The Stadttheater

One of the first German theaters in New York was the Stadttheater, which opened its doors in the Bowery in 1854. Otto von Hoym-Sollingen, an actor-manager immigrant from Germany, was the Stadt’s first manager. The Stadt seated 1600-2000 people. According to at least one review, productions at the Stadt were excellent despite a drab, uninviting interior:

“[The Stadttheater] is a very neat and comfortable theatre, though somewhat long, or rather deep, and extremely flat at the sides–looking, indeed as if it had been compresed and flattened out by outside pressure, namely of the houses next door. The hand-bills announced “new decorations,” but they must have been put on with very old brushes, not to say dirty paint– for the inevitable white and gold…looked just a little tarnished and worse for wear…” (qtd. in Koegel 33).

Inside the Stadt – via NYPL

Contrary to contemporary and popular belief, audiences at Stadt performances DID include non-German speakers, who were particularly drawn to the German opera. After the Stadt closed down, German opera was, for the most part, performed by the major opera houses in Manhattan such as the Academy of Music and the Metropolitan Opera.  The smaller German theaters could not support the cost of maintaining two ensembles.

The Souffleur

A modern day souffleur – via uniFranceFilms

The huge variety of performances at the Stadt and the tightly packed schedule meant little rehearsal time in some cases. A souffleur (prompter) was used to whisper lines to the performers during the show. Sometimes, they ended up being too loud; one critic lambasted the souffleur of one comedic performance for spoiling every single punch line in a performance:

“The prompter [at the Stadttheater] was the loudest ranter out of Bedlam. He regularly spoilt all the comic man’s good things by blurting them out before him in a plan, hard, business-like voice, which killed all the humor” (qtd. in Koegel 35).

Public Opinion and Decline

Generally, the Stadttheater was viewed positively by both Germans and American publications alike. At the time, the Bowery was one of the most disreputable and seediest areas of Manhattan. Positive press coverage of Stadt shows gave wary Americans a taste of what German theater had to offer before other theaters began opening elsewhere (see Gustav Amberg – Impressario Profiles).

The Stadt began its decline in late 1870s. Over the course of its 30-or-so-year reign, the Stadt set the standard for contemporary German theater and laid the groundwork for other theaters that followed in its wake.

“The Stadt Theater Closed” – via The New York Times