Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-07-13
anecdotes of the Stage-St0rics Of Act
ors and Plays.

$3.50 szzzzzz
anecdotes Of the Stage-StOrics Of Act
ors and Plays.
A writer in the Cornhill, gossipping
about "Slips On and Off the Stage"
tells some amusing stories. Unre-
hearsed stage effects were not less COM
mon in the palmy days of Greece and
Rome than now in London, Paris or
New York. Sometimes the blunder of
an actor causes the audience to laugh
and puts them in good humor, but
more frequently it disturbs the action
of the play, unhinges the nerves of the
company, provokes the critics, and
brings maledictions upon the theatre.
a STORY OF EDMUND KEAN.
In his early days Edmund Kean was
Missed I'm the Guernsey theatre. The
audience could not comprehend his
sensible and natural action, which inn
piled that the audience part of the
house was to the player as simply the
fourth side of the room, or other imag-
mary locality, in which the poet had
placed him. Richard" turning HIM
self to the Guernsey pit, as if the per-
former ignored them, appeared to one
hall an insult, 70 the other an absurd
ity; and they Kissed and laughed at
him accordingly, till, chatfed and chaffed
into ungovernaOie rage, he pointed to
them with his sword--whieh flashed
less fire than darted from these then
peerless eyes-and exclaimed, with
fierce application of the line to the pit,
"Unmannered dogs! stand We when /
commando The pit resented the Of
fence, as they construed 1t, with the
utmost vociferation, and demanded an
apology. Kean dropped his sword,
put himself in an apologetic attitude,
and said in his deep, yet soft and pen
Grating tones, that he had been IN
error-he had thought them to be with
out understanding, but he was mista-
ken, he added, since they had made a
proper application of the few words he
had just uttered!
\ FRENCH BLUNDER.
One of the singular slips cited in
connection with the French stage was
made by MopgOzzi, an actor OF the old
| Varieties. The farce to be performed
was called '"Fhe Piece without an A. !"
piece sans A. The anthor had writ
ten it without once using the letter, a
| feat which presents numerous difficult
| ties in French, similar to that which
has now and then been attempted and
accomplished in English of writing a
song without a sibilant, or without the
letter s-which is, after all, something
more difficult than dancing hornpipe
in letters. To see the French piece q
considerable number of spectators had
assembled; the audience did not ex-
pect play of any merit, but they were
curious to find how one of any length
could be carried on without any use of
what is in constant use in French phra-
SEES, the letter n. At the rising of the
curtain. Dnval and MongozZi entered
from different sides of the stage, and
the latter, on seeing the former, greet
ed him with "Ah, monsieur, vOus vol
| lar While the house broke INTO roar
of laughter, Mongozzi was corrected by
the prompter, and he recommended
more correctly with sch, monsieur,
vous voicip Certainly, in piece which
/ boosted of having no a in 1t, the actor
slipped drolly when be exclaimed,
'sAh, sir, here you arer' instead of
IS Eli. sir. YOU here. then ?"
PROLOGUE STORY.
| AddisOn,s "Cato" has been fertile in
comic slips and serious consequences.
Pope's magnificent prologue was in
public favor only next to the play
itself, Int gradually it fell out of use.
When the piece was reproduced in the
last century for Sheridan, the part OF
Portius was assigned to an old utility
actor named Wignel, who had often
played the part IN his younger days.
Portius opens the tragedy with these
four lines:
1.-THE dawn is overcast, tho morning low'rs,
And heavily III clouds brings on the day
The great, tn important day, big with the
| fate
| OF Cato and of Rome"
Wignell uttered the first two lines
amid a hurricane of shouts for the
prologue. He was one of those i'm
perturable actors, who, if they are
made to forget their business, stick
close to the style of language they have
to utter. Accordingly, he had scarcely
pronounced the word ''day" in the
second line when, turning his head
from Marcus TO the audience, he con-
timed in the same lofty tone and
measure
Ladies' and gentlemen, there has not been
A prologue spoken TO this play for years"
and then to Marcus, "The great, tn
imp ortant day." and so on.
GEORGE FREDERICK COOKE.
Moderation or reserve were things not
to be expected, generally. from George
Frederick Cooke, though he could prac-
tice both when the gentlemanly bumor
was upon HIM, or when it otherwise
suited his purpose. He on one occa-
sion consented to go down from Lon
don to play "Cato," for the benefit of a
poor actor, q quOndam friend, In a
country theatre. 1t was the character
which Cooke played worse than any of
those for which he was ill-suited, yet
which he would play. The tragedy it.
self is not one that is likely to be Well
handled by a provincial company; and
on the occasion in question it met with
supremely i'll usuage at very incompe-
tent hands. All the appointments
were bad, and what little of the text
was remembered was delivered with
many variations and o comic indifference
TO the rules of pronunciation. Cooke,
however, was goOd-natured and tOler-
ant. He swore little; laughed good
deal, and bore with all, more or less pa
tiently, till there was q general break
down, in the senate scene, owing to
universal forgetfulness of the text.
which the most skillful prompters could
4 4