"Permeated by the passionate, vengeful Neapolitan spirit, despite a pleasing lack of half-intelligible broken English."
- The New York Times
New York, 1902. "Scene from Little Italy showing Minnie Maddern Fiske on bed, Frederic De Belleville kneeling, Claus Bogel seated with head bowed, and group of people in doorway." Little Italy, a "one-act tragedy of the East Side" by Horace Fry first performed in 1898, was revived on Broadway in 1902 for a 24-performance run at the Manhattan Theatre. Joseph Byron photo. View full size via SHORPY
Not an Italian name in the cast, I bet not even among the extras. On a side note, in addition to the stage, Minnie Madden Fiske also appeared in two silent films, "Tess of the D'Urburvilles" (1913) and "Vanity Fair" (1915). The acting style of a bygone era is referenced in "All About Eve" when Eve Harrington flings open the door and demands that Addison DeWitt get out, to which he blithely replies, "You're too short for that gesture. Besides, it went out with Mrs. Fiske."
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