The Northwestern standard., 1886-04-03
A PET OF THE F0oTLIGHTs.
what Charming Little Lolita Says
About Herself and Some Actresses
Ale Has Met.

Lotta is one Of the few actresses who
on. and it is.much the same with her man
ner. She is bright, sparkling, eifusive,
She gesticulates a great deal in converse
ton is restless and moves about in her
chair, is quick and impetuous i'll her move
ments. and her small coal-black eyes snap
and sparkle like electric flashes when she
talks Although she is probably close to
thirty, she does not look over twenty,
which is in part owing to her good color,
petite figure and peculiar Titan red hair,
which of itself gives her a juvenile appear
ance. Many of the erroneous impressions
about Lotta's age grow out of the fact
that she has been on the stage since She
was eight years old. Her mother still ac-
companies her in all her travels, and is usu-
ally with her at the theatre. She has never
lost her heart, she says, and is welded to
her profession. and believes that as her
mission is to be funny, she couldn't be
funny it she got married.
I4otta is down on English burlesque
actresses and French condolences. She
is a robust American, and has no patience
with the tendency to exalt things because
they are foreign 81 can't tllink OF a good
loW-comedy actress in England, /" she said
recently. ssrhe best burlesque actress III
London is Nellie Farron, but j don't count
the burlesquers. Mes. John Wood is Of
course splendid, but hers is the highest Of
high comedy. Ii Chonnont could have
come to this country ten years ago people
would have been wild over her, but she is
too old to play now. Judic is the best the
French have now. When / saw her ten
years ago she was fine, but lately she has
grown big and stout and matronly.
Things have reached such a pass in France
that an actress cannot raise a laugh unless
she is vulgar. Judic's forte lies in sing
ing coarse songs in an innocent way. The
great success OF Madame Nitouche was
not So much owing to Judic as to Baron.
who, as Celestin, the organist, was mimi
table. The reason took up the play was
that it afforded opportunity to introduce
the prankishness of a rogpish girl, which is
my special line. But | hate coarseness,
and if | had my way would drive every
vestige Of it from the stage. ] am glad
to say vulgarity doesn't take in this
country. Morally this country is as much
ahead OF England as England is ahead OF
France. You can always judge OF the
morals of country by the morals of the
stage The moral condition of the Eng
ish stage is something frightful. 1t bor-
ders on moral leprosy. Mrs. Kendel is the
only decent actress of prominence on the
English stage. On the stage as anywhere
else, whoever degra(es herself just does
that much to degrade her profession.
Nothing struck me SO much when
was in England as the intense prejudice
of the people. They can tolerate nothing
American. They unobediently hate us.
There is the dramatization of Little Nell,
which John Brouham made for me. To
suit the English / had to have Mr. Dickens
rewrite it, but / knew if would be no good
without the supper scene and other parts
written by Mr.. Brougham in it. After the
first act which he wrote, Mr.. Dickens went
out of the box at the first performance.
He was afraid the supper scene would not
take, but it did, and was the best thing in
the piece. It's no use talking, we are an
original people, and ii we want to be sue
ceseful we must continue to be original
and depend upon our own resources and
not copy the English. The great trouble
with our stage to-day is that it is aping
the English and following too closely old
traditions. When ] went on the stage /
did as | pleased, and followed out my
natural impressions Of how things ought
to be done Ifsomebody had told me what
to do / would have been like the rest of
them. If people like me, it's because
I'm myself and try to be original, and not
do things because other people do them.