Theater Brawl Ends in Knife Attack
A rivalry between two performers at the Standard Theater erupts into violence over a stolen box seat.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
During a rough-and-tumble fight at the Standard Theater yesterday morning about 4 o'clock between the ‘Original Ta-ra-ra-Boom-De-Ay,’ Lillie Masterson and Kitty Goodwin, a song and dance artist, the latter was cut in the left arm by a penknife in the hands of the imitator of Lottie Collins. This fight lasted only a short time, but the way Miss Goodwin pulled Miss Masterson's short frizzy hair was decidedly interesting, both to the spectators and the victim. Miss Masterson says it was jealousy because she received encores, anywhere from two to six, while Miss Goodwin was passed unnoticed. On the other hand Miss Goodwin believes that Miss Masterson, who has always carried her head high, has spoken in a slighting manner of her and her relations. Miss Masterson had a party in a box that her rival would have liked to have been with herself. Down came Miss Masterson and at her went Miss Goodwin. ‘What have you been saying about me?’ yelled the latter, as she gave the high-kicker's hair a pull. John Considine appeared himself and went between the women with as much determination as he showed when he went through the Mercury office. He got the females at arm's length, but the Goodwin woman made a grab for the high kicker's hair and came in contact with a penknife that Miss Masterson had in her hand. No one knew that there had been any cutting until it was all over. A doctor was called, but Miss Goodwin told Justice Caldwell that she did not want to prosecute the high-kicker and the case was dropped.
“The way Miss Goodwin pulled Miss Masterson's short frizzy hair was decidedly interesting, both to the spectators and the victim.”
Considine’s Standard Theater was a notorious center of Seattle nightlife, and this story highlights the volatility of the variety theater scene that flourished in the city before stricter moral codes took hold. It’s a vivid look at the personal rivalries that defined the Pioneer Square entertainment district, a world of 'high-kicking' stars and legendary local impresarios.
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