Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-05-20
"HAMLET' IN STREET CLOTHES.
How Booths Company Looked
when They Played without stsge
Costumes.

Sometime ago Edwin Booth and his
company were at Waterbury, Connect
cut, where they were down in the bills
to play Hamlet" At the last moment
it was discovered that their baggage had
not arrived. The audience filed the
hall, and, in the emergency, Mr.. Booth
determined to play the piece in their
every day clothes" Maze Edwards,
Booths manager, described the perform
ance the other day to reporter of the
Washington Republican. Said he:
when | found the baggage, with the cos
tunes, had not arrived was lust going to
throw myself into the river, when
thought | would go and tell Mr.. Booth
about it, and bid good-by to some of the
people who had always thought a good
deal of me, before killing myself To my
establishment Mr. Booth took it as cool
as you would take an invitation to drink.
he said, lnasmuch as the people were in
the hall, he would make few remarks
to them about the accident, and then
they would go on and play three acts of
Hamlet in the clothes they had on. And
so it was fixed up that way. Well, the
thought of Hamlet in short-tailed coat
and tight pants almost made me sick,
and when Mr.. Booth came on the stage
looking like an Episcopal minister. with
Knight Templar's cheese knife that
he had borrowed, l couldn't think
Of anything but Hamlet. l forgot
all about his clothes, and l believe if
he had only had on pair of sailor pants
and red flannel fireman's shirt that the
people would only have seen Hamlet.
tell you that he is the greatest actor that
ever lived. The people sat perfectly
still, and seemed wrapped up in Booth;
that is, they were when they did not
look at the other fellows. But when
they took in L3rtes, with a short ham,
fat coat on. pair of la-de-dah pants and
a pancake hat, it seemed to me | could
hear them smile. And the King, Ham
let's step-father, he was sight Imag-
Inc a King with a cutaway checkered
coat, Pullman car blanket thrown over
his shoulder for a robe, and leg of
chair for sceptre, mashed on Queen
with trailing dress and a gray wooden
basque with buttons on it. And
think of POlonius, with a linen
buster and a straw hat, with a
blue ribbon on. Oh, it made me
tired. Ophelia was all right enough.
had been travelling in, and we got some
straw out of barn and some artificial
flowers off of the bonnets, and she pulled
through pretty well. But the Ghost.
You would have died to see the Ghost.
He had on one of those long hand me-
down ulster Overcoats with a buckle in
the back as big as a curry comb, and the
belt was hanging down on both sides.
The boys got him green mosquito bar
to put over it, and with stuffed club
for a sceptre, he fell over a chair and
then came on. / should have laughed if
/ had been on my death, bed when ne
said to Hamlet 4 am thy fathers ghost.
He looked more like a drummer for a
wholesale confectionery house, with a
sort of tin skinner on his head, and |
believe the audience would have gone
wild with laughter if it had not
been for Mr.. Booth. | don't believe you
could get him to laugh on the stage for
a million dollars. He Just looked at
the ghost as though it was a genuine
one, and the audience looked at Booth
and forgot all about the ulster, and
the ghosts pants being rolled up at the
bottom. 1t was probably the greatest
triumph that an actor ever had for Mr..
Booth to compel the vast audience to
forget the ludcrous surroundings and
think only of the character he was por-
traying. l wouldn't have missed the
nights performance for thousand dol
lars, and when, at 10 o'clock. l heard
the boys getting the trunks upstairs, I
was almost sorry. The last two acts
were played with the costumes, but they
were no better performed than the first.
Still, think, on the whole l had rather
the baggage would be there. 1t makes
a manager feel better