After having playedthe Grand Theatre in Eau Claire, on the 12th and the Myers Theater
in Janesville on the 13th, the “Chin-Chin” backtracked the short 40 miles to
Madison to play the Fuller Theater. The only railroad, of the time, between
Janesville and Madison appears to have been the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul
and Pacific Railroad – also known as the “Milwaukee Road.”
%252B10%252BFeb%252B1920%252C%252BTue%252B%25E2%2580%25A2%252BPage%252B7%252B-%252BChin_Chin_Ad.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*) |
| “The Capital Times” – Via Newspapers.Com |
The Capital Times
didn’t pay much attention to the show’s arriving, I suppose because it was a
return engagement. They ran the standard paid ads on the 10th and
the 11th and ran Chin-Chin provided “stories” on 11th and
13th. On Saturday, February 14th, “Chin Chin” played both
a matinee and an evening performance[i].
I couldn’t find any reviews of the show.
Fuller Opera House
1200 people on three levels—484 on the lower floor, 346 in the Balcony, 400 in
the Gallery, and 31 in boxes. The stage was a standard 35×35 ft. [ii] Built by Morris and Edward Fuller, the Fuller
Opera House opened next door to Madison City Hall and across the street from
the state capitol on April 7, 1890. [iii] Across the street, in 1904, a fire burned the
Capital building to the ground. [iv] The Capital was
reconstructed with construction completing in 1917. In 1921 the Fuller Opera House was remodeled
and became the Parkway Theater. The theater was razed in 1954 to make way for a
Woolworths.
The Julius Cahn Gus Hill Theatrical Guide 1913-1914 mentions several newspapers that should be researched for possible stories regarding “Chin Chin” playing on 14 Feb 1920 in Madison, WI. These newspapers include:
“Amerika” (Norwegian), Fri., cir., 8,000, R. B. Anderson, Ed.;
“Cardinal,” daily ex. Sun. during col. year;
“Democrat,” A . M . ex. Mon., cit., 4.000,
“Journal,” P. M. ex. Sun., cir., 6,044, R. L. Jones[v]
– Article: Wisconsin State Capital https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_State_Capitol
1913-1914, Page 683, Madison https://archive.org/details/theatricaljuliu00cahnuoft