The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-04-07
the old DUBLIN STAGE.
What 1t Was Sixty Years Ago and
Later-Calcraft as a.
Manager.
"MASTER OF THE REVELs." "
The Enthusiasm of the Audience Over the
Presence Of the Great.
Ilherator.


Iiierator.
When the popular manager. Ca|craft,
took the Old Hawkins from Bum, in
$780, he was anxious to strengthen at
once his resources and repute bY OBJ
tanning the nominal office in the Irish
court establishment just vacant by the
decease OF Meeks, which went by the
style and title OF "Master Of the Rev
els" The salary was SUM Of 230O a
year. But the parsimony Of reform
was already busy, and the place was
pronounced a sinecura and abolished.
Calcraft, however, became by his own
effort, and not by any means as sine
curist, such a master Of the revel-as
even the modern stage will not match
that is, considering his resources and
then range Of his art He set abouC his
task as manager with zeal and with
q bump Of hope" as he himself said,
Large enough to- supply whole college
of phrenologists. He mad to start with
only two Of tie Old Guard OF Grow
street, Johnston and Hamerton, but
Vandenhoff and David Rees were 81
strong support. The first novelty oddly
was "CindArella,' and such treat as
it was! There was now scenery, there
were new dresses, decorations and
transformations. q fairy carriage,
horses. coachmen, and footmen,
Dranced and curvetei on the boards, to
The intense delight OF young and old.
But a check came for poor hopefnl Cal
craft from an unexpected quarter
clouds above, what check it was! Sud-
denly a Snow storm such as had not
been witnessed in ireland since 1914
closed the theatre for a week, the
streets having been rendered iznpass
able. What manager could have pre-
yiled against that2 ''CinderelIa" was
axtinguished and the fairy carriage
flung into a lumber cioset-if it caae to
the fore now would it not sell as a gem
antique? Next Young as Hamlet came
on, the elder Charles Mathews being
Polcnius and Macre:dy the Ghost.
Hazlltt spoke of Y76ung's manners as
t'iue, free, and oriental' He was al
unmatched Sir }'ertinax Macsycophant.
His powers included broadly comic i'm
presentations with rich humor, and he
salg with pleasant voice. Calcraft
WAS called upon by the public OF that
day for good stock company, and he
did his best to provide. The Dublin
winter season Of 1886 / failed in attrac-
tion. THE treasuler's face elongated as
he summed up a heavy balance on the
wrong side Of the ledger. There was
still hope that the summer engage
ments, which included the eminent ex-
ctics, Madame Vestris, Tyrone Power,
Mr. and Mrs. Wood. Mr.. Keely, Miss
Inverarity aud Mr.. Wilson, would
square the account. But the expect
alton was not realized. The last per
fosmance wason Aug. 20. There had
been 1856 acting nights; three commands
from the popular viecroy, the Marques
of Anglesea, five publicly announced
patronages and thirty-three novelties,
many of the latter with the appoint
meuts entirely new. The loss
amounted to e150O, and would have
been greater had not the committee Of
the musical festival paid $500 for the
use of the theatre, while a profit OF se220
was derived from Eve concerts by Pag-
anini in September, by which the gran
maestro pocketed sel050 on his own ac-
count. In November, 1881, the opening
performances were "The School for
Scandal" and "The Highland Reel,
Sheridan and OKeeffe, the genuine
representatives Of high comedy and
broad farce, in juxtapositlon. Early in
the month q sort of nondescript, musi'
cal, romantic drama, then running in
London, called ''The Evil Eye" was
presented. The Loudon attraction
centered in the rich hnmor OF John
Reeve as Zani Kiebahs, which was full
ly euualled in Dublin by Davy Rees, !
who had broken ground most favorably
the season before, and now established |
a popularity almost rivalling that of the
veteran Tom Johnson. The catch word
of the part was, ''What fun!" Boys
shouted it after Rees when be appeared
in the streets, the galleries hailed him
with it whenever he came on, in any
character, and it became fol time an
established colloquialism with gentle
and simple. ''lhe Evil Eye'' a Mr..
Collins, styled, probably by himself,
1.-The English Paganinl," appeared in
the one-string feat on the fiddle, as
sisted by his son, 1.-The Infant Viotti,''
warranted only six years old, in all sorts
Of sonatas, fantasies, pasliccios and