Alice Hamilton

Alice Hamilton (fl. 1870s-1890s), mezzo-soprano and actress, probably as she appeared as Pricess Guinevere in E.L. Blanchard’s pantomime, Tom Thumb the Great; or, Harlequin King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, at Drury Lane Theatre, Christmas, 1871. Other members of the cast were the Vokes Family and Miss Amalia.
(carte de visite photo: The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co Ltd, London, circa 1871/72; hand tinted)

Alice Hamilton appeared again at Drury Lane the following Christmas in the pantomime The Children of the Wood; or, Harlequin, Queen Mab, and the World of Dreams. She is next mentioned in connection with an English version of Lecocq’s comic opera Giroflé-Girofla, produced at the Criterion Theatre, London, on 1 May 1875. According to The Morning Post (Monday, 3 May 1875, p. ), ‘Miss Hamilton made a tame, but still interesting, Paquita’; the cast also included Pauline Rita, Emily Thorne and Rose Keene.

In July 1875 Alice Hamilton joined Kate Santley’s Company for a provincial tour, after which she appeared in many comic operas and plays, including Charles Calvert’s 1877 production of Henry VIII at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, in which she played Anne Boleyn, looking ‘very pretty and graceful’ (The Era, London, Sunday, 2 September 1877, p. 13a/b). On 8 September 1881 she created the part of Mrs Augustus Green in George R. Sims’s farcical comedy The Gay City, when it was first produced at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham; the case was lead by Lionel Rignold.

Grace Palotta and Gracie Leigh in Cinderella

Grace Palotta (1870?-1959), Austrian-born actress and singer, popular in England and Australia, as the Prince in the pantomime Cinderella, produced at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, Croydon, south London, Christmas, 1897, with (left) Gracie Leigh
(photo: The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Co Ltd, London, 1897/98)

‘Mr. George Edwardes is indeed to be congratulated on the success of his first pantomime, Cinderella, at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, Croydon. The words have been written by Mr. Horace Lennard, and he and Mr. Edward Sass have spared no pains or expense in the production of the piece. Some of the scenes are wonderfully effective, and those of the Royal Forest and the Baron’s Kitchen are most realistic. Mr. Lionel Rignold is amusing as Baron Klondyke, and Mr. Fred Wright jun., as Pedro, is admirable. Miss Maggie May makes a very fascinating Cinderella, and her pathetic rendering of ”Now de eyes I lubb’d am flown” always gets a well-deserved encore. Miss Grace Palotta, as the handsome Prince, looks stately and imposing, and is full of go and vivacity, especially in her song of a ”rollicking, frolicking man-about-town.” Mr. Welton Dale and Mr. George Antley, the Ugly Step-Sisters, sing a capital song, ”Not always.” Of the dances the ribbon dance in the first act and the autumnal dance in the second are as pretty as any dances we have ever seen. The costumes are gorgeous, and the whole pantomime is lavishly stages and dressed.’
(The Court Circular, London, Wednesday, 5 January 1898, p. 13a)