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THE CANADIAN KINGS OF REPERTOIRE
THE CANADIAN KINGS OF REPERTOIRE
The Story of the Marks Brothers
Michael V. Taylor
NATURAL HERITAGE/NATURAL HISTORY INC.
The Canadian Kings of Repertoire: The Story of the Marks Brothers
Michael V. Taylor
Copyright © 2001 Michael V. Taylor
All rights reserved. No portion of this book, with the exception of brief extracts for the purpose of literary or scholarly review, may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the publisher.
Published by Natural Heritage/Natural History Inc.
P.O. Box 95, Station O, Toronto, Ontario M4A 2M8
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Taylor, Michael V.
The Canadian kings of repertoire : the story of the Marks Brothers
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-896219-76-4
1. Marks Brothers. 2. Theatrical companies—Canada—History. I. Title.
PN2308.M37T39 2001 792.2’028’092271 C2001-902444-4
Cover, illustrations and text design by Derek Chung Tiam Fook
Edited by Jane Gibson
Printed and bound in Canada by Hignell Printing Limited, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc. acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and the Association for the Export of Canadian Books.
“The world wants to laugh above all else
and the man who can consistently sell tickets
to a real side-shaking giggle
is a benefactor on the road to fortune.”
R.W. Marks
1921
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 How Are You Going to Keep Them Down on The Farm? – 1876 to 1882
CHAPTER 2 Establishing Roots in Lanark County
CHAPTER 3 Canada Beckons – 1882
CHAPTER 4 Tom Marks – A Keen Eye for Business and a Flair for Comedy
CHAPTER 5 Exit Emma – Enter May A. Bell
CHAPTER 6 Robert William Marks – Larger Than Life King of Repertoire
CHAPTER 7 Life on the Road
CHAPTER 8 Perils of the Stage – But the Show Must Go On
CHAPTER 9 Honing Talent Over the Years
CHAPTER 10 The End of An Era
APPENDIX I Stage Personalities from the Marks Brothers Companies
APPENDIX II Theatrical Memorabilia
APPENDIX III Perth Opera House
APPENDIX IV Family Tree
BACKGROUND TO THIS PUBLICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NOTES
INDEX
Each year at the Perth Museum we present exhibitions that are related to some aspect of Perth’s history. When Barry Penhale, publisher of Natural Heritage Books called in the fall of 2000 to tell us about the upcoming publication of this book on the Marks Brothers, we were truly excited and inspired to create an exhibition on the history of theatre and entertainment in Perth over the years. Using artifacts from our own collection and others on loan from local theatre groups, avid collectors and historians, we are presenting the exhibition “On Stage in Perth” during the summer of 2001 to celebrate the launch of this book.
There is a long and unique history of theatre in this town dating back to the mid 19th century. The era of the fabulous Marks Brothers is one of the most exciting stories in our colourful past. They have been called “the most remarkable theatrical family in Canadian history. The dazzling Marks Brothers were the greatest impresario-performers of our small town stage in the era before the nickelodeon.” (Macleanx2019;s Magazine, 1958).
The Marks Brothers troupes performed all over Canada and the United States for fifty years from the 1870s to the 1920s. They delighted audiences in many remote towns and villages, most of sthemstarved for entertainment, with their flamboyant performances and lavish scenery.
Each year, after 40 weeks on the road, they would return to their home base, a farm on the shore of Christie Lake, close to Perth. There they would rehearse, relax and plan the next seasons’ performances. The silk-hatted Marks Brothers were larger than life and when they came home to Perth everyday existence would suddenly become more exciting.
By the mid-1920s, vaudeville acts and roadshows were declining in popularity and, with the last performance of the Marks Brothers Dramatic Company, came the end of an era. But the Marks Brothers have never been forgotten here in Perth. Over the years, several local theatre groups have dusted off the old scripts taken from the Perth Museum archives, and held Marks Brothers revivals.
In 1982, Theatre-on-the-Tay presented “The Duke’s Daughter,” the first of three plays. The Marks Brothers revival continued the next year with their performance of “Dolores, the Ranch Queen” and in 1984 came “Dora Thorn.” The program for “Dora Thorn” described the ingredients of the play in this manner – “the dashing young protagonist, the innocent heroine and their struggle to fulfill their love amidst prejudice and deception. To say that in the end love conquers all is not to spoil the ending for anyone, for in melodrama getting there is all the fun.”
In the fall of 2000, the theatre group Barndoor Productions put on the Marks Brothers play “The Wolf,” a melodrama of the Hudson Bay Country. They are hoping to produce more in the future.
It is fitting that Michael Taylor tackled the project of writing a book on the Marks Brothers. Michael was editor of the Perth Courier for several years and had a deep interest in the history of this area and researched his subject matter thoroughly. This book will introduce readers to this important part of our theatrical history. The Marks Brothers and their theatrical legacy deserve to be recognized and remembered.
Susan McNichol
Curator, Matheson House,