Event Comment: At Lee, Yeates, and Warner's Booth

Event Comment: At Lee, Yeates, and Warner's Booth

Event Comment: At the Great Tiled Booth, Bowling Green. Mainpiece: An Historical Play presented by Warner and the Widow Yeates's Company of Comedians, during the time of the Fair. The Scenes and Cloaths are entirely New, and the Droll the same that was performed by Mrs Lee, twenty Years ago, with Great Applause. [Repeated.

Event Comment: [For Cross' comment, see dl.] Receipts: #203 8s. 6d. Paid Barry one third of the surplus of this night's receipt over and above #80 allow'd for the charges:-#41 2s. 10s. Paid Lambert (Scene Painter) 3 month's salary to 16 Nov. last:-#25 (Account Book). [Lee, who seems to have entered earlier on a percentage-of-Box-Receipts: basis for his salary, received only one-third of receipts above a house charge of #100.] The Tragedy of King Lear was presented on this stage; King Lear by Mr Barry, and Cordelia by Mrs Bellamy; The latter was received with universal satisfaction; but on the former's appearance, after a thundering Peal of Applause, a few misguided persons made it necessary for Mr Barry to inform the audience that it ever had been his study to contribute his utmost to the entertainment of the town, and that all reports of his having been exorbitant in his demands were injurious and totally groundless. Upon this he was desired with one general acclamation to proceed in the play. The disturbers of the public were ordered to be silent or to be turned out of the house; and this great actor proved, by the improvement he has made in this character, that excellent as he is, he is still capable of reaching new strokes of perfection; and in the conclusion of the play the applause he met with was the tribute of hearts gratefully agitated through the whole performance with a variety of passions thrown into a ferment by powers most wonderfully suited to tenderness and compassion (London Chronicle, 3-6 Dec.)

Event Comment: Benefit for Clarke. Mainpiece: Not acted these 8 years. [See 22 March 1750.] No building on the Stage. Receipts: #49 4s. 6d. Charges: #63. Deficiency covered by #114 14s. from tickets (boxes 160; pit 394; gallery 156). Rec'd from John Rich, #300, being part of the sum paid Mrs Finny on account of the New Building. Paid out for sundries from the theatres and sum, to Barry and Lee, #284 14s. (Account Book)

Event Comment: [See note for 9 Jan. 1770 of a mild riot this night during best scene of The Orphan.] Afterpiece: A New Opera [by George Alexander Stevens] the Music composed by Mr Fisher. Books of the entertainment to be had at the theatre. Gave Duke of Glocester's Footmen #2 2s. (Account Book). [Afterpiece a roaring burlesque of Lee's Rival Queens. Larpent MS 302 includes Semi Chorus, Grand Chorus, and Perdiccas, not listed in the Playbill. The Court awakes with total hangover. Alexander orders a pot of coffee to clear his head. Thais begs him to leave the gout giving juice-Retire with me @ In my Chinese pavilion, drink some Tea." Afterpiece reviewed inthe Freeholder's Magazine for Jan.] Mr Shuter and Mrs Mattocks gave great satisfaction in their different characters; the words of the songs were written by Mr George Alexander Stephens, author of the celebrated Lecture upon Heads, and several other whimsical productions; and the airs which had Uncommon merit, were composed by Mr Fisher, a young genius, who has hitherto been but little known in the musical world. Receipts: #215 8s. 6d

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs Hartle, Francis, Walters, Mas. Blurton, Symonds. Tickets deliver'd for the Inconstant will be taken. Tickets deliver'd by Longley, Mas. Jones, Singleton, Shuter, Norbury, Roberts, Frenzdorf, Miller, Stephenson, Read, Robson, Walker, Clarridge, Perry Sr; and Bassan will be taken. [Hours received half value of tickets plus the ready receipt money.] @Tickets Box Pit Gallery Value Half Value@Mrs Hartle 5 31 43 #10 4s. #5 2s.@Francis 2 26 25 #6 18s. #3 9s.@Patterson 5 79 71 #20 4s. #10 2s.@Blurton - 15 28 #5 1s. #2 10s. 6d.@Symonds 19 45 42 #15 14s. #7 17s.@Longley 18 112 53 #26 12s. #13 6s.@Jones - 2 11 #1 8s. 14s.@Singleton - 8 14 #2 12s. #1 6s.@Shuter - 52 8 #8 12s. #5 14s. 6d.@Norbury 9 26 53 #11 9s. #5 14s. 6d.@Roberts 9 125 59 #26 18s. #13 9s.@Frensdorf - 42 31 #9 8s. #4 14s.@Miller 5 62 56 #16 3s. #8 1s. 6d.@Stephenson 16 61 52 #18 7s. #9 3s. 6d.@Read - 15 45 #6 15s. #3 7s. 6d.@Robson 3 101 32 #19 2s. #9 11s.@Walker - 17 68 #9 7s. #4 13s. 6d.@Claridge 5 36 35 #10 3s. #5 1s. 6d.@Perry 3 30 81 #13 7s. #6 13s. 6d.@Bassan 1 12 21 #4 3s. #2 1s. 6d.@Total 100 897 828 #242 7s. #121 3s. 6d.@ Paid Lee for a quantity of velvet #21 (Account Book). Receipts: #12 7s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: Paid Whitefield quarter year's salary due Xmas last #25, and Sarjant quarter year's salary due same time, #10. Advanc'd cash to Lee Lewes as per note #50 (Account Book). Receipts: #215 2s

Event Comment: Benefit for Lewes. Mainpiece [a Tragedy by Nicholas Rowe]: not acted these 20 years. [See 3 Feb. 1756.] The characters dress'd in the habits of the times (playbill). Charges #69 14s. Profit to Lee Lewes #153 18s. (Box 227; Pit 417; Gallery 346) (Account Book). Receipts: #84 9s

Event Comment: Benefit for Lewes. Tickets deliver'd for the 27th of April will be taken. Charges #66 19s. 6d. Profit to Lee Lewes #32 17s., plus #157 5s. from tickets (Box 220; Pit 459; Gallery 334). Receipts: #99 16s. 6d. (Account Book)

Event Comment: [The Westminster Magazine for October presented brief critical comments upon eight new actors at Covent Garden who performed this month: Mr and Mrs Whitefield, Young, Clinch, a young Lady (Mrs Armstead), Lee, Melmoth and Mrs Hunter.

Event Comment: Gentleman's Magazine, XLX, p. 147: The cause of Macklin against Clarke, Aldys, Lee, James, and Miles came on to be tried in the Court of the King's Bench. The Indictment consisted of two counts; the first specifying that on the 18th of November 1773 the defendents had been guilty of a riot; the other that they had been guilty of conspiracy....The jury withdrew and in a few minutes brought Clark in guilty of the riot and the others of conspiracy. Judgment was deferred till next term

Event Comment: Benefit for Mrs West. Tickets to be had of West, at the Ship, near the Seven Houses, Rotherhithe. Mainpiece: In Act II the triumphal entry of Alexander into Babylonv; In Act IV the grand Banquet where Alexander kills his faithful soldier, old Clytus. [The playbill contains a lengthy synopsis of the plot of the mainpiece; it concludes by noting that "the many flowery passages with which this tragedy abounds does honour to the pen of its author, N. Lee, Esqr., and we may justly say with Mr Pope, 'Such plays alone shou'd please a British ear, as Cato's self had not disdain'd to hear.'"]

Event Comment: [As afterpiece the playbill announces the 31st night of The Touchstone (see 20 Feb.), but "The entertaiment at Covent-garden theatre was obliged to be changed last night, on account of Lee Lewes being seized with a most violent inflammation in his right arm...Hand-bills, announcing that The Reprisal would be the farce, were distributed at each door of the theatre as the company came in; when the tragedy, however, was ended, some persons in the galleries...began an alarming disturbance, calling out vociferously for the pantomime...and continued throughout the farce to behave in the most savage manner, pelting every actor and actress as fast as either came on the stage. Mrs Morton stood their fire of oranges, apples, and pieces of wood, with more heroism than prudence. At length the brutes aimed at her head with an orange, which struck her a violent blow, and she fainted immediately" (Morning Chronicle, 16 Feb.).

Event Comment: A Grand Serious Opera; the music by Sacchini, with additions and alterations [by Andreozzi and Mazzinghi]. Under the direction of Mazzinghi. The dresses executed from original drawings of Bartolozzi and Tresham, by Lupino. With dances analogous to the Opera. The Doors to be opened at 6:30. To begin at 7:30 [same throughout season]. Pit 10s. 6d. Gallery 5s. There are a number of green boxes which may be taken on application to Lee, at the Theatre; the entrance to which, and to the Gallery, will be in Oxford-street. Subscriptions will be received by Messrs Wright and Co., Henrietta-street, Covent-garden (only) where tickets are delivering daily; and such Ladies as have not compleated their subscriptions to their boxes are intreated to send their names to the office, in order to have the tickets prepared, as no person can be admitted without producing a ticket. The Nobility and Gentry are intreated to give particular orders to their coachmen to set down and take up with their horses' heads towards Hyde-park. The Doors in Blenheim-mews for chairs only. By Command of His Majesty no person can be admitted behind the scenes during the performance. "We fear that [the Pantheon as converted into a theatre] will gratify only the eye. It must undergo still more changes before the ear will be satisfied. Whether it is that the dome is too high and disproportioned to the breadth, or that the orchestra is sunk too low beneath the audience we cannot tell, but the sound does not swell and spread in equal volume; and it is the most inaudible in the best parts of the Theatre: the Pit and the first and second tier of Boxes hear very indistincly...We found this to be the complaint of every judge of music in the place" (Morning Chronicle, 18 Feb.). "The Pantheon has opened, and is small, they say, but pretty and simple; all the rest ill-conducted, and from the singers to the scene-shifters imperfect; the dances long and bad, and the whole performance so dilatory and tedious, that it lasted from eight to half an hour past twelve" (Walpole [18 Feb. 1791], XIV, 377) [and see 19 Feb.]