Natalie Alt
Natalie Alt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Natalie Altman[1] September 30, 1890[1] New York, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Died | August 10, 1959 (aged 68)[1][2] Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[2] |
| Other name | Initially credited as Natalie Alte[3][4] |
| Years active | 1909-17 |
| Known for | Broadway actress and singer |
| Notable work | The Grass Widow (1917), Come to Bohemia (1916), The Girl Who Smiles |
Natalie Alt (born Natalie Altman, September 30, 1890 – August 10, 1959) was an American soprano[5] and actress. She had an active career performing in light operas and musicals from 1909 through 1918. She starred in several productions on Broadway during the 1910s, and also toured in American regional theatre and in vaudeville. After marrying Maurice S Rosenthal in 1918, she moved to Chicago where she raised a family and worked as a radio singer.
Early life and stage career
[edit]
The daughter of Abraham J. Altman and Theresa C. Altman (née Hays), Natalie Altman was born in Manhattan on September 30, 1890.[6] She was educated in schools in New York City, and became an actress against the wishes of her parents.[7] Under the stage name Natalie Alte, she performed the role of Weather Vane and the Valentine Fairy in the touring production of Victor Herbert's Little Nemo in 1909-1910;[8][9] a show which was produced by Klaw & Erlanger.[4][3][10]
She was first billed as Natalie Alt in December 1910 when she starred in the premiere of Herbert's When Sweet Sixteen (then called Sweet Sixteen) at the Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[11][12] Portraying the part of Mabel Bradford,[13] she toured in this show to the Lyceum Theatre in Elmira, New York in late 1910,[14] and to other American regional theaters in 1911. [13] By February 1911 she had left that show to join the cast of Richard Carle's and Karl Hoschna's new musical Jumping Jupiter which opened at the Belasco Theatre in Washington D.C.[15] Portraying the part of Elsie Buchanan, she made her Broadway debut in this production when the show moved to the New York Theatre where it opened on March 6, 1911.[16]
Alt was a leading ingénue in several Broadway musical productions in the 1910s.[17][18] Roles she performed in original musicals on Broadway included Ivy Tracy in The Fascinating Widow (1911),[19] the title role in Adolf Philipp's Adele (1913-1914),[20] Marie in The Girl Who Smiles (1915),[21] Madeleine D'Orsay in Come to Bohemia (1916)[22] and Denise in The Grass Widow (1917-1918).[23] She also starred in the London Follies at Weber's Music Hall in 1911.[24] This show was divided into multiple musical parts with Alt appearing as Valerie in The Lamb of Delft and Lieutenant Varna in The Balky Princess segments of this show.[25]
In 1911 Alt portrayed the title role in the Broadway revival of the The Quaker Girl at the Park Theatre,[17] and toured in this production in 1912.[26][27][28] The show was produced by the Shubert family. In the chorus of this show was the actress and later gossip columnist Hedda Hopper whom she befriended. The two women maintained a long friendship after the end of this show with Hedda stating they still kept in tough in a 1952 publication.[29] Other Broadway revivals she starred in included three Gilbert and Sullivan operettas co-starring De Wolf Hopper at the 48th Street Theatre in 1915: The Yeomen of the Guard (as Elsie Maynard),[30] The Mikado (as Yum-Yum),[31] and The Sorcerer (as Aline).[32]
Alt also toured in vaudeville during the 1910s; including performing at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco in 1917.[33]
Later life in Chicago
[edit]On January 16, 1918 Natalie married Maurice S Rosenthal.[34] After her marriage she moved to Chicago where her son Richard was born. She ceased working on the stage but continued her career as a radio singer.[18]
She died in Chicago on August 10, 1959, and is interred in Rosehill Cemetery.[2]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Illinois, Cook County Deaths. FamilySearch. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- 1 2 3 "Obituaries: Rosenthal, Natalie [Alt]". Chicago Tribune. August 12, 1959. p. 22. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- 1 2 Staff (September 15, 1909). "Cawthorn Scores in the 'Little Nemo'". Asbury Park Press. Page 6. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- 1 2 "The Biggest Show Ever Brought to Buffalo". The Buffalo Commercial. September 18, 1909. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ↑ Staff (June 21, 1931). "Natalie Alt to Be Featured in New Music Show". Chicago Sunday Tribune. Page 16.
- ↑ Natalie Altman in the New York, New York, U.S., Index to Birth Certificates, 1866-1909, certificate Number 30210
- ↑ "Natalie Alt". The Cosmopolitan. 1915. Retrieved 2010-11-09.
Natalie Alt ran away five years ago and joined comedy company. The day mother ran after Natalie, took sent her back to ...
- ↑ "Little Nemo Made Somnambulistic Hit". The Buffalo Times. September 28, 1909. p. 7.
- ↑ "Little Nemo's Dreams Please E.D. Audience". The Brooklyn Citizen. March 15, 1910. p. 7.
- ↑ Kingsley, Grace (November 12, 1921). "No Chance for Johnnies: Natalie Alt's Mommer Sticks Close Around; And 'Quaker Girl' Takes Nap Each Afternoon; She's Wise Though and She Knows It". The Los Angeles Times. Page 34. Retrieved April 4, 2021. "My first success was at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York, as 'Little Nemo.'"
- ↑ "Musical Treat is Assured at Apollo". Atlantic City Gazette-Review. December 12, 1910. p. 6.
- ↑ "Wealth of Melodies Adorn Songplay, Sweet Sixteen". Press of Atlantic City. December 13, 1910. p. 12.
- 1 2 "Amusements". Democrat and Chronicle. January 6, 1911. p. 17.
- ↑ "Ovation for Scott Welsh". Elmira Star-Gazette. December 27, 1910. p. 2.
- ↑ "Belasco". Washington Evening Star. February 26, 1911. p. 20.
- ↑ Dietz 2021, p. 69.
- 1 2 Benjamin & Rosenblatt 2006, p. 16.
- 1 2 Brenner, I. C. (September 23, 1936). "Memory Lane". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
- ↑ Dietz 2021, p. 97.
- ↑ Dietz 2021, p. 224.
- ↑ Dietz 2021, p. 319.
- ↑ "Come to Bohemia Delights Audience". New York Herald. April 28, 1916. p. 8.
- ↑ Dietz 2021, p. 406.
- ↑ "London Follies' Nearly Starts Riot. Audience At Weber's Ridicules A Burlesque On "the Balkan Princess" by Incompetent Actors". New York Times. April 22, 1911. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
Natalie Alt, Her Singing, as Dresden China Figure, Stills Guffaws of Laughter. Company in Pierrot Costumes. A riot of ridicule almost came about at Weber's ...
- ↑ "Manhattan Stage Notes". The Brooklyn Citizen. April 7, 1911. p. 7.
- ↑ Display Ad (September 24, 1912). "An Expert Opinion: Miss Natalie Alt, the Charming Prima Donna of 'The Quaker Girl,' Expresses Her Opinion of Hardman Pianos". The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Page 7.
- ↑ Display Ad (October 8, 1912). "It Reaches the Soul of 'The Quaker Girl'". The Atlanta Constitution. Page 7.
- ↑ Kingsley, Grace (November 12, 1912). "No Chance for Johnnies: Natalie Alt's Mommer Sticks Close Around; And 'Quaker Girl' Takes Nap Each Afternoon; She's Wise Though and She Knows It". The Los Angeles Times. Page 34.
- ↑ Hopper, Hedda (August 29, 1952). "From Under My Hat: Hedda Hopper as a Chorus Girl—Then a Rising Actress". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ "Gilbert and Sullivan Yeomen is Revived". New York Herald. April 20, 1915. p. 7.
- ↑ "Mikado Revived by De Wolf Hopper". Brooklyn Eagle. May 11, 1915. p. 26.
- ↑ "Two Operas at 48th Street". New-York Tribune. May 25, 1915. p. 7.
- ↑ Staff photographer (March 12, 1917). "Pretty Natalie Alt". San Francisco Examiner. Page 10.
- ↑ Nathalie Altman in the New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937
Bibliography
[edit]- Benjamin, Ruth; Rosenblatt, Arthur (2006). "Natalie Alt". Who sang what on Broadway, 1866-1996: Volume I, The Singers A-L. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786415069.
- Dietz, Dan (2021). The Complete Book of 1910s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9781538150283.
External links
[edit]
- Natalie Alt at the Internet Broadway Database
- Natalie Alt from the Library of Congress at Flickr Commons
- Natalie Alt (New York City Public Library, Billy Rose collection)
