Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-24
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Miss Lillian H8ussell--Au About a Pretty
Actress who was Once a Plain West.
ern Gir1-Miss DavcnpOrt's Retreat
The Afcnzar-Sinls. the Playwright
The Ge-Mania Theatcr, Etc.


Special Correspondence of THE EVENING STAR.
NEW YORK, June % !;
That thoroughly charming but decidedly cratic
little actress, Lillian Russell, is again setang the
town Wild Nothing In the world is so sure OF tn
staneaneouS and rhapsCdlcal success in New York
as female beauty. Miss Russell Is fair singer
and clever enough actress, but these are not the
qualities that make her the one subject In the
clubs and the object OF intense and engulhng In
terest to the scores OF young men in very "swelr'
clothes who crowd the theater nightly, and sit
open-mouthed when she comes on the stage.
There is, In fact, trlf1e too much of this sort of
youth at the Bijou theater, and the casual OBJ
were somewhat different than they are. How
ever, 1t Is sometimes amusing. There is one young
man WAC excited my languid interest so much
that | asked Manager McCaull who he was the
other day. l would give his name but that it
might shock his parents, who live In washington.
His father T. judicial but not judicious The youth
to tears. He comes night after night in all the
sober glory OF his first dress suit and takes his
nearest to the orchestra. He buys this seat every
morning just after breakfast, sometimes bluShing
slightly when the ticket agent gazes at him with
melancholy eyes, and again affecting q pathetic
hd,ttem' that should dispose anyone kindly towards
him, so modest and unnatural is 1t. At about 20
into his seat Just as Miss Russell trips on the stage
From that time on he sits and rapturously sucks
the silver wei. head Of his cane and glares at the
breathes deep sigh gently lifts his left foot over
his right leg, and stareS despairingly at his toe
It Is Time for her to again The
seem to understand the tragedy better now. Nc
Caull says they call him "Glmlet, the melancholy
melancholy Dane" am careful to send you this
so that may have the pleasure Of sucking the end
OF my stick and muttering "didn't tell you sol"
ington society next winter. don't know that I
ought to be too severe on that young man, though.
Me Is quiet and 9ds ane simply azores He
bullet me see! wonder how many nights
have missed since she began7 Yes, 1t takes beau
Lillian Russell is beauty without shadow of
doubt. She is about 26, I believe. 1t is by
no means generally known that she is
working and thorough ochestral leader, to whom
she owes her present proficiency in vocal culture
her No M man could have Worked more
faithfully. Finally he found an opening for her
on the variety stage as serlo-comic-as the
once, and he worked vigilantly until she found
legitimate opening In English comic opera.
think it was "The Snake Charmer." She was very
glad to get out OF the variety rut 80 quickly, and
expressed delight at the admiration she excited
Then came the club men with their swell slang,
gaudy carts and flowing money Now she IS suing
band, hear, harrassed by care and perhaps some
thing else, had become so nervous or inattentive
that he lost his position in the orchestra, and so
the shades Of prosperity and adversely are more
clearly defined than ever. Miss Russell seems to
have been under the especial care Of a theatrical
spired to make her name familiar. Her escapade
with one OF the young men was inevitable. The
only question was which one she would select. It
happened to be Howard Osborne, the son OF the
wealthy banker. One night when it was time for
the curtain to raise and the audience was getting
into white heat, the manager came forward dis
playing decided desire to swear ike a pirate and
announced that Miss Russell had suddenly and un-
warrantedly run away. The next morning MI. Os-
hnr xxyor rD1,n~ tn ,Inrf hi
was. He received q letter later, and Immediately
fell into bowling rage Shortly afterwards MI.
Howard Osborne was heard OF In Chicago, whence it
was blandly stated Miss r. had gone to visit an
aunt! The young man was sent spinning over
the sea to Europe, and the steamer had just ar
rived when his fond parent had the exquisite
pleasure OF reading at breakfast cable In the
morning papers retailing little excursion OF Mr..
Howard Osborne, esq.,. said to be OF New York. with
ee the al the
void is peculiar, Mrs Arris, seq II" In connec-
ton with this actress, may say that received a
OF another. Miss Fanny Davenport, after series
OF farewells extending all lover the United States
before her triumphant entry into London for a
settled down In Canton, Pa. There is something
excusable In famous actress going to Newport or
the Rocky mountains or Siberia but to settle down
in Canton, Pa, is without shadow of an excuse
an atrocious thing to do. The result was rubbed
In when found a couple of souvenirs in my room
from Miss Fanny Davehport's last efarewells' in
New York. One / tore up and threw away. 1t
was the one commemorative OF her Camille.
remember that laughed very heartily when
dupois that night and fade away like a whitening
cOnSumptive. The other souvenir I kept to re-
mind me of her Nancy Skies. l never saw any
thing funnier than the sight OF the puny and
insignificant looking Blu when he tried to drag his
robust and comparatively gigantic wife from the
stage ana XII her. Miss davenport generously
then the audience felt like yelling: ''Oh, hit him
clip and Kill him, Fanny" The above seems
1 for moment forgot that she would be around
next year giving the "farewells' all over again.
THE ALcAZAR
looks like a success. 1t is sort OF combined leg
show, opera. concert and beer saloon, and the adj
mission Is twenty-five cents. The building was
originally the Metropolitan Casino. but has gone
through so many hands that the identity OF it's
original conception has been lost. 1t is very SEN
sbly built, and is the result OF great study, with
one object in view-a cool summer place OF aInuse-
ment. The roof Is made in sliding sections, so
that 1t can be run down to the caves, leaving
nothing to cover the vast auditorium but the
clouds OF heaven. There was lots Of fun up there
Monday night when the ballet was on and the
thunder shower came up from the west, hung over
the huge open roof for moment, and then sud-
denly sent the rain drops thick and fast in merci-
baloo, and people rushed everywhere to escape it,
many never stopping In the corridors, but running
frantiealiy INTO the street. BY the time the en-
gineS had run the roof UP the rain had stopped
and the air was oppressive. The seats were rather
wet, too and the audience took something straight
and went home. An Open-air theater, therefore,
has some drawbacks; butstaken all In all the AL
caZar is an admirable place in which to spend an
hour and drink glass OF beer.
SIMS, THE PLAYWRIGHT
/ begin to wonder whether some OF the stories
about George w. Sims, the playwright, are not fab
relations from the whole cloth. There are limits
to credulity. / notice in q musical weekly that
Mr.. Sims was an unfortunate genius in his
early days and starved for years trying to get his
plays accepted. Two years ago he was unknown
and hungry. Now he Is wealthy. Four years ago,
according To the musical paper he flooded the
managers Office in London with the MSS. of his
plays, but they refused to even read them and he
swore that he would give up writing for the stage
He celebrated his decision by writing series Of
verses for an obscure London weekly violently
soon and wrote play for an obscure actor to star
In and the piece was success. He then went
around and rescued his plays to the number OF ten
from the Office OF the managers and every one Of
them have proved successful. The flights o.
London" lay in an obscure managers desk for
eight years; "ROmany Rye" which Is now run
ming to big houses lay disdaned for twelve years:
"The GUNNER" was an ancient play, and so On ac-
cording to the musical paper. l don't believe
word OF 1t. heard Of Sims myself six years ago
and these stories about as reliable as was the
caDlepr3m that came acrOSs fho Ocaap ahorf