Ida Hawley
Encyclopedia
Ida Hawley was a Canadian
musical comedy actress and soprano singer.
and later raised in Toronto
, where she received her higher education at the Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School
Little is known about Ida Hawley’s life, other than when not working in the US she maintained a residence at the Hotel Flanders in Toronto and that she left behind a legacy of work from a career that extended barely past a decade.
in Philadelphia and later Boston
. After a season of repertoire work Hawley left Daly to play Yvonne in Alexandre Dumas’ Paul Jones at the Schiller Theatre in Chicago, followed by a part in A Runaway Girl at the Chestnut Street Theatre
in Philadelphia. The next season she worked on the musical comedy Three Little Lambs by R. A. Barnett and composer E. W. Corliss that premiered at New York’s Fifth Avenue Theatre
on Christmas Day 1899. The following year she appeared in the musical extravaganza A Million Dollars by Louis Harrison and George Hobart, that opened to unfavourable reviews on 27 September 1900.
Hawley had better luck as Ruth in the successful run of The Burgomaster, a musical comedy written by Gustav Luders and composed by Frank Pixley. The critics praised her performance as Princess Soo-Soo in A Chinese Honeymoon by George Dance (dramatist)
and composer Howard Talbot
. A few months later she assumed the role of Edith in another Luders and Pixley musical comedy, The Prince of Pilsen, during its long run at the Broadway Theatre
.
Later in 1903 Hawley began working as an understudy for opera singer Fritzi Scheff
on her national tour with the comic operettas Babette, by Victor Herbert
and Harry B. Smith
and Two Roses, based on Oliver Goldsmith
’s She Stoops to Conquer. In May 1904 Hawley stepped in to replace Schiff for the remainder of the season after a severe sore throat forced the actress to withdraw from the tour.
In August 1905 Ida Hawley played Polly Premier at the Broadway Theatre in The Pearl and the Pumpkin, written by Paul West
and composer John W. Bratton. In 1906 she toured in an off-Broadway production of The Blue Moon
by Howard Talbot
and Paul Rubens
and the following year she played the lead role in Gustav Kerker and George Broadhurst’s The Lady from Lane’s, a musical comedy that ran for 47 performances at the Casino Theatre.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
musical comedy actress and soprano singer.
Early life
Ida Hawley was born on 26 April 1876 at Belleville, OntarioBelleville, Ontario
Belleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
and later raised in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, where she received her higher education at the Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School
Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School
Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School is an all-girls Catholic high school in Hogg's Hollow neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. It was established by the Loretto Sisters in 1847 and is part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board....
Little is known about Ida Hawley’s life, other than when not working in the US she maintained a residence at the Hotel Flanders in Toronto and that she left behind a legacy of work from a career that extended barely past a decade.
Career
Her professional career began in 1897 as a stock actress with Augustine Daly's company, performing Shakespeare’s The TempestThe Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
in Philadelphia and later Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. After a season of repertoire work Hawley left Daly to play Yvonne in Alexandre Dumas’ Paul Jones at the Schiller Theatre in Chicago, followed by a part in A Runaway Girl at the Chestnut Street Theatre
Chestnut Street Theatre
The Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first theater in the United States built by entrepreneurs solely as a venue for paying audiences.-The New Theatre :...
in Philadelphia. The next season she worked on the musical comedy Three Little Lambs by R. A. Barnett and composer E. W. Corliss that premiered at New York’s Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre
Fifth Avenue Theatre was a Broadway theatre in New York City in the United States located at 31 West 28th Street and Broadway. It was demolished in 1939....
on Christmas Day 1899. The following year she appeared in the musical extravaganza A Million Dollars by Louis Harrison and George Hobart, that opened to unfavourable reviews on 27 September 1900.
Hawley had better luck as Ruth in the successful run of The Burgomaster, a musical comedy written by Gustav Luders and composed by Frank Pixley. The critics praised her performance as Princess Soo-Soo in A Chinese Honeymoon by George Dance (dramatist)
George Dance (dramatist)
George Dance was an English lyricist and librettist in the 1890s and an important theatrical manager at the beginning of the 20th century....
and composer Howard Talbot
Howard Talbot
Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot , was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent...
. A few months later she assumed the role of Edith in another Luders and Pixley musical comedy, The Prince of Pilsen, during its long run at the Broadway Theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
Later in 1903 Hawley began working as an understudy for opera singer Fritzi Scheff
Fritzi Scheff
Fritzi Scheff was an American actress and vocalist.-Biography:Born in Vienna, Austria, she studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and made her début in Munich in the title röle of Martha...
on her national tour with the comic operettas Babette, by Victor Herbert
Victor Herbert
Victor August Herbert was an Irish-born, German-raised American composer, cellist and conductor. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is best known for composing many successful operettas that premiered on Broadway from the 1890s to World War I...
and Harry B. Smith
Harry B. Smith
Harry Bache Smith was a writer, lyricist and composer. The most prolific of all American stage writers, he is said to have written over 300 librettos and more than 6000 lyrics. Some of his best-known works were librettos for the composer Victor Herbert...
and Two Roses, based on Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
’s She Stoops to Conquer. In May 1904 Hawley stepped in to replace Schiff for the remainder of the season after a severe sore throat forced the actress to withdraw from the tour.
In August 1905 Ida Hawley played Polly Premier at the Broadway Theatre in The Pearl and the Pumpkin, written by Paul West
Paul West
Paul West may refer to:*Paul West , English soccer player*Paul West , British-born American writer*Paul West, pseudonym of Stephen Clarke...
and composer John W. Bratton. In 1906 she toured in an off-Broadway production of The Blue Moon
The Blue Moon (musical)
The Blue Moon is an Edwardian musical comedy with music composed by Howard Talbot and Paul Rubens, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and Rubens and a book by Harold Ellis and by Alexander M. Thompson...
by Howard Talbot
Howard Talbot
Richard Lansdale Munkittrick, better known as Howard Talbot , was an American-born, English-raised conductor and composer of Irish descent...
and Paul Rubens
Paul Rubens (composer)
Paul Alfred Rubens was an English songwriter and librettist who wrote some of the most popular Edwardian musical comedies of the early twentieth century. He contributed to the success of dozens of musicals....
and the following year she played the lead role in Gustav Kerker and George Broadhurst’s The Lady from Lane’s, a musical comedy that ran for 47 performances at the Casino Theatre.