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Louisa Lane Drew (January 10, 1820 – August 31, 1897) was an English-born American actress and theatre owner and an ancestor of the Barrymore acting family. Professionally, she was often known as Mrs. John Drew.
Louisa Lane Drew (born Jan. 10, 1820, London, Eng.—died Aug. 31, 1897, Larchmont, N.Y., U.S.) was a noted American actress and manager of Mrs. John Drew’s Arch Street Theatre company in Philadelphia, which was one of the finest in American theatre history.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Famous at the turn of the century as Mrs. John Drew, Louisa Lane Drew could trace her theatrical lineage back to 1752, to a family of strolling players. She made her stage debut at 12 months, playing the part of a bawling baby.
Louisa Lane (later Louisa Lane Drew; 1820–97) began her stage career at age eight in Philadelphia, where her widowed mother had brought her from England. Her many successful parts included Lady Teazle, Mrs. Malaprop, and such “breeches” roles as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Mark Antony.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
While theatre histories often overlook or minimize the contributions of Louisa Lane Drew and other women to the transformation of the theatre world, there is one story in which Drew’s name occurs with some frequency. Louisa Lane Drew is known as the matriarch of the Barrymore family. Drew’s daughter Georgiana Emma Drew married
- Rivka Kelly
- 2014
This thesis explores the life and legacy of actress-manager Louisa Lane Drew (1820-1897), as well as theater at the time through a biographical lens. Her work is largely forgotten from scholarly research, and her influence on theatre was notable.
In 1861 Louisa (Lane) Drew was approached by the owner to assume the management, which she did. It reopened as Mrs. John Drew's Arch Theater and kept its doors open until 1892.
