Friday, March 11, 2011

Edwin Booth, as Hamlet, in Sandusky

A reporter wrote in the April 1, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Register that Edwin Booth, brother of John Wilkes Booth, was “the greatest tragedian of his generation.” A crowded house attended the one night performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet on the evening of March 11, 1882.
Prices to see Hamlet ranged from $1.00 to $1.50. The play took place at Biemiller’s Opera House which was located at the southwest corner of Water and Jackson Streets. Later the Biemiller’s Opera House was known as the Nielsen Opera House and the Sandusky Opera House. The building was razed in 1955.

An article from the New York Times of April 25, 1880 praised Edwin Booth for his portrayal of Hamlet.

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2 comments:

  1. Ed DanielFriday, March 11, 2011 at 10:42:00 PM EST

    In perhaps its last incarnation before being razed, Biemiller's Opera House operated as the Sandusky Theater in the 1940's and early 50's. By then it had become quite a run-down (sometimes ran-infested) movie theater, featuring only "B" movies. The other (and more reputable) movie houses downtown in those days were the Plaza (next to the Sandusky Register building), the Ohio (on W. Market, near Manhattan Clothiers), and the venerable State Theatre, which had a bowling alley in the basement.

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  2. ron schneiderSaturday, March 12, 2011 at 7:00:00 AM EST

    Hey Ed you beat me to it. My parents would never allow us to see a movie at the Sandusky Theater. I liked the Plaza because they showed the 3 stooges

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