Frank Speaight: the celebrated English actor in his novel entertainments

              1918

As a Lecturer he is wonderful, as an Actor he is superb.—
Dundee (Scotland) Advertiser.


Frank Speaight
The Celebrated
ENGLISH ACTOR
in his
Novel
Entertainments


Figure


MANAGEMENT:
HELEN M. FOWLES
14 East 28th Street
New York, N. Y.

Telephone LExington 2-7800



Dickens Programs
These Dramatic and Humorous Recitals are interspersed with witty and entertaining comments.

AN EVENING (or afternoon) OF DICKENS HUMOR
Several.

AN EVENING (or afternoon) WITH DICKENS
Several.

PICKWICK PAPERS
Including the Great Trial Scene.

DAVID COPPERFIELD
This is the identical version that Dickens himself used when he visited America.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
The Greatest Christmas Story ever written.  A very suitable Entertainment for December or January.

CHRISTMAS AT DINGLEY DELL BOOTS AT THE HOLLYTREE INN, and other selections
Another December or January Entertainment.

A TALE OF TWO CITIES



Other Special Programs
Two Fine Lecture-Recitals, not Dickens

THE DRAMATIC INSTINCT IN ALL OF US
Dramatic illustrations will include Selections from Mark Twain, Browning, Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare and Dickens.  Mr. Speaight's talk is so witty that this Lecture-Recital is a sheer delight.

SHAKESPEARE—THE MAN, THE ACTOR AND THE POET
Dramatic Illustrations will include some of the most famous selections.  Hamlet's Soliloquy—The Seven Ages of Man—Polonius's Advice to his son Laertes—The Death of Mercutio—The Quarrel Scene between Brutus and Cassius, etc., etc.  The way Mr. Speaight makes the Elizabethan days live again is a revelation, and he proves beyond a quibble that Shakespeare, not Bacon, wrote the plays; and as an Actor he is superb.




Extracts from RECENT LETTERS OF COMMENDATION …
THE PHILADELPHIA FORUM, Philadelphia, Pa.—There is only one recital artist who can be compared with him, Ruth Draper; for Mr. Speaight is doing as extraordinary and perfect work with Dickens as Miss Draper does with her original monologues.  There can be no higher praise for anyone than comparison with Miss Draper, but Frank Speaight deserves it.

For the fourteen years of The Philadelphia Forum he has been doing recitals for us to delightful capacity audiences of three thousand, and there is to my way of thinking no more genuine and satisfying artist on the stage today than Frank Speaight.—William K. Huff.

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, WOMAN'S CLUB, Mrs. H. B. Baker, Dec. 8, 1935—Mr. Speaight's recital yesterday before the Woman's Club was a great success.  He is a fine artist and charming gentleman.

PLANTATIONS CLUB, Providence, R. I.—Truly Mr. Speaight is a genius.  He gave such a finished performance last evening of the Christmas Carol!  Every character lived and moved on the stage.  It is very evident he is not only a great lover of Dickens but a great scholar as well.  His reading was a wonderful Christmas present—Avis Bliven Charbonnel.

HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL, Cleveland Heights, Ohio—Mr. Speaight was a treat.  We have had nothing this year that aroused so much enthusiasm and commendation as his recital did.  About a month before he came we urged the pupils to read certain chapters of Pickwick Papers so that they might be conversant with the characters which he presented.  For this reason, their pleasure and enjoyment of his recital was all the greater.  It is generally regarded at the school as one of the very best things we have ever had.—Carl D. Burtt, Principal.

HACKENSACK, N. J., WOMAN'S CLUB, Mrs. Arie Contant, Dec. 16, 1935—This afternoon's performance of the Christmas Carol by Frank Speaight was perfect.  He held his audience spellbound for an hour and a half.  In addition to his ability to act he has a wonderful personality.

ROTARY CLUB, Chester, Pa.—Our club has listened for many years to artists of no mean standing.  Indeed, some talent that crowded playhouses received as artists without a peer; and in all to which we have listened there has not been a single one that has thrilled our members as your rendition.—Josiah Sleeper.

CHARLES W. HENRY PUBLIC SCHOOL, Philadelphia, Pa.—It is impossible to tell you the depth of the enjoyment of my group at the Academy of Music on Friday evening.  Your performance was superb.  I have never heard an approach to it, and everyone says the same.  You even out-did yourself, which I had thought impossible.—Caroline T. Moffet, Principal.

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, Newark, Delaware—I feel I must drop you a line of appreciation for the very splendid time you gave us last Tuesday.  I have heard the highest praise all over the Campus coming from both men and women students.—Arthur C. Wilkinson.

EMIL G. HIRSCH CENTER, Chicago, Ill.—He lived up to our expectations, and presented to our audience of about eighteen hundred people an exceedingly stimulating and interesting evening.—S. D. Schwartz, Executive Director.

CAPITAL UNIVERSITY, Columbus, Ohio—I believe this program cannot be equalled either in its entertaining or instructive values.  The time which Mr. Speaight spent on the platform was seemingly short, but in fact, it was a program longer than the usual.  As far as the audience in general is concerned, I can say that I have not heard any voice which was not raised in involuntary praise.  Mr. Speaight was a success in every way and I hope we may have him with us again some time in the future.—Robert C. Rensch, Chairman, Lecture Course Committee.

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, Orono, Me.—There has been no entertainment in this vicinity for a long time which gave such universal satisfaction.  Personally, I never heard a better impersonator.  We surely will want Mr. Speaight again in the near future.—J. S. Stevens.

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, Madison, Wis.—He is a delightful person and he gave us a splendid evening's entertainment.  The audience was enthusiastic in its approval.—E. Ray Skinner.



A Great Actor and He Chooses Dickens
THE London Telegraph, in one of its many fine criticisms of Frank Speaight's performances, acclaims him as an actor of great versatility and power.  And Mr. Speaight is a great actor, an actor of the highest type, an actor whom it is a pleasure to watch and to hear.  Mr. Speaight, however, unlike many actors, is possesed of that rare gift of being able, single-handed, to entertain an audience, to make it laugh, to hold it spellbound, to carry it to the depths of pathos and to then swing it back rollicking with mirth.  An amazing gift is this of his, and under his spell audiences have been moved as if there were a whole company of actors performing for them, a company of performers every one of whom is a star.  For Frank Speaight holds you.  Frank Speaight entertains you.


Figure


Photo F. de Gueldre, Chicago, 1935.

Frank Speaight at the beginning of his career decided to specialize in the works of Charles Dickens.  He himself is almost a Dickens character and he naturally fits those intensely human parts which Dickens created.  He decided that in no other author could he find such a universal appeal.  Where could one find greater sources of laughter than in Pickwick Papers, where could one find more intense drama than in A Tale of Two Cities?  To build his programs he had to himself dramatize the works of Dickens, yet so skillfully has he done this that no essential part of the plot is omitted and one need not know Dickens to follow the story.  So cleverly has he deleted any long descriptive passages that those who have never enjoyed Dickens before do so at a Frank Speaight performance.

No reciter is he.  From the moment Mr. Speaight steps on to the stage there is life and action.  His characters, whether they be old men, young girls or romantic heroes, or even a gaunt horse, as in Pickwick, are there before you, alive, real, actual beings.  Never is Mr. Speaight static.  So masterly are his creations, wrought without any make-up or costume, that they spring into being, live and fade away, until the illusion of a whole company of performers is created.  It is like witnessing a play, the absence of scenery being supplied by the wonderful word pictures with which the works of Dickens abound.

Few artists have ever enjoyed such a wide popularity as Frank Speaight.  On his many tours in America he has built up a unique following.  Year after year he goes to the same places which now regard his coming as an annual event of rare importance.  In his clientele are found organizations of every known type, from girls' schools to athletic clubs, from women's clubs to universities.  Mr. Speaight is always welcome, for he is first and foremost a great actor and a supreme entertainer.  There are few artists like him, and whether he be giving Dickens or the works of any other author, he would still be the same popular person that he is.  He is one of the world's most talented performers.

You Do Not Have to Know or Like Dickens to Enjoy Frank Speaight




A NOTABLE RECORD of ENGAGEMENTS

PUBLIC APPEARANCES

Hudson Theatre, New York City—6 times
Times Square Theatre, New York City—2
Town Hall, New York City—6 times
Aeolian Hall, New York City—2 times
Belasco Theatre, Washington, D. C.—8 times



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Philadelphia Forum, Philadelphia—25 times
Brooklyn Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y.—25
Goodwin Institute, Memphis, Tenn.—5 times
League for Political Education, N. Y.—3
St. Paul Institute, St. Paul, Minn.—3 times
Academy of Science and Art, Pittsburgh—4
People's Institute, Englewood, N. J.—4 times
Columbia University, New York—20 times
Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.—3 times
Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa
University of Delaware, Newark, Del.—2
University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.—24
University of Illinois, Champaign, Ill.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.—2
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Ia.—2 times
Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa
Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa
Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kans.—2
Wooster College, Wooster, Ohio
Mass. Agricultural College, Amherst
Albany Academy, Albany, N. Y.
Lawrenceville School—3 times
Winthrop College, Rock Hill, S. C.—2 times
State Teachers' College, Charleston, Ill.
State Teachers' College, Mankato, Minn.
State Normal School, Terre Haute, Ind.
Moses Brown School, Providence, R. I.—3
St. George's School, Newport, R. I.—6 times
Westtown School, Westtown, Pa.—2 times
Loomis Institute, Windsor, Conn.—8 times
Bennett School, Milbrook, N. Y.—3 times
Master's School, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y.
St. Mary's School, Peekskill, N. Y.
Pawling School, Pawling, N. Y.—2 times
Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Conn.—3 times
Miss Spence's School, New York City—3
Ely School, Greenwich, Conn.—7 times
Stamford Preparatory School—4 times
Frances Shimer School, Mt. Carroll, Ill.—2
State Normal College, Oxford, Ohio
Lake Forrest Academy, Lake Forrest, Ill.
Ogontz School, Ogontz, Pa.—2 times
Choate School, Wallingford, Conn.—7 times
St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H.—2 times
Salem Academy & College, Winston-Salem
Wilkes-Barre Institute, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
State Normal University, Normal, Ill.
Birmingham School, Birmingham, Pa.—2
Friends' School, Baltimore, Md.
State Normal School, Emporia, Kansas
State Normal College, Albany, N. Y.
Bradford Academy, Bradford, Mass.
Northfield Seminary, E. Northfield, Mass.—2
Beloit College, Beloit, Wis.—2 times
Normal College, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.—4
St. Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J.—3 times
Walker Course, Concord, N. H.
High School Course, Holyoke, Mass.



CLUBS

Contemporary Club, Indianapolis, Ind.
University Club, Pittsburgh, Pa.—2 times
Penn Athletic Club, Philadelphia—2 times
Buffalo Athletic Club, Buffalo, N. Y.—3
Buffalo Club, Buffalo, N. Y.—3 times
Contemporary Club, Philadelphia, Pa.
Woman's Athletic Club, Chicago, Ill.
Evanston Country Club, Evanston, Ill.
Cincinnati Country Club
Contemporary Club, St. Louis, Mo.
The Ramblers, Moorestown, N. J.—2 times
The Neighbors, Kenilworth, Ill.
Drama Club, Evanston, Ill.—2 times
Northwestern Teachers' Ass'n., Sioux City
Faculty Women's Club, Minneapolis, Minn.
Unitarian Laymen's League, Jamestown, N.Y.
Teacher's Association, Jersey City, N. J.
Monday Afternoon Club, Passaic, N. J.
Girls' Friendly Society, Providence, R. I.
North End Club, Chicago, Ill.—2 times
National Collegiate Players, Madison, Wis.
Knife and Fork Club, Kansas City, Mo.
Arche Club, Chicago, Ill.
Englewood Woman's Club, Chicago, Ill.—3
Athol Woman's Club, Athol. Mass.
Century Club. Springfield, Mass.
College Woman's Club. Columbus, Ohio
College Club, Cleveland, Ohio
New Century Club, Easton, Pa.
Sewickley Woman's Club, Sewickley, Pa.—2 times
Illinois State Teachers' Ass'n
St. Louis Woman's Club, St. Louis, Mo.—3 times
Twentieth Century Club, Buffalo, N. Y.
Century Club, Amsterdam, N. Y.—2 times
Rockford Woman's Club, Rockford, Ill.—8 times
Englewood Woman's Club, Englewood, N. J.—3 times
Middlesex Woman's Club, Lowell, Mass.—3 times
Woman's Club, Springfield, Ill.
Heptorean Club, Somerville, Mass.
Woman's Club, Richmond, Va.—3 times
Woman's Club, Norfolk, Va.
Atheneum Club, Kansas City, Mo.
University Club, Erie, Pa.—2 times
Chicago Woman's Club, Chicago, Ill.—3 times
Woman's Club, Salem, Mass.—2 times
Woman's League, Danbury, Conn.—2 times
Old South Club, Boston, Mass.
Ad-Sell Club, Omaha, Neb.
Drama League, Omaha, Neb.
Woman's Club, Dubuque, Iowa
Thursday Morning Club, Madison, N. J.—2 times
Catholic Woman's Club, Fall River, Mass.
Rhode Island Woman's Club, Providence, R. I.
Woman's Club, Attleboro, Mass.
University Club, Buffalo, N. Y.—2 times
Twentieth Century Club, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Woman's Club, Waterbury, Conn.—3 times
Woman's Club, York, Pa.
Monday Afternoon Club, Binghamton, N. Y.
New Century Club, Wilmington, Del.
Contemporary Club, Trenton, N. J.
College Club, Hartford, Conn.
Woman's Club, Maplewood, N. J.
College Club, Hartford, Conn.
Standard Club, Chicago, Ill.—2 times
Women's Educational Club, Toledo, Ohio
Woman's Club, Rock Island, Ill.
Woman's Club, Des Moines, Iowa
Women's City Club, Rochester, N. Y.
Dickens Fellowship in Montreal (7), Bethlehem, Pa. (11). Philadelphia, Boston, etc., etc.




WORLD PRESS NOTICES

NEW YORK TIMES
—The skill with which he conveyed to the audience the personalities of Jingle, Mr. Pickwick, Old Wardle and the Fat Boy showed that he had a keen appreciation of Dickens' work and great versatility as an actor.


NEW YORK SUN
—His Dickens Recitals proved to be a delightful entertainment which is certain to appeal to all lovers of the novelists's writings.


MUNSEY'S MAGAZINE
—In no happier way can the modern reader, who complains that he has no time for Dickens' long drawn-out books, familiarize himself with characters that have become parts of everyday speech.


BOSTON TRANSCRIPT
—It is safe to say that this entertainment would find commendation of the most enthusiastic sort from persons (if there are any) to whom the tale is unknown; while lovers of Dickens, to whom all his men are beings of flesh and blood, must accord earnest praise to the one who can successfully present them.


WASHINGTON HERALD
—An Afternoon with him is a delightful and happy experience in the renewal of acquaintance with those lovable characters of Dickens and should not be missed.


PITTSBURGH POST
—One hour with Mr. Speaight brings a knowledge of Dickens' men and women which would require many hours of reading.


WASHINGTON STAR
—With no stage accessories or make-up, Mr. Speaight calls up one after another of the inimitable characters and makes them actually live before his audience … by his remarkable histrionic powers, gift of mimicry and wonderful play of facial expression he is able to become the embodiment of the diversified characters he introduces.


BUFFALO COURIER
—With practically no stage accessories, Mr. Speaight called up one after another of the inimitable characters and made them living people.


CHICAGO DAILY NEWS
— Mr. Speaight is an Englishman who believes Dickens is immortal, and has a delightful way of convincing everybody of the same thing.


NEW YORK POST
—Mr. Speaight displays much ingenuity in his impersonations, and is daunted by none of them.

from FOREIGN NOTICES


LONDON TELEGRAPH
—By his careful and judicious choice of matter he contrived to preserve the sequence of Dickens' famous tale, and so to maintain the interest throughout.  His sense of characterization is amazingly keen, and the manner in which he differentiates the various personages so vivid, that the listener has not the slightest difficulty in following him from one to the other.  Mr. Speaight, in short, is not merely a reciter, but an actor of great versatility and undoubted power.  An afternoon with him is an experience that no lover of Dickens should neglect.


THE LONDON TIMES
—Mr. Speaight is modest enough to attribute a large measure of his success to his choice of a subject, but there can be no doubt that the popularity of these interesting recitals is due to his own great talent, and his singular gift of facial expression, as well as his power of passing from comedy to tragedy and back again within the space of a few minutes, if not seconds.


LONDON POST
—Mr. Speaight is an admirable elocutionist, a master of facial expression, and the cleverest mimic imaginable.  He acts rather than recites, and gets the most striking effects by the simplest means, though with endless resources and agility.


MANCHESTER GUARDIAN
—He made us see how right Dickens was to act his words, for by doing so he made them live with still more abounding life.  Mr. Speaight got his effects quietly, but with the actor's sure touch.


SIDNEY (AUSTRALIA) BULLETIN
—He packs himself into Pickwick or Tupman with the skill of Irving's paradoxes, such as Napoleon or Robespierre.  No make-up, but the cleverness of Mansfield changing himself from Jekyll to Hyde before your very eyes.


KINGSTON (ONTARIO) WHIG
—All the press comment which has appeared fails to convey a tithe of the credit due to Mr. Speaight's absolutely unique interpretations.