The Zig-Zag Company Protest
When a traveling troupe attempted to cancel their show, the local audience took matters into their own hands.
The audience to greet the Zig-Zag company was such a slim one that the manager decided not to give a performance, but those present, who remembered the show bills portraying a host of shapely women clothed in warm weather apparel, overruled this decision and after being dismissed formed a local management, made up a satisfactory purse and saw the show out. The female portion of the troupe consisted of two angular women, and they had so much clothing on that it made a person perspire to look at them.
“The female portion of the troupe consisted of two angular women, and they had so much clothing on that it made a person perspire to look at them.”
This story highlights the absurdity of early 19th-century marketing versus reality—a form of 'bait-and-switch' that persists in the digital age. The audience's response—crowdfunding the performance—shows how small-town social contracts functioned to enforce entertainment expectations.
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