100 Years Ago: Famous Actress Performs in Godfrey

On Saturday, February 6, 1926, Ruth Draper performed at Monticello Seminary in Godfrey. Draper captivated the audience at Reid Memorial Chapel with her dramatic original monologues. New York critic Kelcey Allen had recently credited Draper with being “the best actress in America…she stands alone in her art,” and the Alton Evening Telegraph author who covered the performance agreed. “Those who heard [Draper] give her recital of amusing impersonations in monologues at Monticello Saturday can appreciate that expression, because Miss Draper is more an actress than an impersonator, and she is perfect as the latter. From a petite patronizing French dressmaker, she goes to the role of Dalmatian peasant in the hall of a hospital, and only a shawl draped around her shoulders and a little bundle which played the role of a baby were needed to change the scene; but the expression of face and the acting of the part made little change of garb necessary.” (Dalmatia is a region located in modern-day Croatia.) During her Monticello performance, Draper also portrayed an Irish mother whose son had lost his life in the war, a student in an Italian lesson, and a number of characters in a railway station on the Western Plains.

Ruth Draper preferred to be known as a character actress. She was born Dec. 2, 1884, to a well-to-do family in New York City, and honed her skills while she was young, writing vignettes about people she knew or had observed and performing them for family and close friends. She began performing professionally in 1911. She gave benefit concerts during World War One (a three-week tour in 1917 raised $10,000 for the Red Cross), and she even travelled to Europe to perform for American troops. In 1924, she set out on a four-year tour of the United States. She actually gave a show at Monticello Seminary in March 1924 as well as February 1926, though details about that event were much sparser.

The Alton Evening Telegraph kept readers up to speed on Draper’s accomplishments. In June 1926, an article announced that she had appeared before the King and Queen of England and performed a recital of her monologues before the court at Buckingham Palace. In 1929, the Telegraph printed a photo of Draper and a caption to celebrate her successes on Broadway. “Ruth Draper outdistanced all records for consecutive runs by a single performer on Broadway when she played her one hundredth program of character impressions at a New York theater.”

Ruth Draper lived a fascinating life and influenced countless actors and other entertainers, including Lily Tomlin, John Lithgow, and Tom Waits. The website “Ruth Draper Monologues” has a comprehensive biography and recordings of some of Draper’s monologues:https://www.ruthdraper.com

Sources

Britannica Editors. "Ruth Draper." Encyclopedia Britannica, December 26, 2025.https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-Draper

“Ruth Draper.” Bain News Service, 1923. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-39625https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016647509/

“Ruth Draper at Monticello.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 2, 1926.

“Ruth Draper Gains Unusual Honor.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), June 30, 1926.

“Ruth Draper in Superb Recital at Monticello.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), February 8, 1926.

“Ruth Draper Monologues: Ruth Draper and Her Company of Characters.” Ruth Draper Monologues, 2026.https://www.ruthdraper.com

“Sets Record.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), March 30, 1929.

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