The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-10-31
JOSEPH JEFFERSON
Irdulges in Pleasant Chat About
Players and Their Characters.
"Etp Van Wfnhlcss' Views Of lur-
!esquc-The Eject OF pGnylnE
One Part Night Autcr
Night.
Lrhiladclpllia Times.

eph Jefferson sat ia thU dra irg-FuDm
Of lis LenutiiuI residence at HnhuiuS, ~ J..
recently, aId cXl rcsed his views uC thr;,-
tres, thing, theatrical aud various other tna +.
ter.
"crm"dy." snit be. zig Il very pleasant lima
81 l1.Aim"S. Audiences like to laugh, rnd it
is generally very easy u make them do 50
IN io"t, commedian's greatest annoyance is
that his auditors will persist in thinking that
eve thing he says or does l. funny aud in
lHi,,hing ut it just society used to laugh
wh"r the late Sydney Smith asked SOME "Ito
10 PASS the mustard.
"ln that scene Of Rip Van Wrinkle in
which poor Rip, after returning from his long
sleep, reveals himself to his daughter Meenie,
which, TO my thinking, is indescribably pa
thetic, have heard people laugh as though
it we're the funniest thing In the whole play.
| ulm convinced that this ill-timei mirth is
not due TO any insensibility 10 the pathos OF
the situation, but 10 the fact that the people
who give vent to it, having come to see a
comedian, think that his every word and
action must necessarily be funny. and that
II they do not laus 81 others around them will
do 80. while they will be thought ignorant
AMI stupid by reason of their silence
"Of all modern humor / think that Of
Charles Dickens the best and most lasting.
II will never lose its charm. Like Shakes
peare, he wrote for all timo The Oftener
you read him the funnier he seems. He grows
upon you. That last phrase, by the way, re-
minds me Of a capital thing heard once al a
dinner party in London. IL was during a
rnge for false hair among the ladies and one
gentleman was speaking to another of The
hair Of a female friend. She La, the most
exquisite hair, but beautiful ~ it seems
when You first see it, it grows upon YOU An
said the other, but does it grow upon herr
REAL BURLEsoUE DEAD.
"One OF the most humorous buriasutIcs [
ever saw was ono produced in London called
Broken Hearts and Cracked Heads' The
heroine of the piece was in love with the
town pump, and when she mplored il to
wear one of her rings rs pledge Of atFec-
ton the pump replied: Put 1t up tue spout
For broadly humorous writers there i Ger
tainly no better field than buil .gue. vet IL Ii
n form Of entertainment which in this coup-
try seems entirely dead. The kind of
burlesque which | mean-that which
really does burlesque some serious pro-
duction-has been dead for n number Of
years. but what old theatre-goer does not to-
member Stuart Robson's capital burlestluc Of
Hamlet; or, The Wearing OF the Back and
his equally funny 'Black-Eyel Susan: or,
The Little Bill That Got Taken Upr This
admirable style Of burlesque died out, hov-
ever, and was succeeded by meaningless cx,
travaganzas burlesquing nothing and serving
merely to Introduce pretty girls in handsome
costumes, and songs gnl dances. together
with any nonsensical dialogue or ridiculous,
grotesque actions that might suggest them
selves to the performers. This style OF
burlesque was first made popular in
this country by Lydia Thompson, and for
long time il seemed as though American
theatre-goers would never tire of it; but at
length they did, and it. now seems 10 have
lost all attraction for them. A striking rroof
of this Is afforded 10y the fact that during the
past theatrical season there was not one such
burlesque company in existence here Doubt
less one reason of this ~ that the perform
ailce Of the less Objectionable French comic
operas, which has become so general of late
years, has taken the place of burIcsque. 10
has all the features that made the Inter at
MISREPRESENTATION women, broad fun, rapid
action and rich, picturesque costumes, while
the infinitely better quality OF its music
draws a class of patrons who found nothing
to interest them in burlesque. It is not a
matter for regret that this latter style Of
bur-lesque IN extinct.
EFFECT OF PLAYING ONE PART.
II have often been asked what effect the
constant repetition Of one part has upon an
actor. There Is one curious effect that II has.
and that is that after playing one part for
great length Of time an actor is apt TO forget
his lines and take up wrong cues. A story is
told OF an English actor who, after playing |
ore Part for very long time, forgot his lines |
one night: Its very strange said the stage |
manager, when the actor came off that YOU |
are not perfect In that part w this time.
You have Teen playing il for 200 nights, |
We'll, aid the actor do you expect ma 10 |
~ member il forever think Gle art cam
MT lie played too often IL the actor does not
losc his interest in il. 1t is just as il is with
age We are old according t. our feelings,
not our years
1One great advantage that English actors
have over those of America is that they min
gle with much better society. There Is an
upper middle class In England which In this
country we do not have. In England the so
ciety OF actors Is much sought and their
presence Is welcomed at some Of the lest Lon
don dinner PARTIES. What splendid affairs
those dinners are, by the way. You will
meet nearly everybody worth meeting, and
viii hear more brilliant conversation and
bright, witty things than you ever heard be-
fore In the same space Of time. In this
country women isarn the customs Of society
md adapt themselves to them much more
readily than men, but the reverse u the case
N England. English women do not dress as
we'll as tbofe OF America, but English men
irefs better than Americans"