Career
Earle next joined the Pike Opera Company on a tour of the American West that eventually brought her to San Francisco where she was engaged by Frederick Hallen and Joseph Hart's vaudeville company. After completing two seasons with Hallen and Hart she became associated with producer Edward E. Rice and in 1891 traveled to Australia with a troupe of actors that included George Fortescue, his wife and daughter (both named Viola) and actresses Lillian Karl, and Agnes Pearl.
Earle appeared in the comic opera portion of The Merry World, a revue written by Edgar Smith and Nicholas Biddle. It was staged at the Casino Theatre in June 1895. She was joined in the burlesque section by Willard Simms, Wallace Black, and Lee Harrison. As the character, Vaseline, Earle sings along with Marie Laurens.
Leonardo by Gilbert Burgess is a book about a Florentine sculptor who designs a statue of the Duke of Milan. During his work he falls in love with the Duke's daughter. The operetta of the same name was produced by the Garrick Theatre in October 1895. Earle plays the role of Cecilia. A critic commented that the production's costumes were tasteful and the operetta was well rehearsed. However the performance itself was merely tolerable.
The Lady Slavey, at the Casino Theatre, featured Daniel Daly, Marie Dressler, and Earle in a humorous scene in the first act. After being out of the cast for many nights, Earle returned to play the title role on April 13, 1896. She was forced to leave the cast of In Gay New-York because of throat problems on June 14. She had been singing the leading role and was replaced by Catherine Linyard. When she returned Earle sang a new song in the part, Only a Lump of Sugar for the Bird.
She was identified with the productions of Augustin Daly for many years. Two of these plays were The Circus Girl and The Runaway Girl. Both Earle and James T. Powers signed contracts with George W. Lederer in July 1899.
A review from 1900 described Earle as being without a rival in the present stage of her artistic development. Specifically, he made mention of her acting in The Belle of New York. In The Casino Girl she returned to the theater after a long absence and depicted a young man named Percy. The setting of the play was Egypt and it was performed at the Casino Theatre. One of the highlights was a duet between Earle and Mabelle Gilman. The New Yorkers with Earle and Daly was put on by the Herald Square Theatre in November 1901.
In April 1903 Earle was signed to be in a musical comedy at the Gaiety Theatre in London, England by George Edwardes. It was her second London engagement and was planned for the following season. The play was the A. Baldwin Sloane opera, Sergeant Kitty. Her services were obtained by Samuel S. Shubert of the Shubert Theatre (Broadway) in May 1903. She appeared in Sergeant Kitty at Daly's Theatre on Sixty-Third Street, New York City, in January 1904. Earle was summoned to rehearsal at the New Amsterdam Theatre as a member of the Klaw & Erlanger Comedy Company in October 1904. The troupe included Fay Templeton. The production, a musical burlesque about fashionable society entitled In Newport, was staged at the Liberty Theatre, 234 West 42nd Street, New York City.
Earle was in vaudeville for several seasons prior to becoming ill. She was unable to perform on Broadway for several seasons prior to landing a leading role in The Wedding Trip, in November 1911. Music in the play was composed by Reginald De Koven.
She replaced Lina Abarbanell as Molly Seamore, the heroine, in an April 1913 presentation of The Geisha.
Earle appeared with the Madeline and Marion Fairbanks in a production of Two Little Girls in Blue by A.L. Erlanger in 1921. The Tomsen twins and Edward Begley were also in the cast.
Read more about this topic: Virginia Earle
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