THE HAM TREE
1906 - 1907 / 1915
The Ham Tree is a musical in three acts by Jean Schwartz with Lyrics by William Jerome, and book by George V. Hobart. It was originally produced by Klaw & Erlanger and staged by Herbert Gresham, musical staging by William Jerome, starring McIntyre & Heath and featuring W.C. Fields.
James McIntyre (1857-1937) and Thomas Kurton Heath (1853-1838) were white minstrel performers, vaudevillians, and actors. In 1874, they created a blackface tramp comedy duo act that became world famous. McIntyre played Alexander Hambletonian, a buffoonish stable boy, and Heath played Henry Jones, an entertainer who frequently outwits Alexander.
William Claude Duckenfield aka W.C. Fields (1880-1946) was a clown, juggler, and frequent Atlantic City performer, making his Broadway debut in The Ham Tree as Sherlock Baffles, a role written for him to incorporate his juggling skills. He went on to great success in films.
The play is based on a McIntyre & Heath skit also called The Ham Tree, which involved the two characters discussing how ham grows on trees 300 feet tall.
The musical takes place in North Carolina, Delaware, and New York City. In it, Hambeltonian and Jones are stranded in a small town and pass themselves off as a rajah and his minister to get free room and board.
In the months leading up to the Broadway production, McIntyre & Heath had begun incorporating a condensed version of the The Ham Tree into performances of other material as sort of a preview. They advertised their farewell to vaudeville. The musical began rehearsals on July 3, 1905 at the New Amsterdam Theatre in NYC.
"I think Buffalo will like it. I know they will like Mclntyre and Heath, and Klaw & Erlanger are to put on the production in a manner that will be found marvelously beautiful." ~ GEORGE V. HOBART
The Ham Tree premiered in Rochester NY, at the Lyceum - “the only first class theatre in the city!” From there, it was replanted in Buffalo NY on August 21, 1905.
The Ham Tree opened on Broadway at the New York Theatre (1514-16 Broadway at 44th Street) on August 28, 1905.
About the Venue: The New York Theatre opened as the Olympia Musical Hall, part of a three-theatre complex, in 1895. It was renamed the New York in 1899, and, except for a brief stint at the Moulin Rouge, remained so until 1915, when it became a movie theatre.
“Of course, there is no plot to 'The Ham Tree’. How could there be with that name? But no one misses it. The chorus has some new stunts such as gathering on the footlights and calling the bald heads to them with open arms. The ‘heads’ were perfectly willing to come, and even carry the suitcases which figure in one of the scenes.” ~ NEW YORK TRIBUNE
“’The Ham Tree’ is strong variety meat. It Is flavored with the burnt cork comedy that gained its performers popularity when Long Acre Square was little more than a wilderness and it is served with a vealy chorus dressing supposed to appeal to up-to-date appetites.” ~ NY EVENING WORLD
“The applause in its behalf was more noisy than convincing. McIntyre and Heath repeated three times their act, with slight and inconsequential variations. Each scene ended with a chorus, one of which is entitled to commendation. Among the members of the troupe is W.C. Fields of whose juggling too little was seen.” ~ CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The musical closed on Broadway on November 11, 1905 after 90 performances and went on the road.
On July 23, 1906, it arrived in Atlantic City NJ and played the Savoy Theatre on the Boardwalk. McIntyre, Heath, and Fields were still with the company. After this stint at the shore, the play returned to Broadway and the New York Theatre for the month of August 1906. The return engagement lasted 40 performances, shuttering on September 1st. But that was not the last of The Ham Tree.
The musical returned to touring, and arrived back at the Savoy in Atlantic City on August 5, 1907. Headliners McIntyre & Heath were still on the bill.
On May 24, 1915, Atlantic City saw a revival of the play with the original stars. Again it was back at the Savoy, only now it was named The Cort and managed by impresario John Cort. This was the opening performances of the newly-named Cort. The play clearly was indelibly associated with McIntyre and Heath, who once again headlined. W.C. Fields, however, was then on Broadway as part of The Ziegfeld Follies of 1915 aka The Blue Follies. Coincidentally, the Follies tried out in Atlantic City’s old stomping grounds, Atlantic City. Fields left AC with Z just two weeks before The Ham Tree arrived. While McIntyre & Heath were still corking up, Ziegfeld bravely featured a real man of color - the extraordinarily talented Bert Williams. But that’s another blog.