Young Democracy at the Theater.

As this 1852 lithograph indicated, it was often hard to tell where the performance really was situated in popular urban theaters. The raucous audience in this print included an aggressively critical German immigrant (in the center wearing a hat) and an artisan fire "laddie" preoccupied with a hasty meal (on the left).

Source: The Old Soldier (1852) - American Antiquarian Society.