The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1876-06-15
THE1TR1CAL COSTUMES.
The Stags as a Gloss IF Eashiom and Mold
n Eora- What u Costs sae Player 20
Held ~ tho Mirror.

n Earaa- What ~ Costs fhe Player 70
Held " tho HEsFTor.
Actors are all keenly alive to the inn
portance Of this part Of their business,
and not improperly regard good dress
ing as one Of the essentials of act
ing, without which they can hardly hope
to create a favorable impression on an
audience. Other things being equal, the
well.dressed actor has an immese advan-
tage over the actor who is poorly dressed
or whose clothes, though costly, reveal
bad taste. Some classes of actors have
to spend very large sums on their dresses
and ornaments. The queens Of tragedy
cannot appear as queens at all, unless
they have an outfit of robes, lace, and
jewels, equal in appearance to the finery
Of real potentates. The jewelry may be
only glass, and the lace imitation, but
the robes have to be genuine satin and
brocade
The tFagedian, also, before he can make
n creditable appearance as Richard the
Third, for example, must put himself to
an outlay Of hundreds of dollars, or else
hire q wardrobe. His royal robe of vel.
vet and cloth OF gold will Cost clerks
yearly salary, and his suit of armor,
whether it be scale, chain or plate, will
probably cost as much more.
Mere ornaments run away with good
sum of money. Charles Kean, when
playing Otbello, wore a dagger with
an immense carbuncle in the handle,
which seemed to cast a ruddy glow around
him, and which was said to be of very
great value. Helen FauCit, in the BAN
quoting scene in Macbeth, wore a Coronet
studded with real gems, rivaling those
in the state crowns of some living
monarchs, The suit Of armOr which G.
v. Brooks used in Richard the Third was
valued at over thousand dollars. Even
Reynolds armor in Henry "" which
was made in England, and is entirely of
heavy steel, cost five hundred dollars.
A suit of mail, however, can be made of
tin silver-gilt, to look quite as handsome
as the steel, for one-third of that sum.
In historical plays, and plays which go |
under the name of Costume" pieces, the |
dresses must necessarily be a feature. |
Those who saw Julius Caesar" recently |
produced at Booths theatre and Brook
Ign Academy of Music; will have tolera-
BILE clear idea of the trouble and expense
involved in this branch of stage repre-
sentation alone. The costumes and |
used in that production
were really worth anybody's study. The
wardrObes Of star actors generally are
acquired at an almost incredible expense,
and after much patient consultation of
Contemporary pictures are
the most trustworthy authorities the
actor can appeal to on mattersof costume,
but often, as in the case of .. Macbeth"
there are no contemporary picture to
appeal to. In the olden time they were
content to represent Hamlet" or
OthellO," for example, in a cooked hat,
yOld-laced coat, and knee breeches-a
juit Of toggery that nobody then thought
.idiCulous. Garrick himself was not
Ibove such incOngruous dressing. Edwin
Booths costume in Hamlet" and
in "Othello," well adapted to
mark the advance that has been made in
his art. GEhe head-dress and cape of
ur, worn as one garment by Booth in
he last act of Hamlet" is a splen-
lid instance Of original yet appropriate
and salvinPs frst dress in
OthellO," with its features of comely
urban and flowing mantle, every one
'erceives to be striking and graceful.
{ is in dressing for such parts that actors
ave an opportunity of presenting the
esults of their researches into the his
Dry Of costumes, and 80 of impressing !
heir audience with the painstaking thor. /,
ughneas Of their art. Edwin Forrest
q littIswhite IN his " Hamlet"
ress; Booth comes on all in black, or
lack barely relieved with glimpse of
lvender, which Is haifmOurning. But
! Is not always that DIR, Booths ideas
I costuming seem 10 be 30 well founded
n historical accuracy; for be once gave !
.ayes, the costumeF In Fulton street an