Lewis Hallam Jr.

{{Short description|18th-century American theater manager}} thumb|Lewis Hallam Jr.

'''Lewis Hallam Jr.''' ({{c.|1740}} – November 1, 1808) was an England-born American actor and theater manager, son of Lewis Hallam, one of the pioneers of Theater in the United States,<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9105241/Lewis-Hallam-the-Younger Britannica]</ref> and Sarah Hallam Douglass. He was the leading actor of the Old American Company, at the time the only theater in America, and the manager of the same Company in 1779-1796.

==Life==

Hallam came to America in 1752, with his family, as a member of the company of his father and uncle, the future Old American Company. His mother, who was also an actress, was a relative of Christopher Rich, a theater manager.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kuritz|first=Paul|title=The Making of Theatre History|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=1988|isbn=978-0-13-547861-5|location=Englewood Clliffs, NJ|pages=241|language=en}}</ref> This was the first professional theater in North America. They toured the colonies and performed ''The Merchant of Venice'' and ''The Anatomist''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Fisher|first=James|title=Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Beginnings|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2015|isbn=978-0-8108-7833-4|location=Lanham|pages=204|language=en}}</ref>

Hallam first performed in Williamsburg, Virginia.<ref name=":0" /> He was the "earliest known American Hamlet and (played) Arsaces, the hero of the first professionally produced American play, ''The Prince of Parthia''" in 1752.<ref name="Bio">[http://www.answers.com/topic/hallam-lewis?cat=entertainment American Theatre Guide]</ref>

In 1756, his father died, and his mother married David Douglass and united his company with hers, becoming the Old American Company in 1758. Hallam became the star of the troupe. He also assisted his mother and stepfather in running the company.<ref name=":0" />

Lewis Jr.'s style was described as declaratory rather than realistic, but he was much admired and became known as America's leading Shakespearean interpreter. Lewis Jr. is believed to be the first actor in America to perform in blackface in 1769.<ref>{{cite book |last= Tosches |first= Nick |title= Where Dead Voices Gather |publisher= Back Bay |year= 2002 |isbn= 0-316-89537-7 |page = 10}}</ref> He played opposite his mother in contemporary British comedies.<ref name=":0" /> In 1769, he performed "Dear Heart! What a Terrible Life I Am Led", the first documented white stage performance of an African American-styled song.<ref>Southern, pg. 89</ref> In January 1775, Hallam performed in England, playing Hamlet at Covent Garden.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Highfill|first1=Philip H.|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800|last2=Burnim|first2=Kalman A.|last3=Langhans|first3=Edward A.|date=1982|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-0918-4|location=Carbondale|pages=40|language=en}}</ref> This stint was his first and last performance in Europe.<ref name=":1" />

Hallam continued to work in American theatre throughout his life, except for a period, during the American Revolutionary War, when the Old American Company left for Jamaica, where it was active until it returned to the United States in 1785.<ref>Errol Hill, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NkW2RqfhxPQC&dq=theatre+jamaica+hallam&pg=PA127 The Jamaican Stage, 1655-1900: Profile of a Colonial Theatre]''</ref> Hallam became the manager of the Company in 1779.<ref name=":1" /> The company took residence at the Richmond Theatre in 1886.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dance and Its Music in America, 1528-1789|first=Kate Van Winkle|last= Keller|year= 2007|publisher=Pendragon Press|isbn=9781576471272}}</ref> The Company lost its monopoly in theatrical activity in 1790, Hallam resigned as manager in 1796. An account by John Durang in his memoir cited that Hallam was a sterling actor but an inactive theater manager.<ref name=":1" />

Hallam died on November 1, 1808, in Philadelphia.<ref name=":1" />

===Family=== He was first married to a young Jamaican actress named Sarah,<ref name=":1" /> only known as 'Mrs Hallam' in America, where she played minor parts in the Old Company: he brought her with him when the Company returned to America from Jamaica in 1758.<ref>Errol Hill, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=NkW2RqfhxPQC&dq=theatre+jamaica+hallam&pg=PA127 The Jamaican Stage, 1655-1900: Profile of a Colonial Theatre]''</ref> The couple had two sons, Mirvan and Lewis D. Hallam. The former also became an actor while the latter studied medicine and settled in Jamaica.<ref name=":1" /> His first spouse died on an unknown date prior to his remarriage to Eliza Hallam.

==Legacy== The theater building at Prince George's Community College in Maryland is named the Hallam Theater.

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== * {{cite book|location=New York|isbn=0-393-03843-2|title=Music of Black Americans|first=Eileen|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|year=1997|last=Southern}}

==External links== * {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Hallam, William|year=1892 |short=x |notaref=x}} *[http://www.asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/atho/atho.detail.people.aspx?personcode=per0045060 Lewis Hallam, Jr.: ''North American Theatre Online''] (AlexanderStreet)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallam, Lewis Jr.}} Category:1808 deaths Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Category:18th-century American male actors

Category:18th-century British theatre managers Category:18th-century American theatre managers {{theat-bio-stub}}