Seattle Amateurs Raise Funds for Charity
A high-society theatrical benefit for the Bureau of Associated Charities draws a 'brilliant' audience and earns rave reviews.
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The charity entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights at the Seattle theater will long be remembered in this city for both its social and artistic features. It was a distinct success and credit is due to the Seattle Field Club, whose dramatic society engineered the affair. The performances were given for the benefit of the Bureau of Associated Charities, with every dollar of profit above actual expenses going to that organization. Such a success in an enterprise conceived and carried out entirely by amateurs is rare. The bill was a treble one, consisting of the farce 'Turn Him Out,' the comedietta 'Withered Leaves,' and a selected representation from the 'Chimes of Normandy.' Miss Eugenia Ayerst and Miss Lillian Nash, in particular, avoided all overacting and were entirely natural. Mr. Campbell’s performance as Gaspard the miser was so intense that he fell ill after the first night but returned to finish the show.
“Such a success in an enterprise conceived and carried out entirely by amateurs is rare.”
This 1891 performance highlights the historical role of local amateur theatrical clubs in funding social safety nets before the professionalization of public welfare. Today, Seattle's arts and non-profit sectors still often overlap, though modern tax-exempt fundraising is significantly more formalized.
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