ALTON - On November 15, 1924, the MacDowell Club hosted Tony Sarg’s Marionettes at the Spalding Auditorium. There were two performances: “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” in the afternoon and Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” in the evening. The house was packed for both shows.
Several Altonians prominent in the art and music scene were quoted in the Alton Evening Telegraph on November 12, 1924, encouraging adults and children alike to attend the performances. Here is a sampling:
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Mrs. Alice Irving: (writing home from New York) – “I have been to see Tony Sarg’s Marionettes and they are wonderful. If they ever come within reach you must not lose an opportunity to see them.”
Mrs. George Ryrie (Sophia Hopkins Ryrie): – “Several thousand people flocked to see Tony Sarg’s Marionettes at Chautauqua, N.Y. this summer and both grown-ups and children enjoyed them thoroughly."
Miss (Katherine V.) Dickinson: – “To become a child again, in witnessing the marvel of these almost alive dolls and to have the grown-up appreciation of the art and the comicality of these little ‘wooden-headed actors,’ to see the real joy of the real children in these Marionettes is a thrill.”
The performances were the annual entertainment of the MacDowell Club, whose slogan, according to the Alton Evening Telegraph, was “We’ve looked at pictures ‘till our eyes are sore. We want to know what our ears are for.” The Studio School of Music in Alton, directed by Katherine V. Dickinson, created the MacDowell Club, named after famed American composer Edward MacDowell, in 1920 (a previous iteration was called the Mozart Club). As many as 400 MacDowell Clubs existed in the United States and were part of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Edward MacDowell’s widow, Marian, was a gifted pianist and champion of the arts who even gave a concert in Alton in November 1923.
The 1924 visit was the first time the Tony Sarg Marionettes performed in Alton, though they came back for shows in February 1927 – “Arabian Nights” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” at Spalding Auditorium) and again in April 1938 – “Robinson Crusoe,” performed at Monticello College’s Reed Memorial Chapel.
Tony Sarg was a prolific artist. In addition to creating his marionettes, he drew magazine cover illustrations, illustrated books, designed fabrics and wrapping paper, and worked in animation. In 1927, Sarg designed the first balloons for the Macy’s Christmas (later Thanksgiving Day) Parade and orchestrated an elaborate (and quite enjoyable) sea monster hoax with one of the balloons on Nantucket in 1937. You can watch a video of the “monster” here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AsgYqLZS3E
Sources
Campopiano, Jim. 2017. “The Nantucket Sea Monster.” American Experience, WGBH Educational Foundation, 2024.https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/nantucket-sea-monster/
“Lony [sic] Sarg’s Marionettes Here Saturday.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 14, 1924.
“Making Us Laugh.” The Rockwell Center for American Visual Studies, 2023. Posted July 10th, 2014.https://rockwellcenter.org/essays-illustration/making-us-laugh/
“Marionette Show at Monticello Saturday Night.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), April 7, 1938.
“Marionettes at Spalding Auditorium.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 15, 1924.
“Marionettes Greeted by Two Packed Houses.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 17, 1924.
“Tomorrow at Spalding Auditorium – The Tony Sarg Marionettes.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 17, 1927.
“Tong [sic] Sarg’s Marionettes in Alton Nov. 15.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 21, 1924.
“Tony Sarg: Genius at Play.” Nantucket Historical Association, 2024.https://nha.org/whats-on/exhibitions/featured-exhibitions/tony-sarg-genius-at-play/
Tony Sarg's Sea Monster on Nantucket, 1937 - NHA Research Library Film Collectionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AsgYqLZS3E
“Tony Sarg Touches a Critic.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 3, 1924.
“What Altonians Say of the Marionettes.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 12, 1924.
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