The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-14

|
obtpiu admission. Never shall | forget the
moment of intense stiffness which preceded her
entrance on The stage, or the tremendous tour
oe .force with which she bounded from the
"wlngs' to the centre OF the stage, in the cloud
! of gauze, and with the transparent wings of the
Syll hide. The pale, beautiful face, the spiritu-
ellie expression of the features, exquisite
! limbs, the poetry Of every motion, sent q thrill
| to each heart, and for amoment or Cwo utterly
prevented the applause which at last burst IKE
Il storm IRON every part OF the crowded theatre.
The next morning went behind the scenes
at rehearsal, and observing on the stage amiddle-
| eyed aud excessively ewaciated woman in
! bi9nket shawl and old bonnet assuming con-
sldeiablc authority in the arrangements going
! on, lnqu ured who she was
why, Fanny Ellsler, of course" was the
reply.
So far as my experience went, never OBJ
| served look, word, or action behind the
| scenes in keeping with the character repre-
| senied before the foot-lights. The moment the
actor made his 'exit" he unbent, assumed
| his natural action and style of conversation
| mot always the most dignided-and seemed
| to take 10 thought of the business before
| MN until he went on again in character.
| occasionally some one behind-hand in his
! part would keep the play-book constantly
| IN hand, pOrng over the text and committing
! II 10 memory, then suddenly fling 1t from him
! between the scenes and Ego on" in his charac-
! ter. found it very often the case that not n
! word had been studied until the performer had
! dressed or bis part and descended to the stage
! then the text would be committed for the frs
Very many seemed to depend almost entirely
! upon the "prompter," and l have heard the
! latter often give the performer on the stage
! word for word through the entire play without
! the iaet transrirIng to the audience.
| III the instructions enunciated from the
! wings, and the private remarks between the
! actors on the stage, could be lnterpoated with
! the text of the playbook, the reading would be
most curious and amusing; as, for exam ple:-
Hamlet Can you play upon this fiute' Let it
Hamlet 10 Ghostl. Go on. I'll follow thee. Why
| don't you move on2
Marceus You shall not go, my lord
Hamlet Take hold of me. Hold off your hands
Horatio. BE ruled; you shall not 60.
Hamlet. My tate cIies out, and makes each petty
nerve. d MT let go yet Sui am called. Keep
hold. unnand ana me Rentlemen; Let go now. BY
saw away Go on. Pil follow thee. Why the ID
don't yougoP
hamlet This is l, Hamlet the Dame. (Leaps iuto
Laortcs The devil take thy soul!
Hamlet. thou prayest not well Take hold of my
| throat p1'ythee take thy fingers from my tn hroat
yet have I in me something dangerous, wnich let
| thy wisdom fear Shake me little. Hold off thy
hand, etc Now let go.
! Holato. Good my lord be quiet.
| Hamlet Why, witt fight with him upon this
! thsme-Get of my toes!-until my eyeids VIII no
Hamlet and Laertes fencing,
| Hamlet Come on, sr Strike slower. That's
right. Now under. One
| Laertes. No
| Hamlet Judgment
| Hamlet: Pm to hit you first; I'll tel you wnen.
| Another hit; what say your
Laeres. Have at you now. Move round to my left;
exchange swords; all right now hit me; that'll do
And that will do also as feeble illustrations
| but the subject might be elaborated to most
| amusing extent
scenes in the "Green-Room" of the theatre
| have been frequently described, and are
| familiar to most readers. Nothing can be more
absurd than the collections of costumed men
ln,,
performance of play. Kings and bishops
coquetting with soubrettes and balletgirls; the
funny man of the farce diiating, with tears In
| his eyes, on his domestic mlserles; and ghosts
regaliDg their mortal appetites with spiritual
! appliances. Then the witticisms, the compl-
ments, the Joe Millarisms, and the titterings of
! those who see the joke, mingling with the
| grumbngs OF others who are ever finding faJlt
with the manager or the play, or picking flaws
in the character of that never-popular indi-
NAV % be before themNthe stars of the evening.
Let me conclude these fragmentary reminis-
Cences by paying sllght tribute to that inn
portant class of the community, the actors. In
| an experience of years, during which have
been not intrequent witness OF the per-
| formances behind the scenes of the theatre, l
have never witnessed an immoral act or
! vulgar proceeding. The restraints of the stage
naturally produce relaxation OF mind and body
III the green-room, but have seldom had even
my tastes offended, and the exceptional in-
stances have been equally condemned by those
| who witnessed them. AS general rule, great
courtesy and kindness of disposition char
acterize the personal intercourse of those whose
business 1t is to play their mimic parts for our
| amusement.
The actor is by force of circumstances
patient and enduring man, and by association
| and sympathy he is naturally liberal in his
views, and generous in his dealings with others.
To enable man to act even creditably he must
possess an intelligent appreciation of his author,
and more than general comprehension of the
relations of social life. Hence it is that the
! cultivated and well.bred comedian is very
desirable acquaintance for the man of letters or
the student OF society.
In the selection of any associates discrimina-
ton is of course necessity, and this is impera-
tive in the case before us, for the stage has its
lower as well as its upper strata of morality
and intelligence. But by society at large the
condition OF the actor as a man OF UdLue in the
community is Immensely underrated, and the
moral delinquencies of the stage prodIgiously
exaggerated. In my opinion the vicious ele.
ment in the theatre is proportionably much
less behind than before the curtain, and the
moral influence of the stage Ia subject fre-
quently disCHssed) is as valuable to tn
audiences which collect there as is the church
to the congregations which gather there. The
pulpit breaches to protessed Christians, while
sinners-thOse who most need the examples
of vice and virtue to be illustrated for their
ship. As a rule, the dramas which best sue
| ceed are those which in the most graphic style
depict the fall of evil and the triumph of
good. The paint and the dazzle, the mock
| jeWelry and the mimic movements, have nothing
OF evil in them, siuce they are known to be
deceptive, and but external appliances where
with to illustrate the sentiment and the moral
Compared to olden days, the stage is free from
looseness and profanity, and the audiences from
proximity to baretaced vice. The taste tor
theatrical representations is inherent and per-
manent in all communities, and therefore he
who denounces the stage, or keeps away from