The Genesis of Toby: A Folk Hero of the American Theater

Abstract

THE VERY NATURE OF FOLKLORE usually precludes any possibility of watching the process of its development. If we know the actual creator of the work of folk art, this knowledge tends to forbid its classification as folklore; and in an art of such public nature as the theater, folk activity would be especially inhibited, since theatrical effect is usually controlled by one or two professionals or a very small professional group. Yet, paradoxically, in the development of the popular theatrical character Toby, we have a full record of his ancestry, knowledge of his very beginnings in Fred Wilson's portrayal of Tobe Haxton in Clouds and Sunshine, and the story of the development and modification of the character through audience response throughout the next twenty years. This extraordinary tale has been noticed and written about for the past thirtyfive or forty years in Sunday newspaper feature articles and theatrical journals, but it has been presented uncritically and inaccurately. Here is Toby's story, told as accurately as careful study of the printed records and the tradition handed down orally and through personal correspondence permits. Although theater historians have lately begun to take some notice of the tent repertory companies,1 their history along with that of the companies playing the small-town theaters or opera houses during an earlier period, has been generally neglected, and the creation of the Toby character either scorned or ignored. This attitude grew out of the contempt of the cities for the small towns and the resulting prejudice that the only theatrical activity worth writing about was that of the big cities. Even so, this small-town theater, with its own traditions and techniques, flourished completely independent of the metropolitan theater. In time a distinctive literature of melodrama and comedy based on the tastes and attitudes of the audiences developed, and two distinctive comedy characters originated: the Toby, the red-headed, freckle-faced youngster who is smarter than he looks, and the G-string, the garrulous and officious old man who is too easily gulled. Nevertheless, both the plays and these two characters have their roots in general theatrical tradition.