The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-06-27
M CHTTCaAT.

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THEATRICAL CHITCaAT.
af.s M;ttens Willett, the accomplished
leading lady Of the Frederick Waroe o" -,
ranv has had q phenomenal success ON Nv
stare. She is only twenty-three years ~,
and vet has acted the leading par. 80;
acme Of the greatest actors on tne '.
can stage. For five years she was the 'eau
inc lady with John Mccullough, n wa'
with that distinguished tragedian when IN
raason was dethroned at Chicago. NO on
in the company more deeply ympatnia
with that gifted and generous actor IN M
sad affection than his gifted leading saoy
Then Miss Willett joined the Warde comp'
nation as leading lady, and her recepelo'
nv the public has been SO cordial thai sh'
has been re-engaged for next season by MI
Warde, at an increased salary. At the as'
Of fourteen. Miss Willett, then q ~precoclou'
child, was engaged by Mary Anderson, TN
tragic queen, in children's parts. Then sh'
went with, Lawrence Barrett, Jonn =
Owens, Modjeska and q Cavenois
in turn. In each engagement she scored ad
ditional triumphs. She is an earnest, ialth
full and talented daughter OF Thespls, ano
her grand triumphs have been won by zeal
GUS work. In her domestic life she IS 8
quiet home-woman. Some six months age
she married Henry Aveling, an actor o
prominence, now managing a theater al
Detroit, Michigan. 1t is a pleasure for HI
| MINER to pay It's respects to such a talented
| actress and refined and dignified woman as
Mittens Willett. When Mccullough, Barton
| Hill, Lawrence Barrett, Kate Forsythe and
| Others, since bright stars in the theatrical
armament, composed the stock company
| at the California Theater-undoubtedly the
! best stock company ever on the American
boards-sweetN little Mittens Willett was
| an universal favorite, and all OF her friends
predicted for her a brilliant success. Their
predictions have been signally verified.
i # y
Audiences are frequently so carried away
by the power of an actor us to forget
their surroundings and imagine the per-
Torrance a reality. Mr.. Warde tells an
example of this that occurred at Roch-
ester. New York, where he was playing LagO
to the OtheMo of John Mccullough. In the
third act of the tragedy where OtheNo seizes
LagO by the throat and throws him to the
ground with the words-"Be sure thou prove
my love is false. etc" an excited auditor
called out in a loud and indignant voice,
"Kill the damned s%coundrel," and when in
esponse to a vociferous call Mr.. Warde
appeared before. the curtain he was re-
ceived with a voliey of Kisses, which the
actor says was the greatest compliment he
could receive for his performance. On
another OCCASION, at Austin, Texas, Mr..
Warde had a very narrow escape. He was
playing the same part again to MI. McCul-
Tough when a cowboy in the audience, if
censed at the villainy OF Lago, drew his pistol
and was about to fire, when he was seized
by some persons sitting behind him, when
asked what he was going to do, he replied,
and when reminded that it was only an
actor assuming a part, said, "Well he must
be a id villain anyhow or he could not
play the part s O well, and added. "If. he
don't leave off worrying hat fellow, tho
he is a niger, I'll let him have it,"
y II
There is a Shakspere worshiper in
Philadelphia who deserves embalming in
dramatic journalism. His name is Horace
Howard Furness. He is a rich man by in
heritance, and lives in a handsome house
WIllC Is ucFOUtU lfOM Cel1dF 10 TOOL 10 Uue
worship OF the Bard of won. He has not
only an enormous collection OF Shaksper-
ania in his library, his English, French and
German editions being the most complete
in America, but he has an equally extern
sive assortment OF relics and reminders of
his deity. His library has a ceiling frescoed
with Shakspere's arms. There is an alcove,
almost a shrine, from which looks down a
mask of Shakspere's face, taken secretly
from the bust in the church at Stratford-
upon-Avon. In a glass case is a pair of
buckskin gauntlets, embroidered with gold
thread. They were worn by Shakspere
during his connection with the Globe
Theatre, and are well authenticated. Ona
shelf rests a skull, on whose dingy surface
is written the names OF Kean, Maereaay,
Kemble, Forrest, Davenport, Booth and
Irving, all of whom have used it in Hamlet
as the skull of Yorick. He devotes his
entire time to compiling a variorum edition
OF the object of his literary affections, and
when he dies will leave a collection whose
sale will be the sensation OF the day.
Mr.. Frederick Warde, although quite a
young man, being only "a years of age, has
had a long and varied experience in his pro-
f~ession, having made his first appearance
on the stage in September, 1857, at the
ASNOALt 4ltCdUeI, OullucTlhuU, CuSlduu. MI.
Warde, in speaking of this momentous &C.
casion, tells the following story: He was
cast for the part OF the second murderer in
Macbeth, the first murderer being as
signed to the son OF the manager, who was
also making his debut on the boards. Their
lines were few and the part insignificant,
but their performance was watched with
considerable interest, particularly by the
daughter OF the manager, who was most
anxious Tor her brothers success, and as
they came off the stage, favored them with
the following somewhat terse observations
on their acting: "Well. 1 have seer a great
many murderers in my time, but you are the
worst l ever did see." After seventeen
years of experience Mr.. Warde says he
thinks the young lady's criticism was very
just.
The late Mexican Buchanan, the TRACE
dian, was a very eccentric genius and it is
used to diet himself during the day ac-
cording to the parts he was to perform in
the evening. For Richard Ill.,. he would
dine on rare roast beef; for Macbeth on
steak and onions; for Charles Surface, on
cold chicken and champagne, etc. An am
bilious amateur, hearing of this, approached
Mr.. Buchanan as follows: II understand.
sir, that you diet yoursel according to
the parts you assume" eyes, sir" replied
the tragedian, ~ do" "Weil, SIR" con-
tinued the amateur, "Iplay Claude MeInotte
evening, what would you advise |
to eat?" "Waff1es, sir, wafies," promptly
replied Mr.. Buchanan.
As an indication of the prevailing dull |
in the theatrical business, it NAV be
remarked that the Dramatic News has !
reduced it's size from twelve to eight pages. |
Tue News is one OF the best, if not the best,
of the New York weekly de-
exclusively to theatrical matters,
Ind the fact that it has to take such a
'tep is ominus, to say the least. The past
season has been one OF remarkable and I'M
dizziness in the theatrical pro-
ession and a hard summer is before the
members, with little prospect of improve
ment. The beer halls and restaurants on
Union Square have put up their shutters
md even the Hotel Hungaria looks de-
Ierted.
Archaeology, and the act of costumine is
lot entirely understood throughout the
as illustrated by the following story
old by Mr.. Warde. He had played VIZ
1nius in a small town in Texas, and while
ne company were in the waiting room at
depot a young lady, speaking of the
lppforrn q moo cosJ ~ .o-I