The Traveling Show at Yesler’s Hall
A rare Seattle appearance of the Lilliputian Comic Opera Company promises a spectacle of stature—from 28-inch performers to a 600-pound giant.
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.
Yesler’s Hall, Two Nights Only: Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 13th & 14th. The management has leave to announce a brief engagement of Deakin’s Lilliputian Comic Opera Company, composing the largest and smallest people in the world, who will appear in the brilliant opera, Jack the Giant Killer. Look at the cast: Jack, the Giant Killer—33 inches high, weight 33 lbs, age 32. Commodore Nutt; The Giant—7 feet 4 inches high, weight 600 lbs. Major Goshen; Arthur, English Ambassador—33 inches high, weight 22 lbs, age 22. Jennie Quigley; Ulric, father of Jennie—36 inches high, weight 51 lbs, age 26. Major Nutt; Jennie, Jack’s sweetheart—28 inches high, weight 33 lbs, age 14. Miss Jennie Quigley; Gertrude, Arthur’s fiancée—45 inches high, weight 34 lbs, age 33. Miss S. Bolton; Dora, Jennie’s mother—31 inches high, weight 33 lbs, age 26. Major Houghton. New and Elegant Costumes from the wardrobe of the Grand Opera House, Cincinnati. The entire company in songs, dances, and their own specialties in each entertainment. General Admission $1.00. Reserved seats can now be secured at Jack Levy’s Cigar Stand, without extra charge.
“The management has leave to announce a brief engagement of Deakin’s Lilliputian Comic Opera Company, composing the largest and smallest people in the world.”
In the 1870s, Seattle was a small frontier town that relied on traveling troupes and curiosity acts for entertainment at local venues like Henry Yesler's Hall. Today, Yesler Way remains one of the city's primary arteries, though the culture of the 'freak show' circuit has evolved into the modern, often more sophisticated, world of touring performance art and global touring productions that frequent the downtown corridor.
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