The daily critic., 1890-10-27
RHEA ON DRESSES
TBE HANDSOME ACTRESS TALKS
ABOUT STAGE COSTUMES,
Ana Dtscrircs some Samples of Her
own warniHrcnt wardrobe Al
women wui Want 90
see Them

/ NNNNNNNN w .NN w AIIN l.'
see Them
1t is doubtful if there IS nm actress on
the American nee who dresses more
eX'ravaeauuy anl at the same time In
better taste than Mile Rhea. This
handsome woman has gained her repu-
'ation at ihe expense of her pocket, bat
So long as She enjoys that reputation,
what she says ON The subject of dress in
general and w0man's gowns 60 p9rlicu
'ar will undoubtedly De of interest to
ID readers
IN the course of au interview with
CTrIc reporter 40 Welckers t1.lay
She said Yes ! suppose ] am what
might De called q crank when it comes
to question Of cos.uming part be 60
male or female Many actors and
ACTRESSES have accused me Of unrelson.
able cyaCtion because I insisted that the
material for such and such a costume
should be of such and such a quality,
and that anything that did not come up
To- the standard ] had SET was not good
enough for any member Of Bhel's
company ! formulated this cast iron
rule when | first came to America some
eight years ago, and ] believe / have
lived mp to it c0n,cieniiOusly ever since
My reasons for holding such decided
opinions on This subject are. think.
obvious. The average theatre. gOer
goes To the theatre in the expectation Of
having the eve pleased as much as the
other senses. ParentheiiCally may re-
mark that | do not wish to be under
stood as saying thata mediocre perform
anCe has only to be clothed In purple
and fine linen to pass muster. The point
/ am trying to make Is that the demands
OF the average audience are not satisfied
by a superlatively intelligent production
poorly set, Interpreted bv brainy actors
shabbily Costumed There must be
more. The interest Is awakened bv
what Is seen. that interest Is intensified
by what Is heard. II the senses of sight
and hearing are not both PLAYED on
pleasantly there is bound to be dissatis.
faction. Whether there Is more grum.
bling In n case where CXtravapant cos.
tuning and Indifferent acting are found.
or, on the other hand, where good act.
ing and shabby costuming are seen.
am not prepared to say, but certain
am that unless there Is a happy comb.
nation Of the two essentials tie average
theatre goer believes he has been tricked
out Of his money, and | sympathlze
heartily with all complaints based on
such grounds
or course, am speaking now par.
iCulprly IN reference tO big pr0duc
tluns such rs Josephine, Empress "
the French, hut what / have said. |
think. applies generally with more
or less force tu any stage Uresena
tinn
In The case Of female star tits
lmpetaiyuly necessary that she be
handsUmely Cowntd, ana there Is absD
lulrIy no excuse Tor her not being SD.
II she has not the ability to design her
own dresses, there are so many dress
makers that will be only too glad TO re-
litve her of the responsibility. And
cunhdentially, / will tell you that IL Is
not necessary 10 60 10 the great and
only Worth for what you want Dur.
ing the production Of Josephine In
New York and San Francisco the so
ciely writer's on the daily and weekly
newspapers In both cities devoted con.
siderable space 10 de scriptiOns Of the
dresses / wear in the play. A great
many Of them spoke OF them as coming
from Paris. bat with two exceptions
they did not. They were made by a
New York Ht0diste whose great reputa
ticn dates from the public display OF
these samples Of her clever handiwork.
OF course, / think they are beautiful
gowns, the handsomest, In fact. II do
say II myself, that were ever seen on the
modern stage in a production such as
Josephine
will give you a detailed descrip
tion Of them; The first dress Is a ball
dress Of rich pale-blue satin, brocaded
in old gold leaves, with court mantle Of
blue satin, lined with old gold, trimmed |
around with Irish point. The waist /
a Empire, historically correct. Is very /
short, with high pulled slee 5es and a |
collar la Medicis Ia Irish point. The /
second dress Is Of white satin EN-
bTOideFed In gold. From the shoulders |
hang the imperial mantle In red velvet, |
studded with gold bees, embroidered ln /
two shades of gold and entirely lined /
with eTmine. The mantle Is an exact /
fac siHltls Of the coronation robes still /
preserved To the palace Of the Louvre. /
ON the head is worn the imperial crown |
and diadem. The third dress Is a /
plain, white crepe, with loose draperies. |
The fourth dress Is In mauye Indian /
silk, in clinging folds, loOped over a
violet velvet skirt, embroidered iu sil
yer. The waist, q lEmpire. with /
putfed sleeves, is ornamented with sil /
yer and Yiolets The fifth dress is a
light green japanese silk, with a large /
mChing at the bottom Of green aud /
pink. The front, or tablieT Is 10 pink /
crepe, With an embroidered garland Of /
flowers. The sixth dress Is a white /
lowing crepe robe, heavily trimmed /
with lace
But because ! have given You a De |
tailed description Of what / wear. Won
must not think that / am a much /
brighter star la tue dress line than the /
other lady members Of my company |
Every gown that is seen on the stage I
Is just as good as those worn By |
Josephine, but they are possibly not So /
striking
Well. / won't bore you with my /
shop talk any longer You must come /
20 the theatre aud Judge for yourself"
EK-Prssideut CIegsIand's sandaY.
EXP President Cleveland passed a quiet |
Sunday at the Arlington He saw bat |
few friends, aud seems 10 be wholly ab- |
s0Tbed IN bis law practice. lie appeared |
before the Supreme Court 10 day in the /
drainage case, and will probably return /
10 New York this evening.