In 1904, Lafayette completed the week with his new show at the Avenue Theater in Detroit. He featured a spectacle called The Bride of Thibet (later The Lion’s Bride). A live lion paced inside a cage, center stage. A princess was pushed into the cage. The Sphinx reported, “The lion jumps towards his beautiful prey, when a bolt of lightning strikes the cage and, shattering it, releases the lion, who leaps on the [King], bearing him to the ground. [The beast] stands erect and takes off his head and we find The Great Lafayette.” The act used a cast and crew of 53 people, with props, costumes, cages, backdrops, and animals. That same week, down the street at the Temple Theater, T. Nelson Downs premiered in Detroit. Downs carried a top hat and a stack of half dollars to present The Miser’s Dream.
