was to
mark, because of the men with whom he now became associated and the
revolution in theatrical methods which he brought about, the first
really significant epoch in his crowded career.

IV

IN THE NEW YORK THEATRICAL WHIRLPOOL

When Charles Frohman went to the Madison Square Theater in 1881 the
three Frohman brothers were literally installed for the first time under
the same managerial roof. From this hour on the affairs of Charles were
bound up in large theatrical conduct.

Since the Madison Square Theater thus becomes the background of his real
activities, the shell out of which he emerged as a full-fledged manager,
the institution, and its significance in dramatic history, are well
worth recording here.

The little Madison Square Theater, located back of the old Fifth Avenue
Hotel, on Twenty-fourth Street near Broadway, was established at a time
when a new force was hovering over the New York stage. This playhouse,
destined to figure so prominently in the fortunes of all the Frohmans,
and especially Charles, grew out of the somewhat radical convictions of
Steele Mackaye, one of the most brilliant and erratic characters of his
time. He was actor, lecturer, and playwright, and he taught the art of
acting on lines laid down by Delsarte. Dr. George Mallory, editor of
_The Churchman_, became interested in his views and regarded Mackaye as
a man with a distinct mission. He induced his brother, Marshall Mallory,
to build the Madison Square Theater.

Steele Mackaye was the first director, and, with the active co-operation
of the Mallorys, launched its career. Dr. Mallory believed that the
drama needed reform; that the way to reform it was to play reformed
drama. So the place was dedicated to healthy plays. "A wholesome place
for wholesome amusement" became the slogan. Contracts for plays were
made only with American authors. Here were produced the earlier triumphs
of Steele Mackaye, Bronson Howard, William Gillette, H. H. Boyessen, and
Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett. In this house, in "May Blossom," De Wolf
Hopper first appeared in a stock company, afterward going into musical
comedy. Among the actors seen on its boards during the Frohman regime
were Agnes Booth, Viola Allen, Effie Ellsler, Georgia Cayvan, Mrs.
Whiffen, Marie Burroughs, Annie Russell, George Clarke, Jeffreys Lewis,
C. W. Couldock, Thomas Whiffen, Dominick Murray, and Eben Plympton. Rose
Coghlan was also a member of the company, but had no