Boise’s early theater experiences ranged from loud and crowded to subdued and successful

Little Boise City was blessed with a wide variety of theatrical entertainment in the early 1870s, and no traveling troupe offered more than that of Carrie Chapman.

The Idaho Tri-weekly Statesman printed this list in April 1871: 1. “The Wind and the Whirlwind.” 2. “Mr. and Mrs. Peter White.” 3. “The Stranger” by Bulwer. 4. “Retribution.” 5. “The Double-bedded Room.” 6. ”The Spectre Bridegroom.” 7. “Caste.” 8. “How Far Is It to the Next Ranch?” 9. “The Actress of All Work.” 10. “The Artful Dodger.” 11. “Miser’s Legacy.” 12. “Still Waters Run Deep.” Also, “interludes of dancing and singing.”

We trust Mrs. Chapman’s troupe received a more courteous reception than the one described by the Statesman in April 1870:

“A DEMORALIZED CROWD. We think the crowd that generally assembles in the ‘pit’ of our places of amusement the most badly behaved of any we ever saw. They seem perfectly regardless of what is going on in front on the stage, and amuse themselves by yelling and whooping whenever the spirit moves them. Not content with the continual cracking of peanuts, and demands for more from time to time in loud vociferations, but they must needs indulge in unearthly shrieks, resembling the coyote or Snake Indian, interrupting and confusing the actors, and preventing the more orderly of the audience from hearing anything of the play in progress. We have no doubt the ‘boys’ intend such outbreaks of feelings as complimentary applause, and that it is offered in a generous and kindly spirit, but for our part we hope hereafter there will be less of it.”

An amateur theatrical group performed in Boise at that time, and hopefully did not have to compete with a wild crowd like that described above.

“The Varieties, on last Tuesday evening, was a most decided success both ways, to the company, and to the audience. There was a well-filled house out to enjoy the fun.It was truly a variety they gave us: song, joke, burlesque, take offs, jigs, dances and broad farce, following so fast that it yet makes our stomach ache to think of it, on account of the awful shaking up with laughter which we got that night in witnessing the performance.

“There was hardly a single flat thing in the whole of it. We were most highly amused at the extravaganzas ‘three strings to her bow’ and ‘Mr. Mug in Trouble.’ Space as well as modesty forbids that we should specify wherein any did best where all did well. For an entirely home production, the performance of the ‘Varieties’ ought to receive the most hearty support of the people of Boise City. The young men are running it more for the purpose of furnishing rational amusement to the community than to make money. They will be content not to be out anything. Let them succeed as they deserve. Do it again.”

In May 1870, the Carrie Chapman troupe, well-known across the West in its day, performed a minstrel show. The Statesman reported: “The theatre was not overly crowded Saturday night at the minstrel performance. The singing and dancing was good, and generally loudly encored. ... Johnny Moss, in his banjo solo, was loudly cheered and twice encored.”

Don’t you wish we could attend some of those long-ago performances, and take a walk around little old Boise City? (I would, as long as we could return to the world of today.)