Mr. Moser’s Neighborhood: The Intersection of Cleveland and Vaudeville

This book was released several days ago, and I’ve had a copy in hand nearly as long, but I did want to give it the once-over before posting my unconditional plug!

The title of Christopher Roy’sMr. Moser’s Neighborhood: The Intersection of Cleveland and Vaudevillesuggests a very narrow audience indeed. The subset of contemporary Clevelanders who are interested in vaudeville could probably fill one room — and, what’s more, they probably have done so. That room would be located in a now defunct Cleveland restaurant called Otto Moser’s which was established in 1893 and closed its doors for good (at a second location) in 2018. Otto Moser’s was where all the showfolk and their fans congregated before and after their performances in the local theatre district, which boasted of seven showplaces back in the day, four legit houses, two vaudeville, one burlesque. Like a lot of such places, the Otto Moser proprietors collected photos of all those stars, most of them autographed, and many also dated. They adorned their walls with them, which made for a truly impressive gallery, an attraction in and of itself. All the biggest stars in the country used to play Cleveland, and if it sounds laughable to you, you don’t know your history. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cleveland was the eighth largest city in the country, and truly a market to pay attention to. (Today it ranks 53rd, just below Wichita. How the mighty have fallen).

By the late 20th century, most patrons of Ottos’ had no idea who most of those people in the pictures were. I’m sure that by 2018 it was even worse. Did you know Bob Hope was FROM Cleveland? I bet today most Clevelanders below a certain age don’t even know that former pillar of local pride. So for years, local Cleveland author and historian Christopher Roy has been working on a project to nail all of it down: WHO are the people in the pictures? WHAT was Cleveland like during the early decades of the restaurant? WHAT was the local theatre scene like? AND…most important for the great majority of you who do not live in Cleveland: what was theatre like in general? And here we get a book that appeals to more than just the folks at that intersection. This is a book which all lovers of theatre history, vaudeville especially, will really appreciate. After all, all of those actors who played Cleveland were traveling on national and regional circuits. Their stories were and are of national import.

The book contains a cornucopia of photos of show folk, and very detailed portraits of the city (including much that is now long gone), as well as stuff about show biz, and the folks who worked and played there, back in the day. It’s a gorgeous art type book, made for perusing and gazing, but also very well written. And it even has QR codes so you can watch video clips from your phone. Theatre buffs will of course know the most prominent actors and performers profiled in the book, but I especially love the fact that it also contains a good many people I’ve never heard of, which will for sure set me to investigating scores of potential new Travalanche targets. (I’m cited in the book, btw. Mr. Roy first contacted me about three years ago with some questions, which in retrospect I find hilarious, since he’s the real expert. This book is chock full of things I didn’t know and people I never heard of. In my line that’s a good thing, or at least as good as learning new things about my already-favorite stars.)

As for the local aspect? To my mind, a complete American theatre history library would have books on every section of the country. A book like this would be a keystone of such an edifice.

For a taste of Mr. Moser’s Neighborhood, and to get a copy of your very own, go here.

And for more on the Ohio/ show biz connection, you wild hellions, go here.