Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-04-16
STAGE WHISPERS.
SOME OF THE THINGS TOLD ABOUT
THEATRICAL PEoPLE.
actors and Managers, and What They
Are About in Various Parts
of the World.

Oliver Doud Byron S new play is 6 Bound
to Succeed" So is man no tries to get
the true inwardness of persimmon into
his mouth.
The Berlin actors have been trying to
play a dramatized version Of one of Bret
Hartes stories called the :" Lost Son. ="
The humor was lost on the audience.
The second Mary Anderson, who sprung
full, fedged tragedienne from Kentucky
soil few weeks ago, has become leading
lady of g Humpty Dumpty troupe.
Bernhard has fallen in love with New
Orleans. This CITY Will now be known as
the Paris of America. Cincinnati will have
to rechristen herself the Bologna of
America.
Dumas new comedy, ia Princesse de
Bagdad, was produced at the Theatre
Francois recently, and it was a tremendous
failure. The plot is offensive, and the play
was Kissed several times. 1t is said that
Dumas wrote it in six days.
Sarah Bernhardt is said to be severely
troubled with sciatica. We thought peo
pie had sciatica in the legs. From all re-
ports Sarah hasn't got legs enough for
single sciat. 1t must be the breakbone
fever she has got.
Ion, now played by Mary Anderson,
was first acted in this country December
Il, 1885, at the National Theater, New
York, and by the Count George Joannes.
1t is fair to say that Mary did not see the
Counts performance of the part, and she
cannot be accused of being an imitator.
Lytton Sotherp, son of the late Z. A.
Sothern, intends to come to this country
next season and act in Foggarty's Fair, F"
comedy which his father was to have
produced here Mr.. and Mrs. kendau,
who are the London favorites in polite
comedy, will also make an American tour,
possibly with an English company.
One of our toniest band box exchanges
says: "Plump girls are said to be going
cut of fashion" The T'tuT, Field and Farm
adds: "That's another effect of Sarah
Bernhardt's visit to America. Let us all
mite in bowling to fashions mandate.
Waiter pass around the anli-fat remedy
for 20, 600 coo American girls. We always
did abhor plump, rosy girls. Commend us
to the attenuated, bilious corseted-all-the-
way. down feminines."
A japanese audience it is said, when
they wish to express disapproval OF bad
play, DO not hiss or boot or make any hid
eous or inconvenient noise they merely
rise and turn their backs to the stage, upon
which the curtain Immediately descends.
How would this custom suit the authors
and managers on this side of the world who
object to the free expression OF opinion ~
We imagine a good many of them would
feel good deal "taken aback."
Genevieve Ward, the actress, demands
separate sleeping cars for women. al
think it is perfectly shocking, q. she says,
:" the way ladies and men are huddled to-
gether like animals in these sleeping cars,
with nothing but curtain hanging be-
tween them. 1t shocks modest woman
frightfully to have to endure this ordeal
Where is the much-vaunted decency of the
American people, that it does not rise
against this infringement of propriety and
self-respect? ?"
In an article criticising the various man.
ayers of Italian opera in the United States
during the last twenty years, an Italian
writer says: Jacob Grau died broken.
hearted for having deserted italian opera
for French opera bouffe that Maretzek,
once styled the Napoleon of managers,
met his Waterloo in ST. Louis few years
years ago, where his company went to
pieces and that Strakosch, the Napoleon
III. of managers, recently met his Sedan
at New Orleans, where he gave grand
English opera to empty benches at p
cents per ticket, without extra charge for
reserved seats. Mapleton alone is success
full"
"Nana has made a success on the Pa.
risian- stage, due to nearly the same cause
that made " L'Assommoir successful. In
the latter play the great scene was that in
the public washing house. To make this
realistic only the dirtiest linen was washed,
the perfumes from which filed the theater
and made the Parisians applaud with de-
light the closeness with which nature was
adhered to. The great scene in Mana"
is the last one, wherein the heroine Of the
drama dies of smallpox. This has been
made as near nature as possible, and so
completely disgusting that everybody leaves
the theater sick and with an uncomfortable
feeling that he has caught the small.p ox.
1t is a success, however.
An exchange traces the origin of the
phrase stealing his thunder" to John
Dennis English, the dramatic author, who
died in 1884. He once wrote q play called
" Appius and Virginia" and for the pur-
pose of the piece invented new sort of
thunder, the same which is used in theaters
at the present day. The tragedy was not
success, and was soon Withdrawn. Some
nights afterward Mr.. Dennis, being in the
pit at representation of "Macbeth,"
heard his own thunder made use of, upon
which he rose in violent passion, and ex-
claimed with an oath, that it was his thun.
der. "Seel' said he, how the rascals
use me They will not let my play run,
and yet they steal my thunder" Hence
the origin of the phrase, stealing his
thunder"
The Helen Potter Pleiades " visited
Milwaukee recently, and, as usual, the
manager was non-committal in his adver-
visements. George Peck, of that place,
says that the manager had the best head
of the lot. He simply advertised 'Helen
Potter's Pleiades, and let it 60 at that,
and people could draw their own differences
as to what kind of show it was. Not
one in hundred would have known
pleiad if they had met it in the road. So
the show drew all classes. Some thought
1t was an oriental circus, others thought it
was whale on flat car, others thought
Helen might be aehigh kicker from Kicker.
vile. Some said it was going to be like
the "Black Crook" only different more
thought it was Shakespeare's play, and
few said it was female MINISTRIES. The
house was full, with the bald-headed men
on the front seats, and when they found
out the Pleiades " was only a new name
for reading and female fiddling they went
cut and took drink
Salamonsky's famous circus has recently
visited Moscow, and there given series of
performances, the chief attractions of
which were lovely trapezist named Emma
Jutau, and learned pig, exhibited nightly
by Tanti, the leading clown of the estab-
lishment. Two of Moscow's wealthiest
and most extravagant "curled darlings
have greatly distinguished themselves in
connection with these professional celebrl.
ties Having ascertalned that Mile Iutar1