Eliza Newton
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Eliza Newton | |
|---|---|
 Eliza Newton in costume, from a carte de visite published in the United States during her lifetime. | |
| Born | c. 1837 Dumfries |
| Died | 7 February, 1882 (aged 44–45) New York City, U.S. |
| Other names | Mrs. W. H. Blackmore |
| Occupation | Actress |
Eliza Newton (c. 1837 – 7 February 1882) was a Scottish stage actress.
Career
On the British stage
Newton traveled and performed popular musical and variety shows with her first husband, actor Frederick George Lloyd, brother of Scottish music hall entertainer Arthur Lloyd.[1][3] A reviewer in 1863, when she was in a show at the New Royalty Theatre in London, commented that Eliza Newton was "not without a natural dash and force of manner, but needs to cultivate the art of self-control."[4]
In the United States
Soon after her first husband's death, Newton moved to the United States under the management of J. H. Selwyn.[1] She made her New York debut at the Olympic Theater on 31 October 1864, as Helen in Marguerite's Colors.[2] Her other New York stage appearances included musical productions of Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (1865),[5] Cinderella (1866–1867), Po-Ca-Hon-Tas (1869), Much Ado About a Merchant of Venice (1869), The Streets of New York (1869),[6] and Poor Humanity (1869).
Newton worked with English theatrical producer Mrs. John Wood at the Olympic Theater,[7][8] and was with the company of John Brougham when the Fifth Avenue Theatre opened in 1869.[9] She left the Fifth Avenue Theatre and said goodbye to America at New York's French Theater, at a benefit in May 1869.[10] However, decline in her health kept Newton from leaving America; instead, she toured in the United States, especially in the west.[1] In 1873, for example, she performed in a burlesque titled Nymph of the Lurleyberg in Salt Lake City;[11] and in winter 1879–1880, she appeared at the Sawtelle Theatre in Helena, Montana,[12] in several shows, including The Hidden Hand (based on the Southworth novel),[13] By Stealth, The Danicheffs, Kathleen Mavourneen, Leah, the Forsaken, The Swiss Cottage, The Returned Soldier, and Sketches in India.[14][15][16] "It is only justice to say that the lady fully justified the greatest expectations," according to a Helena newspaper account.[17]
