Burton Stanley was famous for his female impersonations. In 1875 he
was with Haverly's Minstrels; In May 1875, the Chicago Tribune described Stanley
as "a male soprano" and "the greatest of all the female impersonators." Queer Places:
Belvidere North State Street Historic District, N State St & W Lincoln Ave, Belvidere, IL 61008
Burton Stanley was famous for his female impersonations. In 1875 he
was with Haverly's Minstrels; In May 1875, the Chicago Tribune described Stanley
as "a male soprano" and "the greatest of all the female impersonators."
September 2, 1879, he joined a dramatic organization in "Larks," and a few months later was traveling with Stanley's Juvenile Company. His last show in Chicago was at the Olympic Theatre in November 1879. August 24, 1881, he opened with Brooks, Dickson and Clapham's Minstrels; the tour was a brief one and in November following, Stanley joined Leavitt's Minstrels. His next important engagement was with Emerson's Minstrels in San Francisco; here he met Gus Pixley, later forming an alliance, playing the variety houses for several seasons. Stanley retired from the profession in the 1900s, and became a prosperous boniface in the West.
Burton Stanley was one of the popular entertainers on the Midwest and Western United States circuits in the late 1870’s and 1880’s. He primarily played the part of a female soprano and soloed in cameo appearances in the shows he produced.
Stanley was an entrepreneur and, over the years, continually changed his show and brought in new, fresh talent. Known under many names, his name was always a part of what ever name the troupe went by. Most often it was simply The Burton Stanley Costume Concert Company. He often appeared with the Amelia Watts Comedy Company and a company of Swiss Bell Ringers often traveled with his troupe.
His troupe of itinerate performers would arrive in a community by stagecoach, promoting the coming performance. Within a few days, the wagons with props and costumes would arrive. Performances were given for a few days only and the troupe moved on to the next town once attendance dropped off. Newspaper accounts of his performance appear in newspapers from Green Bay, Wisconsin to resort communities like Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Accounts of his troop appeared in Utah, In the still well-known and respected San Jose Mercury in San Jose, California, a review appear in the 1880’s. And, an advertisement in the Memphis, Tennessee Public Ledger appeared in 1876.
On occasion, his troupe would join with other troops and create a festival-like entertainment venue. Such was the case in the February 10, 1881 issue of The Daily Miner newspaper advertisement in Butte, Montana. Blaidell’s Vaudeville Company combined 16 artists and featured Burton Stanley’s “musical novelty.” A week-long extravaganza the community had yet to ever experience. The cost of admission was one silver dollar which in today’s money would be $25. In this iteration, Burton Stanley play the part of Kitty Watkins singing songs like “Sweet Magnolias” and “Dancing in the Sunlight.” In part two of the festival, an oriental burlesque show, “Ching Chang Fou: Cream of Tartary – the Princess and the Mandarin,” Burton Stanley played the role of Princess Whankev Thumb.
In the summer of 1878, the troupe started a tour that began in Beloit and throughout Wisconsin cities of : Madison, Oconomowoc, and Waukesha before making the Stage at the Julian House in downtown Belvidere. The Julian House was one of his favorite venues. A matinee was given at 2:30 pm in which Burton Stanley, in the character of Little Buttercup, sang “Flirting.” On this occasion, as in so many in the past, he brought the house down being called out again and again to sing yet another of his prima donna sopranos.
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