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Joseph Stevens Jones
Joseph Stevens Jones (September 28, 1809 – December 29, 1877) was an American actor, playwright, theater manager, and surgeon. He wrote at least 150 plays that were mostly produced at theaters in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 28, 1809. He was the son of Mary Ann (née Stevens) and Abraham A. Jones, a sea captain who worked for the Russian American Company in Alaska. His father died in 1819 in Unalaska, leaving Jones and his four siblings to be raised by his mother in Boston.
He attended public elementary schools in Boston. He left school to work in a cordage store. Next, he worked in the counting room of a bank. When his boss at the bank learned of his interest in writing plays, he contacted a theater manager and helped Jones secure a job at the theater.
While working in theaters, he also attended medical school. In 1843 he graduated from Harvard Medical School.
Jones debuted as an actor at the age of eighteen in the role of Crack a production of the comedy The Turnpike Gate in Providence Rhode Island. He was then engaged by the Tremont Theatre in Boston, performing in mostly dramas. One of his early big roles were as Lucullus in Damon and Pythias. However, he was better at comedy and soon was cast in roels in Perfection, The Young Widow, and Lionel Lincoln.Lionel Lincoln.
He was later hired as a comedic actor by the Warren Theatre and eventually became its stage manager. His first successful play was The Liberty Tree or, Boston Boys in '76 which was produced at the Warren Theatre in Boston in 1832. It celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Revolutionary War. Jones played the Yankee character Bill Ball. Jones also worked for the National Theatre in Boston where he worked as a stage manager, financial advisor, and playwright.
In 1839, he leased the Tremont Theatre for four years for $8,000 a year ($241,875 in today's money). He opened the theater on September 2, 1839, with a production of The Poor Gentlemen. However, the 1839 to 1840 theater season was bad for theaters across the country, and the Tremont was not profitable. Jones ran the theater from 1840 to 1841 with stars Tyrone Power, Fanny Elssler, and Dan Power. However, he closed when the season ended for financial reasons. Except for rare performances in New York and Philadelphia, he retired from acting when he closed the Tremont; his last performance in Boston was as Mock Duke in The Honeymoon at the Tremont.
Jones was a prolific author, writing about 150 plays. His heyday as a playwright was between 1835 and 1875. He is mostly known for his historical dramas but also wrote comedies, farces, melodramas, and adaptations of novels. His best-known play is Solon Shingle; or, The People's Lawyer, the story of the trial of Charles Otis, a poor clerk framed by a coworker for stealing. The play was first produced at the National Theatre in Boston in 1839. The play's popularity rests on the character of Solon Shingle, played by John E. Owens. Owens was a great success in the role, making his final performance as Shingle in New York in 1884.
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Joseph Stevens Jones
Joseph Stevens Jones (September 28, 1809 – December 29, 1877) was an American actor, playwright, theater manager, and surgeon. He wrote at least 150 plays that were mostly produced at theaters in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jones was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 28, 1809. He was the son of Mary Ann (née Stevens) and Abraham A. Jones, a sea captain who worked for the Russian American Company in Alaska. His father died in 1819 in Unalaska, leaving Jones and his four siblings to be raised by his mother in Boston.
He attended public elementary schools in Boston. He left school to work in a cordage store. Next, he worked in the counting room of a bank. When his boss at the bank learned of his interest in writing plays, he contacted a theater manager and helped Jones secure a job at the theater.
While working in theaters, he also attended medical school. In 1843 he graduated from Harvard Medical School.
Jones debuted as an actor at the age of eighteen in the role of Crack a production of the comedy The Turnpike Gate in Providence Rhode Island. He was then engaged by the Tremont Theatre in Boston, performing in mostly dramas. One of his early big roles were as Lucullus in Damon and Pythias. However, he was better at comedy and soon was cast in roels in Perfection, The Young Widow, and Lionel Lincoln.Lionel Lincoln.
He was later hired as a comedic actor by the Warren Theatre and eventually became its stage manager. His first successful play was The Liberty Tree or, Boston Boys in '76 which was produced at the Warren Theatre in Boston in 1832. It celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Revolutionary War. Jones played the Yankee character Bill Ball. Jones also worked for the National Theatre in Boston where he worked as a stage manager, financial advisor, and playwright.
In 1839, he leased the Tremont Theatre for four years for $8,000 a year ($241,875 in today's money). He opened the theater on September 2, 1839, with a production of The Poor Gentlemen. However, the 1839 to 1840 theater season was bad for theaters across the country, and the Tremont was not profitable. Jones ran the theater from 1840 to 1841 with stars Tyrone Power, Fanny Elssler, and Dan Power. However, he closed when the season ended for financial reasons. Except for rare performances in New York and Philadelphia, he retired from acting when he closed the Tremont; his last performance in Boston was as Mock Duke in The Honeymoon at the Tremont.
Jones was a prolific author, writing about 150 plays. His heyday as a playwright was between 1835 and 1875. He is mostly known for his historical dramas but also wrote comedies, farces, melodramas, and adaptations of novels. His best-known play is Solon Shingle; or, The People's Lawyer, the story of the trial of Charles Otis, a poor clerk framed by a coworker for stealing. The play was first produced at the National Theatre in Boston in 1839. The play's popularity rests on the character of Solon Shingle, played by John E. Owens. Owens was a great success in the role, making his final performance as Shingle in New York in 1884.