Monday, January 13, 2025

Miss Minnette Goes to Broadway and Back

If you’ve been to a Broadway show in New York City, you likely admired the opulent grandeur of the theatre, reminiscent of the early 1900s. Ornate moldings and gilded plaster carvings cover every available surface. The proscenium arch is typically highlighted with gold leaf-covered motifs reflecting the building’s architectural style—rococo, art deco, or beaux-arts.

The proscenium arch, ceiling, and box seats adjacent
to the stage of the Lyceum Theatre are typical of the
detailed design features of early-1900s Broadway
theatres that have been preserved or restored.

Then, when the production began, if you’re like me, you sat open-mouthed as you became immersed in the story and in awe of the performers’ talent.

A number of years ago, I came across these photos and a brief story about a Broadway actress from a tiny town in western Kentucky, which piqued my curiosity. She was born Minnie Vogel and went to New York City about 1909, where she used the stage name Minnette. According to an article in Between the Rivers magazine, she starred in the Broadway play Ray’s Down the Pike Co. Her family believed she may have written the play herself, but no one seems to know how she made the 900-plus mile trip at the age of 18 from Star Lime Works to the big city.

The story intrigued me because Minnette shared little information about her time in New York once she returned home. No records exist of an actress of her name or a play by that title on Broadway (although there was an actress named Minnette Barrett, who performed on Broadway from 1907 to 1953). This raised questions of what happened while this small-town girl was in New York City, and my speculations became the basis for my short story, “All That Glitters,” although I chose the 1930s for my setting.

As part of my research, I found five prominent theaters that were built between 1901 and 1913, when Minnette left the city, and are still in use today:
  • The New Amsterdam Theatre: opened in 1903 with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Home of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1913-1927, and is one of a few operating under its original name.
  • The Lyceum Theatre: opened in 1903 with a production of The Proud Prince. Oldest continually operating as a legitimate theater space in New York City. Retained its original name throughout its history.
  • The Palace Theatre: opened in 1913 with Miss Civilization. During the height of the Vaudeville era, the Palace was considered the most desirable venue by Vaudevillian performers.
  • The Schubert Theatre: opened in 1913 with Easy Come, Easy Go. Connected by a private road to its sister theatre, the Booth.
  • The Booth Theater: opened in 1913 with a production of The Great Adventure. Named after the famed actor Edwin Booth, brother of Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.
The mysterious Miss Minnette had a “successful” career, as described by her pastor, but “it did not prove for her good.” Nevertheless, before her death she wrote, “Praise to God I die happy, although I know not the hour my Lord cometh. Do not cry, but just be glad. God bless you all. Meet me in heaven.”

Minnette was no doubt one of many performers whose short-term fame faded into obscurity.

Next month, I’ll share about other historic Broadway theaters and how the area became known as the Great White Way.

Sources

Between the Rivers
magazine, Issue 22, 2011, Grand Rivers, KY

www.broadwayworld.com

www.spotlightonbroadway.com

IBDB | The Official Source For Broadway Information


Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

Her historical short story, “All That Glitters,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter hereIn her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting today, and Happy New Year to you and your family. There is so much missing from Minette's story. I am as intrigued as you!

    ReplyDelete