Nineteenth Century Temperance Drama

Illustration from T. S. Arthur's 1854 temperance novel, "Ten Nights in a Bar-Room," which was subsequently adapted into a bestselling play.

A recreation of a poster for "The Drunkard" at Barnum's American Museum.

A recreation of the temperance pledge that may have been given to audience members at Barnum's American Museum.

Nineteenth-century theaters were not very friendly spaces for temperance supporters. The vast majority of urban theaters, even the “legitimate” ones, possessed a “third tier,” an upper row of seats reserved for prostitutes and their clientele. Next to the third tier was a bar, which fostered drunkenness and rowdy behavior that often disturbed the rest of the house. The third tier and the bar led many Americans to avoid and condemn the theater. Still, some hopeful theater proponents believed that drama could be used as a “moral educator.” Socially conscious plays written during the nineteenth century addressed temperance, abolition, and woman’s suffrage. While many temperance activists rejected the theater on moral grounds, others believed that dramatic performance would disseminate their message to a large audience in an emotionally stimulating way.

During the 1840s and 1850s, The Drunkard, Ten Nights in a Bar-room (an adaptation of T.S. Arthur’s bestselling 1854 novel), and other temperance plays enjoyed wildly successful runs in New York museums, lecture rooms, concert halls, and Broadway theaters. P. T. Barnum, once converted to the temperance cause, became a “podium star” of the temperance lecture circuit and created a “Moral Lecture Room” in his American Museum, one of many urban museums that added theatrical productions to their list of attractions. Barnum’s Moral Lecture Room was a theater by another name, but it successfully appealed to thousands of antitheatrical audience members who assembled to enjoy temperance dramas, tableaux, and other morally sound fare. Barnum provided copies of the teetotal pledge at the box office for audience members to sign after the shows, and he refused to sell liquor or readmit any sneaky attendees who made a quick trip to the tavern during intermission. Temperance plays, whether performed in theaters or other locations, helped legitimize the drama for many skeptical Americans.