At one of the theatres a few evenings ago an incident occurred which
trivial though it was brought one to a realization of the evolution that had taken place in the play houses of the Yukon during the past seven years. In nothing else has there been a greater change than in that which has for its purpose the amusement of the public and among those whose occupation is the holding up of the candle to Nature's mirror.
Primitive log fires have given way to huge boilers supplying steam for thawing the ground, electricity has replaced candles, the telephone and telegraph have
annihilated distance, palatial steamers have supplanted the canoe and rudely constructed bateau, and the little log building at Fortymile and Circle City which by courtesy was
once called a theatre, have in time merged from their chrysaline state to the steam heated, two galleried, box bedecked theatres of today, with their mass of gilt and tinsel and wealth of scenery and mechanical effects.
He whose presence was responsible for the incident referred to was an
old, grizzled miner, typical of those whom Bret Harte and others have immortalized in verse, His age it would have been hard to guess as he had been inside so long that he had
ceased to regard the flight of time. Jack McQuesten, Joe Ladue and Al Mayo had been his pals years ago, and at about the same time "Slim Jim" Winn was finding his way over the Chilkoot pass in '81. He was following a trail over the divides from the Cassiar by way of the MacKenzie.
The evening in question a society drama was being presented at the theatre. It was the old man's first night in town since '97, when in the stampede from Circle he had failed to stake on any of the then good creeks and not deigning to notice
bench or hillsides he had returned in disgust to his claim on Birch creek, remaining there ever since.
During the performance his eyes were riveted on the players, sympathizing with the heroine in her troubles, cursing the villain who caused them, and heartily rejoicing in the final triumph of virtue and innocence.
As the curtain was rung down on the final act, he pulled his old hat down on his ears and remarked that "That was the best danged show I've seed since George Snow played "Ten Nights in a Bar Room" at Fortymile.
The history of the stage in the Yukon is interesting though of not many
years in length. The George Snow referred to frat made his appearance in Juneau nearly 15 years ago. He was an actor who had been barn storming all his life, had a wife likewise a player and a little daughter of an age suitable for child's parts. He remained in Juneau several years, earning a rather precarious living with the cock and buskin.
In '93 during the Fortymile boom he with his family came inside, and a year later the "Fortymile opera house" was duly opened by the Snow Dramatic Company. Small parts were filled in by anyone who could be induced to take them, and the first theatre ever constructed on the Yukon river made for itself a place in history.
The show was strictly legitimate, the players presenting nothing but dramas and comedies. The vaudeville craze had not at that time become epidemic even in the
States, and it remained for others to introduce the variety artists to the Yukoners.
For about a year the Snow Dramatic Company flourished. Then came the strike on Birch creek, Circle City sprang into existence and in less time than its takes to tell it Fortymile was depopulated, everyone excepting a few Indians and the storekeepers stampeding to the new camp.
At Circle the interest in the theatrical, after the first excitement had
subsided, was renewed and Snow again "Trod the boards in a frenzy fine." But the monopoly he had so far enjoyed in catering to the amusement loving miners was soon to be broken. The Birch creek boom of '96 brought many old timers inside from Juneau and in the spring and summer of '96 others came, among whom wore several vaudeville stars of greater or lesser magnitude, their accompanying satelites and at least one other who had a hankering to enact the role of theatrical manager.
"Casey" Moran and "Billy" Ash left Juneau late in August for Circle, an event which at that time was considered suicidal as it was not thought for a moment they would be able to reach their destination before the river closed. They had little or no grub, roadhouses were unknown and after one passed the Indian camps at Tagish not another soul would be met until Cormack's post was reached near Five Fingers, and he was never known to have any provisions for sale other than a few dried salmon.
The post at Selkirk was likewise generally empty. One might be able to buy something of Joe Ladue at Sixtymile, but nothing could be counted upon until Fortymile was reached.
"Casey" and his partner had good luck in securing a boat at Linderman which had been left there for them and reached the point where Dawson now stands in September, a month or six weeks after Cormack had made his discovery on Bonanza. They stopped a few hours near the mouth of the Klondike where some Indians and a few white men were camped, but having little faith in the new discovery and receiving no hunch to join in the stampede continued their journey on to Circle, where the diggings were known to be
good, arriving there about the first of October.
A month or so later Ed Holden, Billy Leake, Sam Bonnifield and Harry Ash had built the first variety theatre in the Yukon and "Casey" took charge as manager. The admission the opening night was $2.00, and the house was packed to suffocation. In the galaxy of stars appearing were the Drummond Sisters, Ada Gardner, Myrtle Smith and several others who long ago have faded from view. "Casey" was a howling success as a manager and the North Pole variety shop flourished until the Klondike did for Circle what the later had done for Fortymile. Everybody came to Dawson and Circle was deserted.
In Dawson the first theatre to be built was the old opera house erected by Gus Bakke and others on the site where the Exchange now stands. That was in the fall of '97, the building first being used as a dance hall before the roof was on and when it rained the girls would waltz and two-step around in gum boots. Early in the winter the opera house burned down and was not rebuilt as a theatre.
The following May saw the erection of the Pavilion near the present site of the old Savoy. It was but a rude frame covered with canvas, but in the few months of its existence more money passed over its counters than any other theatre in Dawson has ever seen. Those were the days when a pint of champagne sold for $40. Eldorado kings bought $100 worth of dance checks at a time, $100 a week was the smallest salary anyone received, and if a girl's percentage did not amount to $100 nightly it was considered an off night.
By Auguat the Pavilion was done for, and a few months later Robert Beir opened the Tivoli with Cad Wilson as the $400-a-week star. The following summer Simons built the opera house on the old site and Arizona Charlie erected the Palace Grand.
Last year the Standard and Orpheum entered the theatrical arena, the Tivoli and Opera House having been destroyed by the big fire, and this year the New Savoy has made its bow to the public. To one who has seen the evolution of the stage from the rude beginning in Fortymile to the present day the transformation is both interesting and amusing.
