Paul O'Neill
Anyone who believes in the value of preserving a permanent record of the history of theatre in Canada will rejoice in the publication of Mary Elizabeth Smith's Too Soon The Curtain Fell. The attractively published book is a history of the birth and development of professional theatre in Saint John, New Brunswick, from 1789 to 1900, but it is also a blueprint for theatre historians throughout this country. Would that every major city was as well served as Mary Smith has served Saint John.
In a compelling and relaxed style the author takes us from a time when the acting profession was held in low repute in New Brunswick through the years of fragile growth at the hands of Loyalist settlers, to the golden age of such actor-managers as J.W. Lanergan, E.A. Sothern, and E.A. McDowell, and finally to the crowded decade that ended the century.
The book follows the popular trends in Saint John from Shakespeare to naturalism, restoration comedy to popular farce. We see how a theatre which appealed to the elite of society was forced by economic considerations to appeal to the 'commonality' for its survival. Against the backdrop of commercial and political life in her adopted city, Professor Smith traces the story of its theatrical heritage, from the efforts of itinerant players to resident companies which in turn spawned the star system that led to their demise.
As it must be, this book is filled with dates, the names of actors and of plays. To relieve the tedium this creates for the reader, the author has enlivened her narrative with anecdotes such as the hilarious tale of the removal of the seats from the Academy of Music when its debts went unpaid. She gives us what background information is available on performers who played 19th-century Saint John and the odd scandal breathes life into actors who might have remained just names.
While the work is too factual to be a popular history it should have enormous appeal for Canadian theatre history scholars and buffs. For anyone in the Atlantic provinces it is an invaluable reference source, as many of the companies and actors mentioned played throughout the region in such cities as Halifax, St. John's and Charlottetown. Dr. Smith frequently contrasts the reactions of Halifax and Saint John to performers and productions.
One thing I did find a little puzzling was why the author skipped over such a momentous event as the Great Fire of 1877. She leads us up to it and then jumps to the post-fire years without telling us how the fire started and spread, or that 100 people lost their lives. Because the disaster had such significance for both the amateur and professional theatre in Saint John, I would have liked a few pages of information about it.
Mary Elizabeth Smith does not so much interpret history as report it. She leaves the interpretation to a host of newspaper critics, reporters and letter writers. Through their eyes we see the theatre of the time and are left to draw our own conclusions. If her comments are generally not judgemental, they are incisive. The book is well documented with notes. However, I felt the lack of a bibliography. Theatre historians will appreciate the thorough index. The illustrations are another plus, especially those of the old playhouses. They add to the reading pleasure.
At times I became lost in the welter of actors coming and going, especially towards the end, but I would not want to see any of the details left out. Canadian theatre owes Professor Smith a debt for the painstaking research and careful writing she has done to bring us this definitive work.