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The Charleston Theatre management of Charles Gilfert, 1817 to 1822
Abstract
Before Charles H. Gilfert managed the Charleston Theatre, he worked in New York as a musician, performing with theatre orchestras, playing in concerts, and publishing music. Extant performance reviews and sheet music suggest that he deserved his reputation as a fine musician. Production records and incidental references to productions record his untiring zeal in using business methods to develop the American professional stage. His marriage to Catherine Amelia Holman in 1815 offered him a chance to advance his career. His father-in-law, British tragedian Joseph George Holman, named him the leader of the Charleston Theatre orchestra for 1816-17. Holman's death in 1817 propelled Gilfert into the Charleston Theatre management just as the enterprise became incorporated by the proprietors. Aided by the stage popularity of his wife and the investments and plans made by his father-in-law, Gilfert fully developed a Southern theatrical circuit that had been merely dreamed of by previous Charleston Theatre managers. While Gilfert's early theatrical experience as a musician acquainted him with the skills necessary to be a good manager, his observation of Holman's managerial strengths and weaknesses better prepared him for the task. He was able to sustain two companies playing simultaneously, to build several theatre houses, and to continue his successful musical career. Gilfert's constant expansion of the circuit combined with the wavering economy, the increasing competition, and his developing self-indulgence made financial success impossible for him to attain. In 1822, Gilfert sold his managerial interest in the Charleston Theatre to his wife's trustee, Dr. John Dyott. Catherine Amelia Holman Gilfert succeeded her husband as manager for 1823-24 and 1824-25. From 1825 to its closure in 1833, the Charleston Theatre's various managers did not slow its decline in prominence. Although Gilfert did not succeed in his management of the Charleston Theatre, the experience served as his apprenticeship for managing New York's Bowery Theatre, 1826 to 1829, which established his theatrical reputation.
Subject Area
Theater|Music|Biographies
Recommended Citation
Stephenson, Nan Louise, "The Charleston Theatre management of Charles Gilfert, 1817 to 1822" (1988). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8904514.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8904514