ABSTRACT
The demise of the Mahn company was the first in a series of disasters that sent Alice’s career plummeting downward. Over the next few months she went from one crisis-ridden troupe to another, all the time becoming more dependent on alcohol for solace and support. At first, her situation looked deceptively promising. She and Raymond, along with several other members of Mahn’s former troupe, were able to secure engagements with a new comic opera company being formed at the Criterion Theatre, Brooklyn. Given that they had been thrown out of work at a time when most ensembles were fully staffed for the season, this seemed a piece of unusually good fortune.
