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My first question after reading this marker was why it was called the “Sixth Mobile Theatre.” That one was easy: theatres in early Mobile were prevalent. This particular one was called the Mobile Theatre, but it was the sixth one opened. It was also referred to as the Royal Street Theatre.
Well, with that issue solved, let’s look at some of the names listed on the marker. You probably recognize Senator Henry Clay and President Millard Fillmore, but who was Madame LeVert? Octavia Walton LeVert was born in Georgia, a granddaughter of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. She moved with her family to Territorial Florida when her father served as Governor there. They moved to Mobile in 1835, and she met and married a French physician, Henry LeVert. Both wealthy and connected, she traveled Europe and moved in the upper levels of social circles. So it is of little wonder that she had guests as important as Clay and Fillmore. Mobilians will also recognize the name Joseph Jefferson, namesake of the Joe Jefferson Players and Playhouse. The acting group has been active in Mobile since 1947, performing full seasons of plays. Joseph Jefferson, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, came to Mobile with his family in 1842, when he was 13. Unfortunately, this was during a virulent yellow fever epidemic. They had come ahead of the full acting company because his father was not only a performer but also a scenery artist, and he was needed to prepare scenery at the Sixth Mobile Theatre. Within a few weeks, Jefferson’s father and another household member died in Mobile from yellow fever. Also mentioned are Junius Booth and one of his sons, Edwin Booth. Without the intervention of fate, they may or may not have been remembered as great actors. However, they are more usually recognized as the father and brother of John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. (You’ll remember that Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre. An actor, he didn’t seem out of place.) One more little story. The names Charles Kean and Ellen Tree are rightfully listed together. Both actors, they married in 1841 and appeared in plays only together after that. After Charles died in 1868, Ellen retired from the stage, not acting again without the partnership of her husband.
Isn’t it interesting how all of these stories cross? The paths of people from different places and different walks of life all crisscrossed at one central point: a stage where stories were told held a catalog of true-life narratives.
William Shakespeare said that “life is but a stage.” Our stories are important to us and to those around us. But they may also be important to people we will never see, never know. Let us all remember to reach out to our fellow actors and audience members. Our paths are crossing for a purpose.
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