Staging Ground: An American Theater and Its Ghosts

by Leslie Stainton

In this poignant and personal history of one of America’s oldest theaters, Leslie Stainton captures the story not just of an extraordinary building but of a nation’s tumultuous struggle to invent itself. Built in 1852 and in use ever since, the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is uniquely ghosted. Its foundations were once the walls of a colonial jail that in 1763 witnessed the massacre of the last surviving Conestoga Indians. Those same walls later served to incarcerate fugitive slaves. Staging Ground explores these tragic events and their enduring resonance in a building that later became a town hall, theater, and movie house—the site of minstrel shows, productions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin , oratory by the likes of Thaddeus Stevens and Mark Twain, performances by Buffalo Bill and his troupe of “Wild Indians,” Hollywood Westerns, and twenty-first-century musicals. Interweaving past and present, private anecdote and public record, Stainton unfolds the story of this emblematic space, where for more than 250 years Americans scripted and rescripted their history. Staging Ground sheds light on issues that continue to form us as a the evolution of American culture and faith, the immigrant experience, the growth of cities, the emergence of women in art and society, the spread of advertising, the flowering of transportation and technology, and the abiding paradox of a nation founded on the principle of equality for “all men,” yet engaged in the slave trade and in the systematic oppression of the American Indian.

Genres: History

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2014

Reviews

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really brilliant, exploring the entire history of America and of the theater, from the stage of one building in Lancaster, Pa.

A terrific example of the genre of microhistory, telling a broader story from a relatively small place. "Staging ground," indeed.

[Marcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

After struggling through over half of the book and learning way more about the author's personal life than I cared to know, I gave up on this book. The history of the Fulton Theater was interesting but I tired of searching for that information hiding between her story and lengthy dissertations about theater and acting in general. Sorry, Leslie Stainton. I tried.

[Dona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that shares the interesting history of such a beautiful building. I worked there for two years after the '95 renovation (1997-1999)

Some of the personal details shared by the author were too much for me, but it's her book and it's the story in the way she wanted to tell it.