Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-26
STAGE GOSSIP.
The Revival of the Play ga Scrap
of Paper"

The Revival of the Play IA Scrap
of Paper"
NEW YORK, Dec. 25.-An odd little
woman strolled down the aisle Of the
Lyceum Theatre the first night OF "a
Scrap of Paper" She was chunkily built,
with her hair clipped as close as West
Point cadets behind and parted rakishly
on one side i'll front, and she held her
shoulders well back. She had left ner hat
down stairs, following the recently inau-
gurated custom of the house.
"Dan Frohman," she sand as she seized
the chair in one Of her plump little hands
and twisted it deity and firmly into place,
twill make this the most fashionable the
atre in America by his edict concerning
women's hats. It's English. Women
love to fuss and furry and keep men walt
ing. IT takes three days to 20 to The the
atre in London. Women make special
toilets and all that. The complaint OF the
men about big hats has started the fashion
OF delay here.
''In a snort time 1t will not be possible
to go of carelessly to the play at an hours
notice, and then the men will grumble
and blame-Dan Frohman."
Her escort was receptive man. He sat
and glOwered down at her with a species
OF elephantine devotion and seldom looked
at the stage. She might have been 20 or
40, and she smlled constantly in iurttye
sort Of way, as though enjoying no end OF
queer tancies.
Tue play moved smoothly. 1t was in
| Extensively done, Its performance was
the triumph of the com monplace. Sar-
dou never wrote anything more inge-
NOUS, dainty and complete than "a
scrap OF Paper" nave seen men and
women of ability lift various characters
out of the play so that the whole town
fell to gOssiping about them at once.
Wall6ck made less of hit than Montague
| in The part of Prosper, for Montague gave
the character an air OF dry and base
cynicism that was irresistlby amusing.
From these men it is a long drop 10 Ed
ward Sothern, who played Prosper at the
Lyceum. IL would have been great
performance in the hands of his father.
AS It was he went through his PAGES with
calmness and serenity. conveying the
idea of coOceit but not OF cynicism.
Though be is undeniably one of the clev-
crest OF our younger actors, Sothern did
not succeed III rising above the dead and
drOwsy level Of the commonplace of the
cast.
What funny little people they all are"
said the shOrt-haired woman. meditative-
iy. to her escort. "rheir heads look 80
big and they're so monStrously OF in the
matter OF legs. Miss Dauvray, SOthern,
Piggott and Miss Wilton are all so des-
perately undersized that they look like
dolls when big Joe Whiting strides In
among them. Whiting looks like a gam
bier l saw to-day. / had been buying
gloves on Broadway and when l came
aut and stood waiting tor car / found
myself beside the knight of the green
cloth. gasped silly little gasp and
wish, d YOU were by. Then l gulped
down the gasp and basked in the radiant
personality OF this man of siu--yOu know
dis nameY'
"Jerre Dunn"
"Yes, of course; he's very handsome
While we were standing there-he didn't
see me at ALA seedy person with a SOAP
| ed moustache came mournfully w and
bowling obsequinusly to Mr. j. Dunn re-
marked in a noarse whisper:
9TH luck's still agin me Jerrel"
cit is, ehr'
"Dead agin me. / can't strike a win
ner q save me boots. Why" he said
| with plainiive.emphasis as he nodded his
| mead at every other word, ait | was to
starve f'r six days an then it should be-
gin TO rain chicken soap It's ten to one I'd
! be caught wild a fork in me pocket"
But there's the play. Helen Dauvray
! is not a beautiful woman and she is apt
| to deck her everyday sort OF figure in
| the gaudy SUMPTION sness OF holiday at
tire. ii she were to dress in simpler taste,
what art she has would command a
reader attention. Her Suzanne in sA
Scrap OF Paper" is to my mind far and
away the best thing she has done in New
York, and infinitely better than her harsh
and hoydenish performance in zone OF
| Our Girls" But it is not the Suzanne OF
"a woman of genius, but the result OF care
iul and ceaseless drilling in old, familiar
| lines. Every where on the stage could BE-
seen evidences of correctness la the COS
| tuning and mounting OF one OF the great.
est of modern comedies. But yawned,
and looking around, caught the odd-look-
| ing little woman yawning too.
"Dear me-" she sighed gently, II fear
Pm growing very old. A few years ago
l wept and laughed and sighed over "A
| Scrap OF Paper"
al isn't your fault" said the escort,
| speaking for the first time that evening,
as he pulled on his tou coat. ''Ips the
actors-they're all walking in their sleep
and afraid TO speak aloud for fear of wax
ing one another. 1t really seems so.
| BLAKEIY HALL