Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-04-20
IUSIC AND The DRAMA.
INTERESTING STORY OF EDWIN FOR.
REST AND MACREADY.
New Method of Booking Artists-An In.
cident in q Western Railroad Town
General Stage Notes.

cident in a Western Railroad Town
General Stage Notes.
"Apropos of our great actors, altogether
the most remarkable stick l have ever
seen took place in the Edinburgh Theater
many years ago.
Edwin Forrest, the American actor
(ah you good people who gush' about
Salvini should have seen Forrest in
'Othello' quarter of a century ago J, had
played an engagement to very indifferent
houses, and, sooth to say, had met with
but scant courtesy from the management
and the press. Having been very scurvily
used by the critics, both In Edinburgh and
! London, he enormously attributed it to
Macready's influence. OF course, the
great Mac would have disdained to lend
himself to anything so ignoble, and, in
deed, had himself, all through his career,
sufficient cause of complaint against GER
tain gentlemen of the press. 1t is, how
ever, too true that many of Macready's
partisans and admirers (no less a person
age than the late John Forster among
the number) had their knives most cruelty
and unjustly into Forrest, and he was not
the sort of man to take blow without
giving thrust His engagement imme-
diately preceded Macready's, and, unfor-
tunately, the great American remained in
the city to see his rivals debut in Ham
let The house was crowded in all parts
by an eager and excited audience.
"How we'll | recall my first impressions
of Macready was at the wing when
the scene drew of, and he was discovered
amidst tempest of applause could not
realize why on earth the people applauded
him. With the modesty of youth l ment-
ally calculated, What an antiquated guyp
He wore dress, the waist of which nearly
reached his arms; hat, with sable
plume, big enough to cover a hearse; a
pair of black silk gloves much too large
for him ballet shirt of straw -colored
satin, which looked simply dirty; and
what with his gaunt, awkward, angular
figure, his dark beard close shaven to his
square jaws, yet unsoftened by a trace of
pigment, his irregular features, his queer
extraordinary nose-unlike anything else
in the shape of nose | have ever seen
he appeared positively hideous But, after
all, mind is the brightness of the BODY
and, oh, We gods! when he spoke how he
| frightened, illumined, irradiated the at
mosphere; his gaucherie his ugliness, dis
appeared-he became transformed. trans
figured into the very beau-ideal of the
most poetic, subtle, intellectual dramatic,
and truly human Prince of Denmark L
have ever seen either before or since. In
the play scene he strutted from side to
side waving his handkerchief above his
head in somewhat extravagant manner.
AS he uttered the words, of the chame-
Icons dish eat, the air, promise
you cannot feed capons so,' mighty hiss
arose in front, a hiss like that of steam
engine. At the sound Macready trembled
and turned pale, then he became livid and
convulsed with passion, absolutely hysteri-
cal with rage. Turning from the quarter
whence the sibilation proceeded he bowed
derisively, then staggered back and sank
into chair.
Looking to the upper side boxes on
the right | saw the American traeedian
| A conspicuous figure at all times, Forrest
| was now more conspicuous than ever. He
was certainly the most perfect model OF
manly beauty have ever beheld, the very
incarnation in the flesh of the Farnese
Hercules. At this moment, from the stu.
dents gallery, which was separated from
the upper boxes only by some interfoliated
iron work, cry arose of Turn him out |,
can see Forrest now. The square brow
the noble, majestic head, the dark eyes
| flashing fire, the pallor of the white face
enhanced by his blue-black beard, which
contrasted strangely with his turned-down
white collar IAN unusual mode of wearing
the collar at that time), his jaw set like a
bulldogs, his arms folded on his broad
chest. AS he arose and faced his would.
/ be assailants, he looked exactly as he
used to look in the Gladiator when he
said, Let them come; we are prepared
"The people on the other side of the
screen absolutely recoiled, as if they ex.
pected some king of the forest to leap from
| his iron den amongst them-then they
concluded to let the American alone. 1,
| was picture never to be forgotten-or
| the stage the actors were at standstill
| in the auditorium the multitude were
| awed into silence. After short pause, /
| suppose the mans better nature prevailed
! for Edwin Forrest slowly turned away and
left the house.
''Then Macready, like man possessed
leaped into the breach and took the audi.
ence by storm. Surely he must have been
inspired by the ordeal through which he
had passed. Such a delirium of excite
ment for actors and audience as followed
that play scene and the closet scene l have
rarely, if ever, witnessed.
"Oh! the pity of it, that the matter
| didn't end there-but, of course everybody
knows all about that disgraceful and dread
| full business in New York in '49-the riots
the loss of life, and Macready's subsequent
fight to England in disguise. Temple
Bar.
BOOKING ARTISTS.
A well-known dramatic agent announces
that he has inaugurated an entire new
system for the booking of artists, whereby
it will not be necessary for managers to
see personally the artists they wish to en-.
gage. By the new system managers will
be able to see the entire theatrical record
of the artists they engage. The utility o.
J this new system may we'll commend itseli
to both manager and artist, SO far as i,
goes. 1t appears, however, to be altogether
one-sided. Would not this newly discov.
cred system be more nearly perfect and
equitable if this agent would keep open tc
the inspection of the artist the entire bust.
ness record Of the managers, agents, back.
ers or responsible parties upon whom they
are to depend, when about to be engaged
for the regular payment of their salaries
and the honorable performance of the
iron-clad, forty weeks, two weeks notice
contracts they are compelled to sign? II
would be an interesting thing to note how
many of the three or four hundred manag-
ers, hackers, ETC., are financially respon.
sible to the extent of the obligations they
| assume. Such record, if correctly kept,
might possibly enlighten the artist about
to engage with a manager as to the posi-.
bility or probability of riding home over
the rails or walking over the sleepers; also
whether considerable portion of his
salary does or does not enter into the cal.
culation as capital in the enterprise.
NO. ON TIME.
Among the many unexpected triumphs
of Donnelly & Girard in "Natural Gas, y
none is associated with merrier tale than
their adate" as Creston, Iowa. Creston is