The Golden Age of Baltimore Theater: A History from Shakespeare to Vaudeville

The story of Charm City on stage. Baltimore’s dynamic theatrical tradition had hard-scrabble beginnings in the eighteenth century. The popularity of the theater only grew, continuing to the vaudeville and burlesque boom of the early 20 th century. Discover the sometimes brilliant, sometimes heart-breaking stories of the actors Baltimore clamored to see and the riots that broke out when they hated what they saw. Key figures such as Lewis Hallam, the Peales, Laura Keene, John T. Ford and James Kernan sought to stage their own versions of the world in playhouses that reflected an ever changing American culture. Let theatrical historian Charlie Mitchell take you on a fascinating journey through this bygone era.