ALONE IN LONDON IN AMERICA

From Harriett Jay’s biography of Robert Buchanan:

Chapter XXIII: “The City of Dream”:
“In the year 1884 he made his first and only trip to America. He had a contract to supply a play to Messrs. Shook and Collier, then managers of the Union Square Theatre, New York, but he went without having written it. On his arrival he offered for their acceptance a melodrama which was our joint work, and which has since become popular under the title of “Alone in London.” This, however, they refused, and it was produced by Mr. Buchanan himself at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, where it drew crowded houses. At the conclusion of its first run it was taken up by Colonel Sinn, of Brooklyn, who, besides giving very fine terms, bought all the scenery which had been specially painted for it.”

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From The Olympic Programme and Looker-On (7 November, 1885)

“ALONE IN LONDON,”

IN

AMERICA.
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     ALONE IN LONDON was produced by the authors for the first time on any stage at the Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, on Monday evening, March 30, 1885, being performed simultaneously in England for the purpose of preserving copyright. Its success in America was so unmistakeable and instantaneous that within a few days it was secured by the well-known entrepreneur, Colonel William E. Sinn, of Brooklyn, for a two years’ tour of the United States and Canada. The entire Company, a remarkably strong one, was re-engaged for that purpose, with the single exception of Miss Harriett Jay, who had created the part of Tom Chickweed for that occasion only, and who shortly afterwards left to produce the play in England. After the summer recess Colonel Sinn’s Company opened, August 31st, at the Park Theatre, Boston, playing for two weeks to receipts of over fourteen thousand dollars; thence to the People’s Theatre, New York, with a week’s business of seven thousand dollars; thence to Brooklyn and Williamsburg, with similar results; thence to the Grand Opera House, New York, with a weekly total of eight thousand dollars. The play is now running every week to phenomenal business. Its popular success is peculiarly interesting, as it destroys the managerial fallacy that a drama, to secure success in America and the colonies, must first have secured a long London run, or possess a London reputation.
     The story of “Alone in London” is a simple one, intended to interest the great mass of playgoers. The play, although unpretending, is described by the whole American press as perfectly pure and wholesome. Even in critical Boston it was received with a chorus of acclamation. The following are some of the press opinions, selected almost at random:—

     The Boston Daily Globe says:— The favours bestowed on the piece was deserved. “Alone in London” is essentially a melo-drama. It does not pretend to be anything else, but it is generally fresh and interesting; the materials are well handled, the construction is excellent, and the auditor is swept along by the intense and rapid action. The dialogue is natural and strong in the most legitimate way. It pleased an immense audience last night, and will continue to do so during its stay with us.
     The Dramatic Mirror says:—Standing room only is the nightly sign at the Park. The play might easily have run here two months instead of two weeks.
     The Boston Gazette says:—A complete success. After all faults are arranged, there remains a strong, exciting, and interesting play, showing the sharp touch of a master in the literary craft.
     The Boston Courier says: —Mr. Buchanan has given us in this emotional drama a work of sterling merit, and one which has the recommendation of being a clean play; from beginning to end not the least hint is given that would call the blush to the purest cheek. The work is well put together, and holds the interest of the listener till the fall of the curtain upon the last act. The intricacies of the plot unfold themselves naturally and easily, and one leaves the house well satisfied with the entertainment, and thankful at having escaped the weariness one generally feels when one’s feelings have been torn in pieces. It is needless to say the house was crowded.
     The Boston Journal says:—A very large and highly enthusiastic audience attended last evening the opening performance for the regular season, which was of Robert Buchanan’s play, “Alone in London,” a drama that is new to Bostonians, and that has been presented but a few times elsewhere in this country. It is spoken of by those under whose direction it is presented as “realistic and emotional,” and it has strong claims to these qualifications; in fact it is a strong melo-drama, and for those who are fond of productions of its character it has many and powerful attractions.
     The Boston Herald says:—The regular season at the Park Theatre was opened last night with Buchanan’s latest play, “Alone in London.” It would be difficult to crowd into the house more people than were present on this occasion. Even the gallery was sold out before the overture began, and when the curtain went up there was not a seat to be had anywhere. The great audience was not disposed to be demonstrative at the outset of the performance, but before the first act was over it was applauding heartily, and thenceforward no “point” made on the stage missed recognition or reward. The “good” people of the cast were encouraged by vigorous hands, and on several occasions the “bad” characters were hissed and groaned at. How completely the sympathies of the assemblage were enlisted was shown in a scene where the villain of the play violently shook a sleeping boy; a hundred “oh’s” were heard in all parts of the auditorium and a woman’s voice cried out: “Don’t you touch that child!” All this was complimentary to the play and the Company which presented it, and was an assurance that both had gained a popular success.

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“Alone in London,” in Philadelphia.
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     The Philadelphia Sunday Mercury says:—Melo-drama has no more shining example to justify its existence than Charles Dickens. I am glad, therefore, that an author so conspicuous as a poet as Robert Buchanan has not turned with disdain from the simple annals of the poor. His play, “Alone in London,” is the strongest and most impressive play of English life we have had for years. It is compact in structure, vigorous in tone, faithful in heroism, expressive in language. Mr. Buchanan has charged his play with a dramatic force and interest, which neither the “Lights o’ London” nor “The Silver King” possesses in the same degree. The echoes that came from the audience showed how well the heart-chords had been struck. “Alone in London” is a better play than “Storm Beaten,” by the same author. The author gauges himself on a level with the popular heart.
     The North American says:—The new play by Mr. Robert Buchanan, the well known poet and novelist, is a work so full of human interest and dramatic power that it cannot fail to be a great popular success. It is distinctly superior to the general of plays of the class to which it belongs. Mr. Buchanan has not that air of having been cut out by a stage carpenter’s hatchet which so many melo-dramas bear. The action is rapid continuous and natural and the turns it takes are so contrived as to baffle the foresight and stimulate the curiosity of the most experienced spectator.

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“Alone in London,” in Brooklyn.
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     The Argus says:—Its success is not problematical, it is certain. The company is an excellent one, and does full justice to this new work of Robert Buchanan, who made his mark in drama as the author of “Storm Beaten” now in its third prosperous season, and the great Wallack’s success, “Lady Clare.”
     The New York Dramatic News says:—For some weeks past the managers have been making active preparations for a successful production of “Alone in London” during the present week. The initial performance was given last evening before a large audience. The piece was mounted in a superior manner—the scenes were all new, and painted expressly for the occasion, and a tour of two years in the States and Canadas. The piece was well played, and bids fair to prove a permanent success.
     The Standard says:—Col. Sinn made a decided hit last night in presenting at the Park Theatre Robert Buchanan’s powerful drama with the double title, “Alone in London; or, a Woman against the World.” The interest manifested by the audience from prologue to finale, gave indisputable evidence of the strength of the play and is a favourable augury of its success. The terms, “realistic and emotional,” applied to it in the play bills, are fully borne out in its presentation. It is a strong play strongly acted. There is not a poor part in the cast. The characters, scenes, and incidents are all coherent and lifelike; the climaxes are dramatic and are led up to naturally. While the surprises are constant, there is no feeling that any of the situations are forced, and the interest is well sustained from first to last. The great majority of the audience held their seats through all the waits, as if anxious not to lose a single incident of the unfolding drama.
     The New York Dramatic Times says:—If the popular demand for melo-drama has not largely diminished, then “Alone in London” will make a good deal of money for Col. Sinn. It is full of striking scenes, effective speeches, and tableaux, which arouse an audience to the point where vociferous evidences of enthusiasm were repeatedly given. It is the best arranged play that Robert Buchanan has written, and in it he shows a familiarity with the habits, manners, and language of the very, very poor, and of the criminal classes, which is surprising because of its completeness. The great scene of the play is the sluice-house, and the effect of the rapidly rising waters is made in a very realistic manner. A large audience saw the performance on Monday night, and gave generous applause to the company, to the scenery, and to the play.
     The Times says:—“Alone in London” has all the elements of popularity and is bound to score a success on the American stage. It has rapid, almost kaleidoscopic, action—brings out all the features of an exceedingly complicated story into excellent relief, and is put upon the stage with scenic effects which have never been surpassed in the United States. The audience which crowded the Park Theatre last night was an intelligent and critical one when the curtain rose. It became enthusiastic before the prologue ended.
     The Brooklyn Union says:—Col. Sinn’s New Melo-drama.—The days of melo-drama are not over by any means. The proof of this is to be seen every evening at the Park Theatre, where “Alone in London” sets the audience wild with excitement. Col. Sinn’s new play is a domestic story, full of tenderness and heart-rending pathos, and as long as human sympathy is not a myth, and love for true heroism is not dead in the human breast, such plays as “Alone in London” will live. The pitiful story of Annie Meadows offers a pathetic lesson that strikes at the very root of human sympathy. The picture is also interesting as a picture of life in the slums of the great city. To see such sights, which are common in London, has “slumming” become fashionable.
     The scene in old Jenkinson’s den is true to nature. There the blind who can see, the dumb who can speak, the cripple who can run, and the helpless sickly urchin of the gutter congregate. A Hogarth would not have been more faithful. Those who appreciate stage lessons in morals can in this scene find one full of beautiful sentiments. Scenically the play is especially fine.
     The story is all absorbing, and so is the scenery, but the one works in unison with the other. The story calls for the scenery, and the scenery fits the story. In “Alone in London” it is the story and scenery both that interest, and when the second act is reached the spectator thinks very little about scenic effect. The story continues. There is no stoppage in the acting to exhibit the scenery. As in all other English melo-dramas, more or less, the stage manager does not seem to say to the audience, “Wait till I show you these mechanical effects before we proceed with the story.” Every word in the dialogue is needed that the scenic effects may be fully appreciated. There is no dragging in the working of the scenery. Everything moves in one, two, three fashion. A rolling river is represented with a faithfulness seldom equalled; the waves seem to dance in the moonlight; the waters rush around the helpless woman at the post; the hero leaps into the river, and when he reappears to the surface it is to untie and rescue her, the curtain going down on a scene of excitement seldom witnessed. Men and women unconsciously jump from their seats and start enthusiastic applause that does not cease until the principle characters in the scene have shown themselves to the audience again and again, and again!
     So far no one asks himself or herself if such and such and such an episode is not improbable, or why such and such a thing should take place as it does. Everybody has lost the sense of thinking, as it were. It is all wonderment! And you enjoy the bewilderment! When quiet is finally restored you may give a thought to probabilities, but above all these is the wish to see the dénoûement. This is a strange despatch of the villain by Tom Chickweed, whom everybody loves for his devotion to the heroine. You applaud the deed; you even cheer as the final curtain descends.
     The Brooklyn Daily Times says:—It is a strong play, and was most enthusiastically received by a tremendous house, fully sustaining the record of popular successes in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. Its author handles familiar materials with great skill, and displays at all times that knowledge of dramatic effect which comes by instinct to the born playwright. It is interesting throughout, and at all times—as in the sluice-house scene, in the banker’s office at midnight, and at the burning of the forged note—intensely absorbing. It may fairly claim, indeed, a place in the very first rank of English melo-drama. Its prodigious luck thus far has certainly been deserved, and it is to be hoped that it may continue.

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     N.B.—At the Olympic Theatre, London, the play will be produced on a scale unexampled in the history of the Theatre. One of the scenes alone (by Mr. Bruce Smith) will entail a cost adequate to the entire expenses of getting up an ordinary play. The artistes engaged are all of more or less established London reputation. Miss Amy Roselle will play the heroine; Miss Harriett Jay, her original character of the gipsy waif; Mr. Leonard Boyne the rural lover; Mr. Percy Bell and Mr. Fred Desmond (both admirable comedians) will bear the weight of the comic and character business, and Mr. Herbert Standing has been specially engaged for the adventurer, Richard Redcliffe. The other characters are all in competent hands, and, in addition to them, there will be a crowd of well-drilled auxiliaries. For the better convenience of the general public the Pit of the Theatre has been enlarged, and the entire building re-arranged and re-decorated for the occasion.

[The Chestnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, where “Alone in London” premiered.]

The following items from The New York Times give a little more information about the American version of “Alone in London”.

The New York Times:
12 March, 1885:

     Mr. Robert Buchanan has succeeded in disposing of one more play in this country. This piece is called “Alone in London,” and it is to be tried on in Philadelphia some time in May next. If “Alone in London” proves successful it will be brought out in New-York at the beginning of the following season, and after that it will be sent through the general country. “Alone in London” has a material attachment in the shape of Miss Harriet Jay, who appears to be generously thrown in with the most of Mr. Buchanan’s theatrical bargains. Miss Jay is regarded by Mr. Buchanan as the most beautiful woman and the most accomplished actress in the world, and this fact indicates the degree of generosity which induces him to insist that managers who accept his plays shall also receive the further boon of having them performed by the radiant and accomplished Miss Jay.

19 April, 1885:

     Col. William E. Sinn, of the Brooklyn Park Theatre, will launch out next season as the manager of a heavy traveling combination, in addition to continuing to conduct the establishment with which he has been long connected. To this end Col. Sinn has purchased the American rights in Mr. Robert Buchanan’s melodrama called “Alone in London.” The play was produced a few weeks ago in Philadelphia, and it made enough of a success to warrant Col. Sinn in expending a large amount of money in getting it up to take through the country. He will start out early in September with a strong company and a carload of new scenery, possibly securing a run for his play in New-York in the interval. The company will be headed by Miss Cora Tanner, a young lady of many graces, who long ago established herself as a painstaking and effective actress. Col. Sinn speaks of his new enterprise with enthusiasm, and believes he has secured a play which will prove fully as popular as the “Silver King” or the “Lights o’ London.”

6 September, 1885:

     “Alone in London,” a play by Robert Buchanan, which was acted in Philadelphia and Brooklyn last Spring, will be presented in this city Sept. 14, with Miss Cora Tanner in the part written for Miss Harriet Jay.

13 September, 1885:

     Miss Cora Tanner, the statuesque young actress who is being made a star of in connection with Robert Buchanan’s play called “Alone in London,” comes over from Boston to-night to begin her series of appearances at the People’s Theatre to-morrow evening. Col. W. E. Sinn, of Brooklyn, who is the manager of this enterprise, is filled with the glow of enthusiasm regarding the play, the star, and the company, and he observes that if he could have been allowed to continue his engagement in Boston he would have remained there at least four weeks—the houses having been very large. This is Miss Tanner’s first appearance in New-York as a star, though she has been known for a long time as an actress of excellent quality.

15 September, 1885:

     An audience that crowded the People’s Theatre witnessed the first performance there of Mr. Robert Buchanan’s “Alone in London” last evening. This play, which admits of the exhibition of some showy scenery, treats a familiar subject in a commonplace manner, but it has exciting incidents and telling “lines” for nearly all the characters. Applause of no moderate description emphasized all its principal scenes. Miss Cora S. Tanner acted in a lachrymose but not ineffective manner as the unfortunate heroine, while adequate support was furnished by Mr. Herbert Archer, Mr. H. B. Phillips, and other competent actors. Mr. W. J. Scanlan, in an Irish piece, “Shane na Lawn,” will be at the People’s next week.

4 October, 1885:

     Col. Sinn regards his melodrama called “Alone in London” as a distinct bonanza. He told me yesterday that he had been playing to enormous receipts wherever the piece had been produced, and that he had every reason to expect heavy returns during the rest of its career. He is anxious to get into a New-York theatre for a long run, and will probably succeed in doing so later on. The indications at the Grand Opera House, where he plays this week, are in favor of large audiences.

8 October, 1885:

     Col. Sinn’s play, called “Alone in London,” is reported by the management of the Grand Opera House to be enormously successful. It opened there on Monday night to the largest first night audience ever seen in the theatre since the building came into Mr. Abbey’s possession, and the business since then has been immense. The success of this play is a good illustration of some of the odd things which happen in connection with the stage. When Mr. Buchanan, the author, was in this country, he had with him a large heap of manuscripts, together with Miss Harriet Jay, and he experienced equal difficulty in disposing either of the manuscripts or the actress. “Alone in London” was sent from one manager to another without satisfactory result, and was finally offered to Mr. John B. Shoeffel for the munificent sum of $200. That astute manager, however, did not care to invest, and the play subsequently came into the hands of Col. Sinn, who produced it, and who stands to win a very large sum of money on it during the next two seasons. Col. Sinn did not pay for it outright, but gives the author a royalty for its use. He is naturally very regretful of the fact that he can remain only one week at the Grand Opera House. The engagements of that theatre rarely contemplate a season of more than a single week for any one attraction, and the house has been bespoken for next week by the management of Mme. Janish, who will open on Monday night in “Anselma.”

8 November, 1885:

     Miss Cora S. Tanner will be at Niblo’s this week, and the play will be Mr. Buchanan’s “Alone in London,” the supporting company including Mr. Herbert Archer, Miss Belle Archer, and Mr. H. B. Phillips.

15 February, 1886:

COL. SINN MARRIED.

MISS CORA S. TANNER TO MANAGE HIM IN THE FUTURE.

     CLEVELAND, Ohio, Feb. 14.—Col. William E. Sinn, manager of the “Alone in London” company, which closed a three nights’ engagement at the opera house last evening, and Miss Cora S. Tanner, leading lady of the company, were quietly married here to-day. Miss Tanner was born in this city and has many relatives here. She has been under the management of Col. Sinn for the past five years, while their acquaintance extends over a much longer period. The ceremony took place in the parlors of the Hollenden at 1 o’clock this afternoon in the presence of Manager Gus Hartz, of the opera house, and wife, two members of the company, the mother of the bride, and a few other near relatives of Miss Tanner. After the wedding, at which the Rev. F. L. Hosmer, of the Church of the Unity, officiated, a lunch was served in the Hollenden Café, and Col. Sinn, his bride, and company left on the 3 o’clock train for Pittsburg, where they will begin an engagement to-morrow night. Soon after his arrival here on Thursday, Col. Sinn said to Manager Hartz that he would surprise him before the week was out, but gave no further hint of how it was to be done until late last evening.

[Cora Tanner]

28 February, 1886:

     Miss Cora S. Tanner, who has recently become Mrs. W. E. Sinn, will not retire from the stage. She is still appearing as the afflicted heroine of Mr. Buchanan’s “Alone in London.” The principal male character in this drama, Richard Radcliffe, the bland thief and cutthroat, is now taken by that popular and gifted actor, Mr. W. J. Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson, in his boyhood, sold newspapers on the trains of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. His father, a Scotchman, was a baker in Baltimore. Mr. John T. Ford gave the lad his first engagement at Ford’s Theatre.

9 March, 1886:

     “Alone in London” was seen again at the Grand Opera House last evening, where the same play was well received earlier in the season. An audience filling every part of the house was more kind than descriminative in the bestowal of its favors, every rebuff to vice and every assertion of virtue winning round after round of applause. Miss Cora S. Tanner sustained with her usual grace the taxing part of Nan, while Mr. W. J. Ferguson as the villainous husband was so effective that his acting frequently provoked from the audience expressions of resentment. The sluice house and Thames River moonlight scene were as vociferously admired as ever.

26 January, 1887:

     Miss Cora Tanner will be seen in her familiar portrayal of Nan in “Alone in London” at the Grand Opera House next week. Mr. French desires the fact recorded that Miss Tanner is not an Englishwoman, as somebody has said, but a native of Ohio.

1 February, 1887:

     “Standing room only” was the announcement for late comers to the Grand Opera House last night, where Miss Cora Tanner began most successfully a week’s engagement in Robert Buchanan’s “Alone in London,” with its surprising mechanical effects and realistic London scenery. The house was very enthusiastic, but the gallery asserted itself with the noise of a British pit, and several times the disagreeable whistling and cat-calls had to be hissed into quiet. The noise was, however, simply the result of exuberant appreciation. Miss Tanner was called before the curtain after every act, and though it was 11 o’clock before the melodrama ended with the villain’s acrobatic death the house waited to tender a general recall.

15 February, 1887:

     Miss Cora Tanner presented “Alone in London” last night at the Windsor Theatre to an audience that packed that roomy house from orchestra to gallery. Miss Tanner as Annie Meadows, the farmer’s young daughter, who is won by a worthless scoundrel, taken to London, and there deserted, only repeated the success she has made in this part. The character of the villain—Richard Redcliffe—was ably interpreted by Mr. C. G. Craig, and Leonard Grover, Jr., as the philosophical thief made the audience roar. The scenery was good, and the great sluice scene, with real running water, was much applauded.

1 March, 1887:

     At Niblo’s Garden Miss Cora Tanner appeared last night in “Alone in London,” and was received by a very large audience. Miss Tanner was effective as she always is in this play. Mr. Leonard Grover, Jr., as the philosophical thief made lots of laughs, and, as Richard Redcliffe, the wily adventurer, Mr. C. G. Craig was efficient.

26 June, 1887:

     There have been three “Fascination” plays up to the current year. Audiences managed successfully to resist all. The fourth and the latest, given a trial a short time ago, may triumph. The Sinns, father and son, think of putting it on the road. But next season they will continue Cora Tanner in “Alone in London.” Its last season was better even than its first.

2 August, 1887:

     Little Mabel Pollock is to travel next season in support of Cora Tanner (Mrs. Col. W. R. Sinn) in “Alone in London,” and Miss Evelyn Pollock is to go with a “Michael Strogoff” company.

4 September, 1887:

DROP CURTAIN MONOGRAPHS.

     An amusing instance of the susceptibility of modern authors to the charge of plagiarism has come to light in London, England. F. Scudamore, author of the play “First Class,” having quite recently seen Robert Buchanan’s “Alone in London,” was staggered by the discovery that the motive of the former drama is throughout almost the same as that of the latter, with the addition that in Scudamore’s play of “Rags and Bones”—which sounds over here like the title of a drama produced long before “Alone in London”—a poor boy, Jerry Twaddle, who is a dealer in rags and bones, is pursued by village workmen who seek to rob him, while in “Alone in London” a poor boy, Tom Chickweed, a dealer in chickweed and groundsel, is also chased by village workmen. In both plays the poor boy is protected by the hero, and in both also the poor boy is enacted by a female. In “Alone in London” a leading character saves the life of a young man in a boating accident thus becomes acquainted with an heiress, and seeks to win her, although he has a wife, whom he tries to get rid of. In “First Class” a leading character saves an heiress in a railway accident and becomes her lover, although he has a mistress, whom he tries to get rid of. Both these leading characters are associated with a scoundrel named Dan, and both plan a robbery. In “First Class” Dan dresses his daughter up as a boy in order to drop her through the skylight to let in the thieves, and in “Alone in London” the villainous leading character drops his own son through the skylight for the same purpose. Mr. Scudamore had never seen “Alone in London” before he had booked “First Class,” and is quite willing to believe, as he himself is “only an obscure provincial author,” that Mr. Buchanan has never seen either “First Class” or “Rags and Bones.” Assuming that neither could have availed himself of the same source as the other, these coincidences serve strikingly to show that the opportunities for original work on the part of the dramatist are “growing smaller by degrees and beautifully less.”

12 February, 1888:

     Miss Cora Tanner will present Robert Buchanan’s popular melodrama, “Alone in London,” at the Grand Opera House this week.

28 February, 1888:

MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC NOTES.

     Cora Tanner, in “Alone in London,” was the attraction at Niblo’s last evening. The audience was large and enthusiastic. The engagement will continue this week.

14 March, 1888:

     The east siders proved their fondness for the theatre last evening by giving Miss Cora Tanner, supported by Co. Sinn’s company, in “Alone in London,” a very fair-sized audience at the Windsor Theatre. Miss Tanner was called before the curtain several times. The applause was much louder than it would be supposed an audience of 400 could produce.

9 October, 1888:

     Robert Buchanan’s melodrama “Alone in London,” in which Cora Tanner made some fame and considerable fortune, is the attraction at the Windsor Theatre this week. Last evening the audience was quite large, and it showed its enthusiasm without stint. Miss Ada Dwyer, who formerly had the part of Tom Chickweed, now personates the heroine. Her acting is marked by intelligence and much emotional power, and she wins fairly the marks of favor with which she is greeted. The part of Tom Chickweed is taken by Miss Madge Carr, who also does well. The remaining characters are portrayed by the same company that supported Miss Tanner, including Frank L. Davis, Leonard Grover, Jr., C. G. Craig, Alfred Fisher, Miss Marian Strickland, Miss Maggie Holloway, and Miss Marie Dudley. The scenic effects remain as picturesque and attractive as ever.

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After starring in Alone in London for over two years, Cora Tanner’s next role was in another Buchanan and Jay play, Fascination. The British premiere of Fascination took place at London’s Novelty Theatre in October 1887, before transferring to the Vaudeville Theatre in January 1888, with its co-author, Harriett Jay playing the dual role of Lady Madge Slashton and Charles Marlowe [reviews]. Although Alone in London has now been left behind, I thought it worth continuing the story of Cora Tanner and Colonel Sinn for a few more years.

The New York Times:
9 March, 1888:

     Col. Sinn, in spite of the adverse criticisms of the English press on “Fascination,” has booked Miss Cora Tanner for the play on the road as well as at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre in this city. “Fascination” was tried at the Brooklyn Park Theatre a year ago, and the result of that presentation satisfied Miss Tanner and Col. Sinn. Changes are being made in the piece by Charles Coote, stage manager of the “Alone in London” company and a brother of Miss Carrie Coote.

3 June, 1888:

     Elaborate preparations are in progress for the scenic dress of Robert Buchanan’s “Fascination” at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre next Fall. The now familiar alleyway at the rear of the stage is to be utilized to represent the winding Thames in perspective in one of the scenes. “Fascination” is owned by Miss Cora Tanner, who will “star” in it all next season.

12 August, 1888:

     “Crucify Her” is the startling and ill-chosen title of a new play in which Miss Selena Fetter, who sat down on the floor suddenly in “The Henrietta” last season, is to star.
[No connection with Buchanan, but I couldn’t resist.]

. . . . .

     Robert Buchanan’s play called “Fascination” will be presented for the first time in New-York at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre Sept. 10. Miss Cora Tanner, hitherto associated in this country with another play of the same author, “Alone in London,” will sustain the chief rôle.

3 September, 1888:

     Miss Cora Tanner and her company, who are to follow Miss Wilkes at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre next Monday night, are having the final rehearsals of “Fascination,” which is to be produced with a view to running it several weeks. Col. Sinn, Miss Tanner’s manager, and Mr. Rosenquest, the manager of the theatre, both have the greatest confidence in the attractive power of the play, which was written for Miss Tanner by Robert Buchanan, whose successful drama “Alone in London” was the medium through which the lady first secured her position as a star actress. “Fascination” is described as a comedy-drama, constructed with a special view to utilizing the versatile talents of Miss Tanner, but the cast is nevertheless so filled with strong characters that it is in no sense to be regarded as a one-part play. Miss Tanner will be seen in the double rôle of Lady Madge Slashton and Charles Marlowe, and her supporting company comprises Isabella Waldron, Eleanor Cary, Maggie Deans, Lucy Escott, Belle Waldron, Clara Knowles, Helen Ten-Broeck, Lionel Bland, Edward Bell, Augustus Cook, P. A. Anderson, W. F. Blonde, G. F. Gaden, Charles Coote, Norman Campbell, W. Deihl, W. Gilmore, Robert Mack, R. Matthews, and Frank Farnham. All the scenery, costumes, and properties have been manufactured expressly for the production, and Mr. Braham has composed new music, which will be a feature of the performance. The sale of seats for the first week will begin at the box office of the theatre on Thursday.

11 September, 1888:

AMUSEMENTS.

“FASCINATION.”

     “Fascination” is a play written by Mr. Robert Buchanan. Its heroine (who, strangely, is also its hero) is Lady Madge Slashton, a healthy English girl, who can row a boat, ride a horse across country, and smoke a cigarette as well as her brother Sam, who is a pretty good hand at all these things, too. Lady Madge loves her cousin, Lord Islay (pronounced Eye-lay) and he loves her, too, but he is a fool of a fellow and proud of being seen at the opera with beautiful Mrs. Delamere, and of being looked upon by all the other fellows as the favourite guest at her handsome little dinner parties where the cards are brought in after the coffee and cigars, and the stakes are high. Now Mrs. Delamere is, of course, a common adventuress, not wholly to blame for her misdoing, poor thing, because she is in the toils of a villainous French Count, highly esteemed at the best clubs in London and an honored visitor in the homes of the élite, who, of course, is not a French Count at all, but just a plain thief, and a very stupid one, unworthy of his calling, as it turns out.
     Well, Lady Madge Slashton learns of Lord Islay’s infatuation, (from the French Count, of course,) and, although her heart is breaking, (as she remarks,) she determines to see for herself whether her perjured lover has a spark of manhood left and, incidentally, to learn just what sort of a woman has made him a victim. To accomplish her purpose she transforms herself into a pale, plump, impertinent boy, who talks with a nasal drawl and who looks as if he had led a dissipated life from his infancy. The name of this youth is Charles Marlowe, and he is supposed to be a new arrival in London from the island of Jamaica. In the company of Sam Slashton, already mentioned, he appears in the lobby at the opera and also at one of beautiful Mrs. Delamere’s dinner parties, where he performs wonders. Beautiful Mrs. Delamere, who, like the fascinating lady with no two eyes of the same color in Victor Hugo’s “L’Homme qui Rit.” is evidently fond of extraordinary persons, is quite fascinated with him. He completely outwits the wicked French Count, and he precipitates a very lively row, in which Lord Islay figures in a very bad light.
     Then, next day, most of the persons in the play, good and bad, assemble in the house where Lady Madge Slashton is visiting in London, and Lady Madge having learned that Islay’s heart has always been hers and hers alone, forgives him. The adventuress is let off easily, having confessed herself an instrument employed by the foreign thief to ruin Islay, the thief himself is brought up to a short turn, and an era of happiness dawns.
     Having put Mr. Buchanan’s plot into narrative form it is scarcely worth while to devote many words to a discussion of the qualities of his play. Its incidents are preposterous, and its text, at best, is commonplace. The device of dressing a woman in male attire and making her the central figure in a resort where ladies address a casual male visitor as “dear,” where the men burn tobacco at will, and most of the conventional restrictions of society are disregarded, is not a happy one. Although the bill of the play at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre, last evening, bore the shrewd announcement that Mr. Buchanan’s new “society comedy” is a satire on the English aristocracy, the play bears internal evidences that its author intended it to be taken with perfect seriousness. The “satire” on British aristocracy seems to be embodied chiefly by an aged peer of the realm who carouses and drinks too much wine for his old head, when he is supposed to be chained to his seat in the House of Lords, and a clergyman of the Established Church who is a clown and a willing liar. Both of these sketches are amusing travesties if the spectator will divest himself of prejudice and regard them from the right point of view. In the hands of two capable actors (Mr. Lionel Blande was the Duke of Hurlingham and Mr. Charles Coote the Rev. Mr. Colley) these parts were of more value in entertaining the large audience last night than any other in the play.
     Miss Cora Tanner was the star of the occasion, and she is an exceedingly attractive young lady. She looks much better in the robes of Lady Madge than in the coats and trousers of Charles Marlowe. She has an easy address and a sufficient mastery of the small technicalities of the stage to carry a part of ordinary difficulty successfully. There is not an actress in the world, and there never was one, who could make the principal rôle in Mr. Buchanan’s play continuously sympathetic and agreeable. Miss Tanner certainly deserves to be commended for her courage. Her facility in depicting the frolic and dash of an ardent, joyous nature is not particularly noticeable. Her description of a boat race and a fox hunt, in the first act, did not awaken any enthusiasm. But in the quieter portions of the drama, when Lady Madge was her own proper self, Miss Tanner pleased by the naturalness of her manner and the influence of her engaging personality. Many good parts in English comedy lie well within her range.
     The general performance was not even. Miss Eleanor Carey portrayed the adventuress very well, and Mr. P. A. Anderson acted the adventurer very badly. Such a coarse, repulsive man never would be tolerated even among people of loose character who aimed to preserve in their intercourse some semblance of polite manners. Mr. W. F. Blande treated a dull, overdrawn sketch in a gentleman-like way. The scenery was new and showy. Two interiors were quite handsome enough for the stage of any theatre.

13 September, 1888:

     Col. Sinn bows to the popular verdict and advertises “Fascination” as “an improbable comedy.” Thus the spectator is informed at the start what point of view to take while witnessing the performance of Miss Cora Tanner and her associates at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre. The play has thus far drawn large audiences.

14 September, 1888:

     Buchanan’s improbable, but interesting, comedy of “Fascination,” with Miss Cora Tanner in a double rôle, is drawing large audiences to the Fourteenth-Street Theatre, who appear willing to be amused without criticising too closely the work of the author of the play.
     Col. Sinn threatens to enjoin the presentation of “The Paymaster” at the Star next week, because he had secured the time for his own company in “Lost in London.” Mr. Moss promptly canceled the engagement when he found that Miss Cora Tanner was not to be in the cast of “Lost in London,” and offered Col. Sinn time for his attraction in Albany. Both parties have placed the matter in the hands of attorneys, and there is likely to be quite a theatrical war over the subject.

19 September, 1888:

     Miss Cora Tanner’s second week at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre is proving to be better than her first, and the house is now being filled to the doors at every performance of “Fascination,” which, notwithstanding its improbabilities, appears to please the patrons of Manager Rosenquest’s theatre. A great improvement has been made in the representation of the play, and the performance as now given is decidedly interesting. There is a large demand for seats, and places are being taken for two and three weeks in advance. Miss Tanner has developed a strong popularity among the ladies, who are attending the matinées in large numbers.

28 September, 1888:

MISS CORA TANNER’S KIND OFFER.

     In a very kind letter to the President of the New-York Press Club, Miss Cora Tanner volunteers to devote the gross receipts of a matinée to be given at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre, where Miss Tanner’s play “Fascination” is now running, on Thursday, Oct. 4, to the fund for newspaper men who have been stricken with yellow fever in Florida. Mr. Rosenquest, proprietor of the theatre, also offers the free use of the theatre and gas, and the musicians, stage hands, ushers, doorkeepers, and all other attachés of the theatre cheerfully volunteer their services. The offer has been gratefully accepted.

2 October, 1888:

TO AID SICK JOURNALISTS.

     Miss Cora Tanner, who has been charming New-York’s theatregoing people in “Fascination” at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre, has tendered a special matinée performance of the play next Thursday afternoon in aid of the newspaper men and their families in Jacksonville who are suffering from yellow fever. The benefit is given under the auspices of the New-York Press Club, and is bound to be a success dramatically and financially. The box office for the sale of seats for this benefit is now open. Tickets may also be obtained from members of the Press Club at 120 Nassau-street.
     Northerners can hardly realize the hardship and suffering borne by the newspaper men of Jacksonville. They remained at their posts while friends and relatives fell under Yellow Jack’s spell, and kept the outside world informed as to the situation. Some are sick in the hospitals at this time.
     Col. W. E. Sinn and Manager J. W. Rosenquest offered the use of the theatre, and Miss Tanner and her entire company generously tendered their services for the purpose of swelling the fund to be sent South.

21 October, 1888:

     This will be the last week of the run of “Fascination” at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre. Efforts have been made to get the managers of out-of-town theatres to release Col. Sinn from his engagements to present this play at their houses, but without avail. In spite of its incongruity Buchanan’s “satire” has made a great hit, largely owing to the personal attractiveness of Miss Cora Tanner and the fun Mr. Coote and Mr. Lionel Blande get out of their extravagant parts. The fiftieth performance of “Fascination” will be given on Tuesday night. The theatre will be handsomely decorated and illuminated inside and out. The play will be taken “on the road” after this week, and Mr. C. D. Hess will manage its travels.

24 October, 1888:

     In spite of the unfavorable weather Cora Tanner was greeted by a crowded house at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre last evening, on the occasion of the fiftieth performance of “Fascination.” The theatre was decorated with flags inside and out, and brilliantly illuminated in honor of the event, and Miss Tanner was the recipient of an unusual amount of applause. This is the last week of the play at this house, and the only remaining matinées will be given today and on Saturday.

From Outing magazine (November, 1888, Vol. XIII No. 2 - p.173)

THE FASCINATION OF IMPROBABILITIES.

     J. Wesley Rosenquest, one of the most enterprising and intelligent of our younger managers, has now two theatres to guide instead of one - the Bijou Opera House and the Fourteenth Street Theatre. At the latter place of amusement: Cora Tanner has made the success of her career in “Fascination.” “Fascination” is a comedy, written by Robert Buchanan, and is about as improbable a story as one can listen to. But what of that? The people throng to see the play, or Cora Tanner, or both; and in this way stamp its improbabilities with the brand of success.

The New York Times:
1 October, 1889:

     Col. W. E. Sinn is having new scenery painted for “Fascination,” in which Miss Cora Tanner will be seen at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre next Monday night. Miss Tanner will wear several new and handsome costumes in the play this season. The engagement is for four weeks, and the sale of seats for the opening performances will begin next Thursday morning.

9 October, 1889:

     Appreciative audiences have greeted the return of Miss Cora Tanner in her successful play, “Fascination,” at the Fourteenth-Street Theatre. In her dual rôle of Lady Madge Slashton and Charles Marlowe Miss Tanner is as pretty and charming as of yore, and the audience like her in all the many costumes she wears. The scenery is the same as that used at the former production of the play, and the cast is practically unchanged.

6 March, 1898:

     Adrienne Pinover, who was a member of the cast of “The Sporting Duchess,” has been engaged for Cora Tanner’s revival of “Alone in London.”

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And that appears to be the end of the Buchanan involvement in the lives of Cora Tanner and Col. Sinn. Cora Tanner made her name in Alone in London and consolidated her fame with Fascination. In 1893 Col. Sinn tried to get their marriage annulled, on the basis that Cora Tanner’s divorce from her first husband had never been finalised, but the court ruled otherwise. I’ve been unable to find a picture of Col. Sinn and the only hint as to his appearance occurs in one of the court reports: “The other witness was Dr. C. Fred Farlin, the first husband of Cora Tanner. He lives in Rochester, N.Y., and is a big fat man, somewhat after the style of Col. Sinn himself.” Col. Sinn died at the Maplewood Hotel in Pittsfield, Mass. on 9th August, 1899. He was sixty-five years old. Cora Tanner remarried in 1903 and this report of her wedding is the last item I came across in reference to her:

From The New York Times (7 August, 1903)

CORA TANNER MARRIED.
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     Cora Tanner, the actress, and Charles S. Reed of King’s Bridge, were married on Monday evening last. The ceremony took place in the Church of the Mediator, King’s Bridge, the Rev. John Campbell, the rector, officiating. Mr. Reed explained yesterday that although he had known Miss Tanner for ten years past their betrothal has been of short duration.
     The couple went at once to Mr. Reed’s residence, Reed Holme, in King’s Bridge. Mrs. Reed has permanently retired from the stage. Her last appearance was in vaudeville nearly a year ago. She was once the wife of Col. William R. Sinn, the theatrical manager.

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Above is a picture of the cover of “The Lorgnette”, the programme for Tootle’s Opera House in  St. Joseph, Missouri for 10th-22nd March, 1886, featuring Alone in London starring Cora Tanner. [I’m sure St. Joe is where Gil Favor and Rowdy Yates were always taking the dogies on Rawhide - probably round about the same time.]

Alone in London in London

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