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I've found no lists of
members of the Iroquois Theater orchestra and
varying estimates on the number of musicians, up to
forty. An interview with director Dilley
reported twenty-six;
a newspaper report in the Richmond, Indiana
newspaper where lived the parents of cello player
Eddo Kline, described their relief at learning their
son was among the survivors in the thirty-three
member orchestra. Those identified thus far
are listed at right in blue panel. Will update
list as more information is found. This story will be "in progress" for
some time.
A Chicago musician who died
at the Iroquois Theater, flutist
Otto
Helms, is thought to have been in the audience that day rather than in the
orchestra. Had he been performing it is certain there
would have been newspaper note of it had he been a
performer.
Clothing of some orchestra members was burned from
falling embers. Poking that in here for the
time being until more is found on that subject.
Comedienne Eddie Foy and both
orchestra directors at the Iroquois Theater believed
that music would calm the audience.
Since multiple audience survivors described being
unable to hear Foy from the stage urging calm, it is
likely they were also unable to hear the orchestra
playing. Nonetheless, a half dozen musicians kept playing until soon after the fireball
shot into the auditorium.
According to testimony at the
coroner's trial, Eddie Foy urged the orchestra to
play an overture and director Herbert Dillea led the
group in playing the Sleeping Beauty and the Beast
Overture. Sleeping Beauty was
another Drury Lane Theater production that Klaw and
Erlanger had imported and for which
Frederick Solomon had composed much of the
music, playing in August 1902 at the Illinois
Theater in Chicago, also managed by
Will J. Davis, probably by some of the same
musicians that were performing Mr. Bluebeard
at the Iroquois. Second director and violinist
Antonio Frosolono also described urging the
musicians to keep playing.
On January 7, 1904 Frosolono
testified before the grand jury about his experience
at the Iroquois Theater. He described the fire
curtain lowering, sticking and bulging just prior to
the fireball rolling out from beneath. He told of a
fire hose beneath the stage. (Later witnesses would
testify that water had not been plumbed to the fire
hoses.)
Frosolono and a half dozen other musicians,
including Dillea and Brown, continued performing
until the bass and cello caught fire. Brown
testified that they had no more evacuated than the
woodwork in the pit caught fire. Eddie Foy was
quoted as saying that by the time the last orchestra member, Herbert Dillea, left the orchestra pit, the ground floor of
the auditorium was half emptied.
Foy and Brown's remarks
reveal that though there were few fatalities among
audience members seated on the ground floor, the
risk to them was greater than I've appreciated: the
orchestra pit was in flames as the last of the
audience on the ground floor moved into the lobby,
putting flames around thirty feet away.
The musicians escaped from
the pit into the basement via an
18" wide opening and stairwell that led to a
hallway lined by
dressing rooms, costume rooms and, at the south end,
washrooms and smoking rooms used by theater patrons. Musician Arthur C. Brown
described the opening as difficult to use, requiring
the musicians to "twist and wiggle" to pass through.
The pit exit was compromised
as a result of yet another Iroquois planning error.
The depth of the orchestra pit was originally
seventy-eight inches, said to be in keeping with European
standards at the time. At the dress rehearsal
it was decided that the music could not be heard
sufficiently so a false wood floor was installed
atop the concrete floor, raising the floor height.
Still unsatisfactory, a second wood floor addition
was installed. The measurements cited in the
newspaper stories resulting from an interview with
Arthur Brown are conflicting and the actual floor height in the
orchestra pit is not known. It is safe to
conclude from Brown's remarks that the size and
position of the opening between the pit and basement
was too small and was poorly angled, probably
because it was inadequately altered to accommodate
the raised floor height. Little
wonder some musicians left their instruments behind.
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Musicians were expected to
use the exit on Dearborn
St. (door
#5) but that passage became filled with smoke sufficient that
the last of the orchestra to evacuate, such as
Anthony Frosolono, escaped through a
bathroom window. Others made their way to a
spiral stairwell on the
north side of the theater that ran all the way from
the basement up to box seats on the second floor.
On the ground floor a set of stairs branched from
that stairwell out to the auditorium floor (see
accompanying photo) and a fire
escape exit on Couch Place alley (door
#2).

By the time the fire was out and bodies removed,
the basement and orchestra pit was
filled with water from the fire hoses, requiring
pumping the day after the fire.
The often published picture of a fire pumper in
Couch Place alley was likely taken the day after the
fire when the basement was being pumped.
Iroquois Theater orchestra
members:
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Herbert Dillea -
1st baton
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Charles Bibel - trombone
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Arthur Curry Brown -
viola
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Carlos Arriolas - flute
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Ernest M. Libonati - flute
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Florence
Louise Horne (c1880*-1956) - cornet. Studied with
composer and cornet virtuoso,
Robert
Brown Hall, and performed as soloist with various groups,
including the Fadettes of Boston, Cecilia Musical Club, U.S. Ladies
Military Band, Tuxedo Ladies Band, George C. Wilson Repertory
Company, Ward & Vokes comedy team, Talma Ladies Band, Miss Reno
Mario's Orchestra, Hotel Rudolf in Atlantic City, Twelve Navajo
Girls, Navassar Band and the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC. In
1910 Florence was teaching cornet in Bangor, Maine, her home state,
when she met and married Edmond W. Stilwell, a bank clerk from
Kansas City, KS. Thereafter she confined her musical activity
to teaching though she did perform at Fort Riley during world war I.
One of her two daughters, Winifred Stilwell Culp, would serve as a
lieutenant colonel in the Women's Army Corp during world war II.
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Edwin A. "Eddo" Kline (1881-1941) - cello. One of five
children born to Quakers Isaac and Jenny Talbert Kline of Richmond,
Indiana. At Isaac's death Jenny moved to Chicago and lived
with Edwin and his wife, Louella, in Chicago. Edwin continued
to work as a musician into the 1930s, playing with the Chicago Civic
Orchestra. Ill health forced his retirement from performing in
1936 but he worked as in sales for a time. He and Louella had
one child, a daughter named Edwina.
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Michael Libonati - cello
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Antonio
Frosolono - 1st violin, Iroquois music director and
2nd baton
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Unknown
bass player
-
Unknown bassoon player
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Possible clarinet
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Possible saxophone
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Possible oboe
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Possible French horn
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Possible bass drum
-
Possible timpani drum
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Possible snare drum
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Possible harp
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Possible piano
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Possible second trombone
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Possible third trombone
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Possible percussion (triangle,
maracas, etc)
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Possible second violin
Wikipedia offers
an interesting look at the instruments used in pit orchestras for
various musicals. Peter Pan of 1904, might provide
clues as to the instruments in Mr. Bluebeard. |
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Tunes
performed by the Iroquois Orchestra for Mr.
Bluebeard:
Many of the tunes in Mr. Bluebeard were published
as sheet music that can be downloaded as a pdf file
here and/or viewed
here. They are marked below with
SM.
ACT I Scene 1 in
the market place on the Quay near Bagdad
with scenery by Bruce Smith (1855-1942)
|
Song |
Music Composition |
Lyrics |
On
stage |
“Come, Buy Our Luscious
Fruits” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
SM |
”Oriental Slaves Are We” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
"We Come From Dalmatia” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
"Algerian Slave Song" |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
Medley |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Harry Gilfoil as
Bluebeard arrives to shop for slaves Bluebeard's retinue
Chorus |
"A Most Unpopular
Potentate” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Harry Gilfoil as
Bluebeard reveling in his despicability Chorus |
SM |
“Welcome Fatima” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus ? |
“I’m As Good As I Ought
To Be” |
Frederick Solomon |
Frederick Solomon |
Blanch Adams as Fatima
emphasizing virtue |
SM |
“Then Away We Go”
|
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus ? Bluebeard seizes
Fatima and takes her to
his yacht |
Act I Scene 2
aboard Bluebeard's yacht with scenery by
Bruce Smith |
“There’s Nothing Like the
Life We Sailors Lead” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
"You'll Have
to Read the Answer in the Stars" |
Harry
Von Tilzer |
Vincent
Bryan |
? |
? Duet "Twilight Glimmers"? "Tink
A Tink"? |
? |
? |
Adele Rafter as Selim Blanche Adams as
Fatima missing one another? |
"I'm a Poor Unhappy Maid" |
Jeon Schwartz |
William Jerome |
Eddie Foy as Sister Anne |
SM |
"Marriage is Sublime" |
Theodore F. Morse |
Vincent Bryan |
? |
SM |
“What a Beautiful World
It Would Be" |
Harry Von Tilzer |
Andrew B. Sterling (lyrics
for extra verses by Raymond A. Browne) |
Harry Gilfoil as
Bluebeard |
”He’s Gone” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Blanche Adams as Fatima ?
bereft that Selim has jumped overboard? |
Act I Scenes 3 &
4 on Isle of Ferns and Land of Ferns
with sets by Henry Emden (1853-1930) |
"Ballet of Ferns" |
Frederick Solomon |
|
Fairies Grand Corps de Ballet Procession and waving of Magic Fan |
Act II Scene
1 in the
castle gardens with scenery by R. C.
McCleery, known for expertise in
painting trees |
” Daylight is Dawning” |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
“Songbirds of Melody
Lane” |
Gus Edwards |
Vincent Bryan |
Pony Ballet dancer
Beatrice Liddell Elsie Romaine as pretty wife Becca (who
so captured audience hearts in NYC Children's chorus |
“The Beer That Made
Milwaukee Famous" |
Dan McAvoy |
Dan McAvoy |
Harry Gilfoil as
Bluebeard Bonnie Maginn as Imer Dasher Pony Ballet |
“In the Pale Moonlight” |
Benjamin M. Jerome |
Matthew
C. Woodward |
Octet |
SM |
“Ma Honey” |
Max Hoffman |
? |
Bonnie Maginn as Imer
Dasher Chorus |
Act II Scene
2 in Blue
Chamber of Curiosities, scenery by R. C.
McCleery
Fatima opens Bluebeard's locked chamber and
discovers his other wives |
Act II Scene
3 Home of
Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe, scenery
by Ernest Albert (1857-1946) |
"Wake Up Mammy” (aka
"Wake up Melinda") |
Maude Nugent |
William Jerome |
Eddie Foy as Sister Anne |
SM |
"Mother Eve” (aka
"Stories Adam Told to
Eve") |
Jean Schwartz |
William Jerome |
Eddie Foy as Sister Anne the Pony Ballet Chorus |
SM |
"There was an Old Woman who
Lived in a Show" |
Theodore F. Morse |
Alfred Bran |
? |
Act II Scene
4 Hall in
Bluebeard's palace, scenery by Ernest
Albert |
Dancing Specialty |
Clancy Herbert Kerr |
|
Frank Young as Abumun Bessie De Voie as
Korafai |
Act II Scene
5 Triumph
of the Magic fan, scenery by
Henry Emden
History of the fan in the Land of Palms,
Egypt, India, Japan, Parisian Rose
Garden, Spanish Rose Garden |
"The Nautch Girls Dance" |
Ben Jerome |
|
Fan dancers |
SM |
Grigolatis aerialist
ballet |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Nellie Reed distributing
flower petals from a cornucopia
Grand Corps de Ballet as fairies atop
revolving electric stars
|
Act III Scene
1 Hall of
Pleasure in Bluebeard's palace, scenery
by Ernest Albert |
"Let us be Jolly as Long as We Can" (aka
"When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will
Play") |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
SM |
Billy Gray, U.S.A., O.K
|
Gus
Edwards |
Will
D. Cobb |
Bonnie Maginn as
Imer Dasher |
SM |
“Spoony Mooney Night” |
Leo Edwards |
Edward Gardinier |
Bonnie Maginn as
Imer Dasher Chorus |
"Pony Ballet Two Step" |
Jean Schwartz |
|
Pony Ballet |
SM |
”Julie” |
Jean Schwartz |
William Jerome |
Herbert Cawthorne as Irish
Patshaw Chorus |
SM |
"Raving: a daffy ditty" |
Theodore F. Morse |
Vincent P. Bryan |
Harry Gilfoil as
Bluebeard |
SM |
“Hamlet Was a Melancholy
Dane” |
William Jerome |
Jean Schwartz |
Eddie Foy as Sister Anne |
"The Yankee
Tourist Girl" |
Matt C. Woodward |
Benjamin M. Jerome |
? |
SM |
Act III Scene
2 Below
the Ramparts, scenery by Cecil Hicks &
Harry Brooks
Bluebeard gives Fatima ultimatum: marry him or
perish, Selim summons Fairies, Fairies attack Bluebeard's castle |
"I'll Set My True Love
Free" |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
Chorus |
SM |
Act III Scene
3 Fairy
Palace, scenery by Bruce Smith
Bluebeard is overthrown, Fatima and Selim reunited, Fairy Army
triumphs |
"Grand Processional
March" |
Frederick Solomon |
John Cheever Goodwin |
? |
SM |
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Other tunes
thought to have been performed and/or
associated with Mr. Bluebeard on
stage, in sheet music and records,
the schedule of their appearance
in the Mr. Bluebeard production unknown:
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"Hop, Hop, Hippety Hop" by Billee Taylor,
lyrics by Joe Flynnup
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"When the Colored
Band Comes Marching Down the Street" by J.
Rosamond Johnson, lyrics by Bob Cole
Act II?
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Composers
contributing to Mr. Bluebeard music
Clancy Herbert Kerr
(1873-1925) pianist and composer, married to
vaudeville performer, Agnes Ardeck (real
name Phoebe M. Kerr ?)
Gus Edwards (Leo's brother)
Leo Edwards (Gus's brother)
Maximilian "Max"
Hoffmann (1873–1963) composer, song writer
and vaudeville orchestra leader married to
Gertrude Hoffman (1886–1966) , vaudeville
dancer and choreographer
William Jerome
Maude Nugent
Jean Schwartz
Harry Von Tilzer |
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Lyricists
contributing to Mr. Bluebeard music
Vincent P. Bryan
(1877-1937) composer and lyricist
Edward "Eddie"
Gardinier / Gardiner (1861 - 1909) Slit his own
throat while depressed about poor responses to
his songwriting in 1909. Other
compositions included: "Schoolmates," "Oh, Mr.
Dingle, Don't be so Stingy," "Captain Baby
Bunting" and "Everybody Loves Me but the Girl I
Love." A newspaper obituary credited him
as the author of the familiar tune, "School
days, school days, dear old Golden Rule days,
readin and writin and rithmatic, taught to the
tune of a hickory stick..." but I found nothing
else connecting him to the song. Lived
with his sister, Laura Gardinier, a dressmaker,
in Brooklyn, NY.
John Cheever Goodwin
William Jerome
Jean Schwartz
Andrew B. Sterling
Matthew Woodward |
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Discrepancies and addendum
*
Some online biographies inaccurately cite
Florence's date of birth as 1890. Her marriage
license, census reports and obituary cite 1881 and
1880. Stilwell was sometimes spelled as
Stillwell. Later in life Florence went by her
middle name, Louise. |
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Story 2906 |
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Margaret Buehrmann and
Annie Jones and Warner Saville |
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Illinois state senator
Albert Clark helped triage Iroquois Theater victims |
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Eger, Bloom and Reiss
families lost 5 to Iroquois |
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