mother in 1853. Between her birth and the time she crossed the Atlantic, it is possible that she accompanied her father on a concert tour throughout Great Britain; however, sources cannot confirm this.[1]
In 1853, at age fifteen, she opened at Burton’s Chambers Street Theatre in New York, though it is unclear what or with whom she performed that season. It’s possible she had a role in Shylock, a burlesque written by Francis Talfourd and produced in late October-early November.[2] Or, in a farce by Dion Bourcicault, called To Parents and Guardians.[3] Two more possible plays are The Fox Hunt, and The Young Actress, both written by Dion Boucicault.[4] At the season’s end she began a starring tour with her brother Henry through the Western and Southern states.[5]
In October 1855, Macarthy appeared in New York at Empire Hall (596 Broadway), as an addition to an exhibition called John R. Smith’s Grand Tour of Europe and Siege of Sevastopol, which displayed pictures of major European cities and interesting objects. Macarthy performed songs from Italy, Switzerland, and Germany, while dressed in Swiss and Italian costume alongside the displays.[6]
In December 1855, at the St. Charles Theater in New Orleans, Macarthy performed in a burletta called Jenny Lind (also referred to as A Day in Paris, Jenny Lind), a musical parody of the life of popular Swedish opera star, Jenny Lind, who had recently toured the United States.[7] This role would come to define Macarthy’s success and persona in the American public eye. Indeed, she made famous this particular singing soubrette stage persona (essentially the girlish ingénue). Singing and dancing the part of Jenny Leatherlungs, Macarthy is praised in the New Orleans Daily Crescent for her “rich, clear and ringing voice” and “a spirit that harmonises completely with the fun and frolic of the piece…” The reviewer also compares her to Mrs. Charles Howard (formerly Miss Rosina Shaw), but concludes that Macarthy is “by far” her superior and “the most pleasing actress” ever to appear in New Orleans.” [8]
In March of 1856 at the St. Charles, Macarthy played Ophelia to Edward Loomis Davenport’s Hamlet; however, compared to the praise given Mr. Davenport in a New Orleans Daily Crescent review of the show, Macarthy is barely a footnote. Nothing is said of her performance except perhaps in the comment that Mr. Davenport’s supporting characters were “well rendered” and gave “a fine tone” to the play.[9]
By June 1856, Macarthy seems to have gained more recognition, being referred to in the New York Herald as a “favourite vocalist and actress” of Burton’s. She also played a more major role, as Pauline, in Lady of Lynne at The Gaities theatre.[10] That month, Marion performed in Ireland as it Is at The Pelican in New Orleans with a Mr. Macarthy (likely her brother Henry) playing Judy O’Trot (Henry playing Ragged Pat). The performance likely involved Irish song and dance.[11]
In July 1856, appearing without her brother, she starred in Faint Heart, as well as Pocahontas, at The People’s Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri.[12] In September 1856, she again performed with a “Mr. Macarthy” (probably Henry) in Detroit.[13]
From 1857 onward, she consistently performed without Henry, and became increasingly well known for her portrayal of Jenny Lind. In early June 1857, while performing the show in Nashville, she fell ill and her performance was negatively affected.[14] Nevertheless, she recovered, finished the engagement, and in mid June, travelled north by steamship on the Cumberland River toward Lexington to fulfill an engagement there.[15] It’s possible, when looking at the few details that are known about the end of her life, that this illness may have been the same condition that eventually caused her death.[16]
Returning to New York in 1858, she became the new attraction at Laura Keene’s Theatre Company. In Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, she is again compared to Mrs. Charles Howard for her performance of Jenny Leatherlungs, and praised for her “great vivacity.”[17]
In May and June 1859, Macarthy played at Laura Keene’s Theatre as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and also as Maggie McFarline in a farce by Charles Selby called The Bonnie Fishwife.[18] In September 1859, in an untitled piece by Mr. Palgrave Simpson, she played Hetty Stubbs, the pet servant of Miss Ada Cliffton (Laura Keene), and sang the song “Cherry Ripe.” The play also featured Felix A. Vincent, an actor who Macarthy continued to perform with throughout her career. The play was criticized in the New York Herald for “its misnomer, its non-originality, its American Cousinishness, its length, and its failure to enforce its pretended moral…” Apparently, the plot was exceedingly complicated, and borrowed elements from other comedies like Dr. Bellows, Peg Woltington, Camille and American Cousin, leading the reviewer to remark that, “it [was] hard work” for the actors to make the play a success.[19]
In May 1860, Marion Macarthy played Fatima in James Nixon’s circus production of Bluebeard at Niblo’s Garden in New York. [20] In June 1860 she was at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati, with Felix A. Vincent, in a new comic drama called The Wild Flower. Perhaps, in an attempt to draw on Macarthy’s previous recognition as a singing soubrette, the show was advertised as “in connection with” Jenny Lind. Unfortunately, this did approach was unsuccessful, and the performance was greeted by a slender house.[21] In November 1860 the two starred in a number of comedies at the Nashville Theatre. The first was London Assurance. Macarthy played Lady Gayspanker and Vincent played Dolly Spankey. The second was Vanity Fair, and the third was the ever popular Jenny Lind, with Macarthy as Jenny Leatherlungs, and Vincent as Granby Gab.[22]
In 1863, Macarthy and Vincent performed at The Old Theatre in Nashville in The Ghost of Lindenberg (also titled Raymond and Agnes, or The Bleeding Nun). Macarthy played Margaret. They also performed an afterpiece called Object of Interest, Vincent playing Barney O’Dwyer and Macarthy playing Fanny Gribbles. The Nashville Daily Union describes her as “lady-like and intellectual.” Her voice is called, “rich and sweet” and her acting, having not being seen in Nashville for some years, was considered improved, now exhibiting “incessant culture.”[23]
In October 1863, soon after performing Nannie in a piece called The Organ Grinder and His Adopted Daughter, Macarthy took ill and left the stage. She was taken to an asylum in Indianapolis, where she later died on April 1, 1865 of brain congestion at age twenty-seven. It is possible that this was a stroke brought on by high cholesterol levels, or, perhaps more likely, was an instance of cerebral edema (swelling in her brain) brought on by her recent illness, which may be the same illness she suffered in 1857. However, the exact details and symptoms of her death remain unknown, as do the early years of her career.[24]
Notes:
[1] Brown, T. Allston. History of the American Stage. Dick & Fitzgerald. Print. New York: 1870. 227, col. 1 (bottom), Victorian Popular Culture, Adam Matthew, Web., May 4, 2015. Brown mentions a performance tour with her father, but no further details are given, and no other sources have been found to evidence this statement.
[2] “THEATRICAL,” Boston Daily Atlas, October 29, 1853, issue 103, image 1, col. 1, 1/4 down, September 10, 2015, 19th Century US Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3008356224&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical”/> <p> <b><i>The Boston Daily Atlas</i></b>. Oct 29, 1853</p.
[3] “Theatrical and Musical Matters,” Weekly Herald (New York), November 5, 1853, Issue 45, Image 1, col. 1, 1/3 down, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century US Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3004505565&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical and Musical Matters”/> <p> <b><i>The Weekly Herald</i></b>. Nov 5, 1853</p.
[4] ”Burton’s Chambers Street Theatre,” International Broadway Database, The Broadway League, 2015, Web., May 30, 2015, http://ibdb.com/venue.php?id=1570.
[5] Brown, History of the American Stage, 227.
[6] “Amusements,” New-York Daily Tribune, October 10, 1855, Image 1 of 8, col. 3, top, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1855-10-10/ed-1/seq-1/.
[7] Donohue, Joseph, ‘Burletta and the early nineteenth-century English theatre,’ Nineteenth Century Theatre Research 1 (spring 1973): 29–51.
[8] “AMUSEMENTS LAST EVENING,” New Orleans Daily Crescent, December 18, 1855, image 2 of 4, col. 3, middle, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1855-12-18/ed-1/seq-2/.
[9] “ST. CHARLES THEATRE,” New Orleans Daily Crescent, March 6, 1856, image 2 of 4, col. 2, 2/3 down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, library of Congress,http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015753/1856-03-06/ed-1/seq-2/.
[10] “Theatrical, Musical, &c.,” New York Herald, June 3, 1856, image 1, col. 1, ¾ down, Web., September 10, 2015 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003590050&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical, Musical, &c.”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. Jun 3, 1856</p
[11] “Theatrical, Musical, &c.,” New York Herald, June 9, 1856, image 1, col. 2, middle, Web.,September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003590333&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical, Musical, &c.”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. Jun 9, 1856</p
[12] “ST. LOUIS,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, August 16, 1856, issue 36, 151, image 1, col. 1, bottom, entry 2, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3012556733&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Musical and Dramatic Items”/> <p> <b><i>Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper</i></b>. Aug 16, 1856</p.
[13] “DETROIT,” New York Herald, September 22, 1856, 5, image 1, col. 2, middle, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003600175&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Dramatic and Musical Matters”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. Sep 22, 1856</p.
14 “THEATRE,” Daily Nashville Patriot, June 5, 1857, image 3 of 4, col. 1, ¼ down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96091000/1857-06-05/ed-1/seq-3/.
“ITEMS,” New York Herald, June 8, 1857, col. 1, 2/3 down, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003613703&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Theatrical and Musical Matters”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. Jun 8, 1857</p.
[15] “Correspondence of the Patriot,” Daily Nashville Patriot, June 26, 1857, Image 3 of 4, col. 1, ¾ down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn96091000/1857-06-26/ed-1/seq-3/.
[16] Brown, History of the American Stage, 227.
[17] “DRAMA,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, (New York), October 9, 1858, issue 149, p.297, image 1, col. 1, entry 1, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3012561742&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Drama”/> <p> <b><i>Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper</i></b>. Oct 9, 1858</p.
[18] “LAURA KEENE’S THEATER,” New-York Daily Tribune, May 28, 1859, image 2 of 8, col. 3, middle, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1859-05-28/ed-1/seq-2/.
[19] “The Opera and the Theaters Last Night,” New York Herald, September 13, 1859, P. 7, image 1, col. 1, par. 2, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003658616&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”The Opera and the Theatres Last Night”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. Sep 13, 1859</p.
[20] “Operatic and Dramatic Matters,” New York Herald, May 7, 1860, P. 5, image 1, col. 1, ¾ down, Web., September 10, 2015, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, http://find.galegroup.com/ncnp/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=NCNP&userGroupName=yorku_main&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=GT3003681327&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0 c:set var=”TI” value=”Operatic and Dramatic Matters”/> <p> <b><i>The New York Herald</i></b>. May 7, 1860</p.
[21] “AMUSEMENTS. WOOD’S THEATER,” Cincinnati Daily Press, June 19, 1860, image 3 of 4, col. 5, top, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028745/1860-06-19/ed-1/seq-3/.
[22] “NASHVILLE THEATRE,” Daily Nashville Patriot, November 5, 1860, image 2 of 4, col. 5, ¾ down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025725/1860-11-05/ed-1/seq-2/.
“NASHVILLE THEATRE,” Daily Nashville Patriot, November 7, 1860, image 2 of 4, col. 2, ¼ down and col. 5, 2/3 down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025725/1860-11-07/ed-1/seq-2/.
[23] “THEATRE,” The Nashville Daily Union, September 30, 1863, image 3 of 4, col. 2, ¼ down, Web., September 10, 2015, Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025718/1863-09-30/ed-1/seq-3/.
[24] “A List of Medical Terms,” Sickness and Death in the Old South, TNGenNet, TNGenWeb Inc, 2008. http://tngenweb.org/darkside/medical-terms.html
DuBose, Jack, Response to “What is “brain congestion’ as cause of death?” (Jack Danel) on Texas in the Civil War Message Board, Webmaster, Tetrabb.com, 2012, Comment posted March 31, 2008. http://history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/txcwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=9103 (accessed July 20, 2015).