At the Princess a Theater, on the evening of the 21st of October, 1921, Arthur Collins, a famous, much-recorded baritone, who was known as “The King of the Ragtime Singers”, was seriously injured when, during a dark scene change he plunged through a trap in the stage which had been left open by a careless stage hand. He recovered enough to sing again for recording, but never regained the stamina needed for live performance, and three years later retired to Florida, where he died in 1933 at the age of 69.
This suggests that the stage equipment at the Princess was more elaborate than it seems from the 1916 post card. The post card layout shows that the theater had a typical Nickelodeon layout, with no fly space, and little room for wings. Perhaps the trap was set up for entrances and exits.
This theater stood where the current Saulk theater stands. Notice the carriage house accross the alley behind the theater. It still stands.
It appears that the new theater was built using some of the existing walls. The current stage house retains many elements of the old theater.
At the Princess a Theater, on the evening of the 21st of October, 1921, Arthur Collins, a famous, much-recorded baritone, who was known as “The King of the Ragtime Singers”, was seriously injured when, during a dark scene change he plunged through a trap in the stage which had been left open by a careless stage hand. He recovered enough to sing again for recording, but never regained the stamina needed for live performance, and three years later retired to Florida, where he died in 1933 at the age of 69.
This suggests that the stage equipment at the Princess was more elaborate than it seems from the 1916 post card. The post card layout shows that the theater had a typical Nickelodeon layout, with no fly space, and little room for wings. Perhaps the trap was set up for entrances and exits.