Social Victorians/1887 American Exhibition/Indigenous Americans Attend Faust

Logistics

• prior to 9 May 1887

Related Events

• The American Exhibition, which opened on 6 May 1887

Later Events

• The opening of the "Wild West" and the American Exhibition, 9 May 1887

The Event Itself

The Indigenous Americans in the Wild West Attend Faust

Red Shirt and other Indigenous Cast members Went to a Performance of Faust at the Lyceum theatre

Red Shirt and other Indigenous cast members were taken to a performance of Faust at the Lyceum theatre, where Henry Irving was playing Mephistopheles, reported on in the newspapers (Wernitznig 79). According to Moses, <quote>Red Shirt and other Indians attended a performance of the actor Henry Irving's production of Goethe's Faust at the Lyceum Theater. The London Times reported that the Sioux were greatly frightened by its horror. Irving romped through his portrayal of Mephistopheles with malevolent glee. The actor himself described the scene at the Lyceum in the theatrical paper Era: "it was a novelty 'to see Indian chiefs in the full panoply of war-paint, holding the scalp-fringed banner in one hand and eating sugar plums with the other.'" (Moses 48)

[PAGE NOT PART OF GOOGLE PREVIEW (Moses 292 n. 15)]

The Lyceum's manager seated Red Shirt and his companions in a place of honor, the royal box. This may have been a concoction of Irving and Cody to garner publicity for the soon-to-open show. Red Shirt and his friends nevertheless accepted the deference accorded them with perfect aplomb. When asked what he thought about the play, Red Shirt answered that it seemed to him like a big dream.16 [The Times (London), April 21, 1887. (Moses 293 n. 16)]

The Sioux, who did not believe in a hell, took the fantastic scenes of Hades, according to their interpreter, "for what it was worth," a Wasichu's dream.17 ["Ibid. See also Napier, "Across the Big Water," 391."</quote> (Moses 293 n. 17)

Jason Heppler describes this event as well

<quote>Shortly after arriving in London, Cody took some of his staff to see the actor Henry Irving's production of Goethe's Faust at the Lyceum Theater. In the premier theater of London, Red Shirt, considered the "chief of the Show Indians by the press, was seated in the royal box suggesting an aura of nobility for the cowboys and Indians in attendance. Irving used the occasion to his own advantage, inviting the performers onstage after the show. Irving remarked to the theatrical paper Era that it was novel to "see Indian chiefs in the full panoply of war–paint, holding the scalp–fringed banner in one hand and eating sugar plums with the other." Red Shirt remarked that the show reminded him of a dream.</quote> ()

Bibliography

• Heppler, Jason.
• Moses
• Wernitznig