Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-24
FLEAS IN THEATERS.
How They Are Liable TO Affect the
Stars, Male aud Female.
From Peck's Sun.

stars, Male aud Female.
From Peck's Sun
recent discovery in connection with theaters
of the cities is most laughabe and will result in
much fun to audiences in the future, unless
Some action Is taken at once on the part of man
ayers. 1t seems that many of the best theaters
of the city have become infested with feas to
such an extent that the little pests annoy actors
and actresses terribly. 1t is believed that fieas
have been brought to the theaters on the pet
dogs of actresses and by the dogs used in plays,
and they have multiplied and replenished the
places of amusement until they are formidable
army. 1t is said that when theater has not
had a performance for several days the feas
become hungry. and when the next Company
arrives upon the stage the fiea take possession
of the members too quick.
Some aver that the f1eas are divided off into
squads each squad with a leader. aud each
squad is assigned to one particular actor or
actress. as the case may be- Fleas are no fools
and It would not be strange if they had choice
a. To which member Of company should be as
signed to them OF course it is possible that the
boss feas shake dice. to decide which shall nave
first choice for his squad and yet it may be that
meas are not up to the practice OF human beings.
hhow nothing of dice and allow brute force to
decide their fateOr 60 upon the prime. pie of first
come first served. While flea is not human we
must give the insect credit for knowing the DIFF
Terence between the taste o. young and beau
tiiui actress. and an old man or woman. The flea
Is no fool. whatever else may be said of him. and
any person with any heart at all. Will feel tor
the tender young actress whose part cOnpels
her to go upon the stage of tiea-infected
theater, with iOw-necked dress, bare arms. or
stockings that are perforated by fashion on the
instep, or which have not attained their growth
as to height. Such person has got much be-
side her art to attend to, and her mind must be
constantly occupied in devising means to mash
feas, and not give it away to the audience An
actress can. if she feels flea grazing around in
the vicinity of her stomach. suddenly place her
hand on her heart and while the audience is look
ing at the expression OF pain on her face she can
let one Or two fingers wander down where the
flea is and paralyZe him, and the audience will
think it is gesture that Is i'm the play. But
there are places on every person where a flea
might walk arin-in-arm with another flea, sip
ping the life blood and becoming intoxicated,
where no gesture laid down in play will nil.
Understand US, we mean that a gesture can
be utilized TO kill flea, while at the same time
doing its work as a gesture, is admissible. Sup
pose Mary Anderson while trying to haul RO-
Ineo up to the balcony, SO she can see if he has
been chewing Cloves feels a flea crawling down
her back. She can clasp her hands behind her
Romeo" she can everastingly dig her nails into
the opening in the corset and kill the flea, aud
the audience would be none the wiser; while if
she backed up against the railing and scratched
commented on, to her diScredt as an artist, and
besides, she might push down the scenery.
Again, it a flea should appear to be exploring
the vicinity of her liver, while it would not be
for her to create gesture that would
fit the case, she could by the poetic license that
Is granted all great geniuses, lean against the
railing. on the point where the flea was, and
while giving tafy to Romeo she could make the
flea think he had got in the wrong pew. And
YET in that scene, if few feas should get
amongst her stockings, as is almost certain to
be the case, Mary would not have any excuse,
by any act or gesture in the play. to pay any at
tentiOn to the flea and she would have to 60 on
with the play and die game. II she is the
marble statue that she is represented to be, with
no feeling. of course flea could make no more
impression on her than masher. but all the
girls on the stage are not thus fortunate. and
they will be injured in their profession by the
heaS.
In opera it is different. The costumes are
such that the hunting OF fieas is mere pastime.
Especially is this the case in the opera of La
where the sleep-Walker is at
tired with candle and a garment that has al
ways been highly recommended as the proper
Costume for the pursuit of feas.
1t Is supposed that actors are imperviOus to
the influence of fleas. but such is not the case
Booth. Barrett. jefferson and Mccullough are
nervous as women, and we may expect, any
evening, to see Booth, as Hamlet. drop his
sword and roll down his black tights, while
the ghost is telling him the old story, and catch
q flea and crush it between his two thumb nails
pull up his stocking. and tell the ghost that he
will 20 home and make it red-hot for his
mother and the uncle who poured melted seal
lnI-wax in the ghosts ear. In the play of
Francesca di Rimini" when Lawrence Bar
rett starts home from the army to kill
his brother and his wife for being too
and he is all excitement, it
would look strange to see him sit down on a
stump and go to catching fleas before an audi
ence, and yet this is what the stage is coming to
II heas and dogs are not q,larantined. 1t would
look queer to see Jefferson. when he raises I'D
on the stage after the twenty years Sleep 20 to
hunting around his decayed and widowed leg
glngs for fieas. and to see Mccullough as OltellO
stop on the way to murder DeSde,aond and
search for fleas. This would be going from the
sublime to the ridiculous, and the Sun mentions
these possibilities that managers may see what
Is Liable to happen unless they cause insect pow
der to be freely used on the stage, and cause all
dogs brought by actresses to bring acertlficate
from d. ID. that they are free from fleas 1t
takes manager with nerve to stand up before
an actress who has gall enough to carry dog,
or one who has married a husband for the pur-
pose OF carrying her dog. and complain that the
dog or the husband is full of fleas and must be
quarantined, but it has got to be done. Let the
feas and dogs go.