CEDAR FALLS — The piano may be small, but it looms large in vaudeville history.
Manufactured in New York, the miniature piano is a little battered, but well-traveled after decades on the road, carted along with costumes and props to theater stages across the country.
More than a musical instrument, it is a reminder of America’s theatrical history. Every surface on the piano bears the carved signatures of famous and near-famous vaudeville performers from the early 20th century. Fabled comedian, singer and radio personality Sophie Tucker’s signature can be found carved into the left side of the piano top.
The piano is among keepsakes that belonged to vaudeville stars and Cedar Falls residents Lew and Mabel Rosenthal, now on exhibit at the Cedar Falls Historical Society. The 2024 featured exhibition, “The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,” is open now through Dec. 20 at the Victorian House Museum, 308 W. Third St.
“People are finding the exhibit fascinating. People have no idea that we had this famous vaudeville couple living in Cedar Falls,” said Julie Huffman-klinkowitz, collections manager and curator. “The exhibit also tells visitors something of the story of vaudeville as well.”
The Cedar Falls Historical Society has the largest collection of Lew and Mabel Rosenthal papers and memorabilia, including scripts, musical compositions, skits, poster bills and autographed photos of vaudeville stars from the 1920s and ‘30s, including Bob Hope, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jack Benny, and Jimmy Durante.
Between 1897 and 1919, the Rosenthals became vaudeville stars. Billed as Rose & Severns, they traveled the vaudeville circuit performing skits, comedy and music.
Lew was described as a “versatile vocalist” with a gift for mimicry who wrote the couple’s skits and musical scores. Mabel was his comic sidekick, as well as adept at singing and dancing. She was known as “the best gowned woman” on the vaudeville stage.
The story begins with family background on Lew and Mabel and traces their climb up the vaudeville later to star status playing theaters from coast to coast and from Canada to Mexico. They met at a variety show venue in Chicago, where Lew performed and Mabel was an usherette.
They fell in love and eloped in 1897 – “We couldn’t do anything else. He’s Jewish and I’m Pennsylvania Dutch,” Mabel later said.
When World War I broke out, anti-German sentiment rose in the U.S. “Audiences weren’t so amused by the comic with the German accent. People would throw rotten fruit at stage performers,” Huffman-klinkowitz explained.
And Mabel had tired of living out of a trunk. Now parents, the Rosenthals decided to retire from the stage and settled down in Cedar Falls in 1912. Their daughter, Esther, was a talented musician and the Rosenthals chose Cedar Falls because they were impressed by the reputation of Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa).
“They built an 11-room cottage at the corner of Grand Boulevard and Mandalay Drive. Lew started Lew Rosenthal Enterprises and booked acts at the Corn Palace and fairs, ran theaters, and – at one time – managed the Cotton Theatre (now the Oster Regent Theatre),” Huffman-klinkowitz explained.
“Their vaudeville friends would come for parties and long visits. They’d set up tents for their friends in their yard and built bungalows on the property. It was a very different lifestyle than most people in Cedar Falls were used to seeing.”
The four-acre property boasted a separate building that housed hundreds of costumes and props from the couple’s vaudeville days. There also was a house and store with a soda fountain on the edge of their land.
The Rosenthals made friends in Cedar Falls and were active in local organizations and causes. He was a constable in Cedar Heights, and Mabel was involved in the Ladies Aid Society. He died in 1950 at age 74, and Mabel died at 84.
Daughter Esther, a gifted pianist and violinist, inherited the property. At the time of her death in Cedar Falls in 1971, she willed her parents’ papers and memorabilia to the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
“So much of the material wasn’t catalogued at the time, and it’s been a long process. One of our long-time volunteers Kay Rewerts worked on the materials when I told her this year’s show was going to be on the Rosenthals. Her work gave me what I needed to tell the story,” said Huffman-klinkowitz.
Rewerts is listed as the exhibition’s co-curator.
A series of related programs are planned at the Victorian House Museum.
On May 19 at 2 p.m., George Glenn, co-author of “The Opera Houses of Iowa,” will highlight Cedar Falls’ opera houses. Family story time on July 13 at 10 a.m. will feature “The Song and Dance Man.” Children can learn a silly song, participate in a scavenger hunt and make crafts.
Lew Rosenthal’s music will be featured in a program, “A Warbler and a Yodeler” at 2 p.m. Sept. 7. A cemetery walk from 2 to 3 p.m. Sept. 22 will take participants into Greenwood Cemetery to learn about the Rosenthals and enjoy a staged reading of their popular vaudeville skit, “The Automobile Disaster.” A $5 donation is suggested.
Magician Eric Michaels will present “It’s Not Just a Magic Show, It’s an Experience” at 2 p.m. Nov. 17 at the 315 Clay Street classroom. Cost is $5; children 2 and under are free. Reservations are required at (319) 266-5149, or www.cfhistory.org.
The Victorian House Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free; donations are accepted.
A glimpse of the past at Cedar Falls Historical Society
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.
Vaudeville stars Lew and Mabel Rosenthal of Cedar Falls are showcased in an exhibit, 'The Rosenthals: The Show Must Go On,' at the Cedar Falls Historical Society.