THEATER COMIQUE

   This was a popular name used for variety theatres across the nation in the 1870s. Although generally regarded as he breeding ground for the vaudeville theatres that later sprang up, the Comiques also launched the careers of some legitimate theatre performers and writers. For example, J. K. Emmet, later renowned for his "Fritz" character, got his start at Philadelphia's Comique, and Eddie Foy performed in a "two act" at Kansas City's Theater Comique. Although most of the entertainment was of the "free and easy" variety, full-fledged plays frequently got thrown into the mix. Out West, cowboys tended to refer to the "The-ay-ter Com-ee-cue."