PT Barnum's Lecture House Shows: Uncle Tom's Cabin

You might be excited about the chance to go catch a Broadway show, but in the nineteenth century, the theater was known for boozing and bad manners. P.T. Barnum wanted to change all that. Using his American Museum’s “Lecture Room” as a performance venue, Barnum legitimized stage entertainment with the promise of an educational show fit for the family. The hall hosted pantomime and drama, human curiosities, and countless other events, but its bread and butter was moral theater. It was an innovative venue, even if it did not showcase Barnum at his most courageous: rather than take a strong stance on abolitionism, he presented a version of Uncle Tom's Cabin rewritten for a happy ending. The Lecture Room started small but expanded over time, eventually becoming a 3,000-seat hall with top-shelf furnishings, its own actors’ company, and dedicated stage management. Barnum arguably invented the
matinee with afternoon performances and his presentation of William H. Smith’s temperance play "The Drunkard" was the first show to run for 100 consecutive performances in New York in 1849.


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