Another Ozzy Postcard

Here's another postcard relating to the stage producion of The Wizard of Oz, complete with a little portrait of the Scarecrow! This time it's from an actor, on the road with the show. Harry is writing to Helen to let her know he has arrived in Harrisburg, PA, and will be going on as Sir Wiley Gyle in that evening's performance. He has a good opinion of his ability in the role - and hopes others will as well!

 He mentions having finished The Yoke "which they say took three weeks to write". There were two books of this title at that time - one, by Elizabeth Miller, was a pseudo-historical religious romance, and the other, by Hubert Wales, a scandalous novel of syphillis and free love. I wonder which one he read!

This dates from August 24th, 1908, after Hurtig and Seamon took over the Wizard stage production.  I'm not sure who Harry is, as I haven't seen a cast list for these later productions. The tour took a break for the summer, and this would be the first performance since April of that year - so he might have been stepping into the role as understudy, or he might have taken it over for the run.

The show would continue to tour into 1909, but it was starting to wind down. One night stops were the norm, and Harry tells Helen not to write back until he writes again. With so much traveling, it would probably be difficult to receive mail on the road!

Incidentally, the card is addressed to 1261 Madison Ave., NYC. Built in 1900, this is one of the first luxury apartment buildings built in Carnegie Hill. In 1910 it was described as "one of the most select and attractive apartment houses on Madison Avenue". This seems to indicate that Miss Helen James was a woman of some means - or perhaps she simply worked at that address!