William W. Pratt
William W. Pratt (c. 1821 – November 28, 1864) was an American playwright and actor. His is best remembered for his temperance play Ten Nights in a Bar-Room which was adapted from the novel by Timothy Shay Arthur. According to theatre historian Gerald Bordman, this play, while never popular in major urban centers, was second only to Uncle Tom's Cabin in its popularity among broader American audiences in the 19th century.[1]
Life and career
William W. Prat was born in Boston, Massachusetts in c. 1821.[2][3] By 1852 he was performing on the stage as a member of J. W. Lanergan's company in his home state.[4] In 1855 he performed in the show Highlife in Boston at the Howard Athenaeum.[5] In 1856 he was a member of a stock theatre company in Hartford, Connecticut.[6] In 1857 he was a member of Annie Senter's theatre company with his repertoire with this company including the part of Sir William Fondlove in The Love Chase by James Sheridan Knowles.[7]
By the Spring of 1858 he was working as the manager of Bidwell & Marston's Company (BMC) which was in residence at Lancaster Hall in Portland, Maine.[8] His play Ten Nights in a Bar-Room, adapted from Timothy Shay Arthur's 1854 novel Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There, was given by the BMC company at Hampden Hall in Springfield, Massachusetts in July 1858 with Yankee Locke leading the cast as Sample Twichell and Pratt taking on the role of Mr. Romaine.[9][10] It played at the National Theatre in Boston after the close of the New York run.[11] While never popular in major urban centers,[1] it had a tremendously successful life as a road show to smaller cities with multiple different companies touring in the play simultaneously for decades.[12]
Pratt continued to oversee the touring production of his play for the remainder of his life. He died of kidney failure after an illness of a few days at the New England House in Rochester, New York on November 28, 1864. He had traveled to that city with his theatre troupe for performances of his play.[2]
References
Citations
- 1 2 Bordman 1992, p. 660.
- 1 2 "Death of an Actor". Rochester Journal and the Post Express. November 29, 1864. p. 3.
- ↑ William W Pratt in the Massachusetts, U.S., Marriage Records, 1840-1915
- ↑ "Theatre". The Standard-Times. New Bedford, Massachusetts. September 15, 1852. p. 2. Retrieved August 5, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Howard Athenaeum". Boston Evening Transcript. April 18, 1855. p. 3.
- ↑ "Dramatic and Musical Matters". New York Daily Herald. February 11, 1856. p. 4.
- ↑ "Annie Senter's Varieties". The Standard-Times. New Bedford, Massachusetts. June 8, 1857. p. 3.
- ↑ "Theatre! Lancaster Hall". Portland Press Herald. May 27, 1858. p. 3.
- ↑ "Continued Success". The Springfield Daily Republican. July 1, 1858. p. 3.
- ↑ "Bidwell and Marston's Company". The Springfield Daily Republican. July 1, 1858. p. 4.
- ↑ "Musical and Theatrical". Portland Press Herald. December 23, 1858. p. 2.
- ↑ Hischak 2017, p. 300.
Bibliography
- Bordman, Gerald (1992). "Ten Nights in a Barroom". The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, Second Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195072464.
- Hischak, Thomas S. (2014). "Ten Nights in a Barroom". American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786492794.
- Hischak, Thomas (2017). "Ten Nights in a Barroom". 100 Greatest American Plays. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9798216249825.