Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-15
THE HARRISON SISTERS.

Drifting Apart" an emotional play that
has just been played for a short engagement
in Harlem, has a child's part in it which was
taken by Mabel Earle, who is almost a baby,
but who does such work as adults find sufIi.
cient for their powers. The part is a long
one, and there is a death scene in ii which,
acted as she acts. is a strain on the nerves
that would be severely felt by anybody.
The announcemen mt is made that on March
81, Little Tuesday" will take a part in
Sanger's play called tPine Meadows Little
Tuesday" although only three and half
years old selected her own name Her par.
ents called her Little Tootsy, but she changed
it, and they acquiesced in the change. She
is spoken of by Mrs. Fernandez who has
trained all or nearly all the children now on
the American stage, including her own
daughter, Bijou Fernandez, as truly won
derful child. She sings. recites and dances
with remarkable ability, and gives an imita.
ton of Richard Mansfield in Richard III
such as few actors can equal She has al.
ready appeared in public at an authors mat.
inee in "Honor Bright" and her parents are
sanguine of her brilliant success in the com.
ing engagement.
mentioned Bijou Fernandez. Few thea.
ire goers would consider her a child now,
for she is almost q woman in size; but her
mother tells me she is only l2 years old, and
don't know where to find more competent
witness. Yet Bijou, who is now playing the
part Of a singing page in LAS You Like IT.
at Daly's, has been a public performer for
over nine years She took the part of Puck
in the same theatre some years ago, and, in
showing how she would put a girdle 'round
she earth in forty minutes" swung across the
stage, from fly to fly, on flying trapeze.
On one occasion, when Mr. Gerry was wit
Messing this performance, the child narrowly
escaped death by an accidental fire. He has
never interfered with her performances,
The Barrson children-four sisters. all un-
der the prescribed age at which children may
lawfully act on tho stage-are all accounted
as clever as they certainly are beautiful.
Two Of them have played in "Bootles Baby"
with Claxton and Stevenson, and two have
appeared in ''The Prince and the Pauper, and
all have proved acceptable actresses
Perhaps the most remarkable defiance of
Of the law, all things considered, is the Pup
pen Fee scene, which may be seen any night
in the grand opera in the Metropolitan Opera
house. Puppen Fee means in the German
the Dolls Fairy. and in one scene in the
opera this fairy comes into a toy store, where
sixty-fve children stand in cases, represent
ing dolls. They are from to IS years Of
age, and are dressed to represent all sorts Of
dolls Their part is a very severe one, re-
quiring them to stand motlonless, as repre-
senting dolls, for about six minutes They
stand on very small pedestals with their feet
close together, and very slight motion
would cause any one Of them to fall. At a
wave Of the fairy's wand they all come to
life and march around the stage in serpentine
lines.
fnrr tnui it,l TO- lra nor res
of this ballet before the public performance,
and ordered that six of the smallest children
who had been trained for the act should be
taken off. The other sixty-fve are acting
every night Mr.. Gerry is one OF the princi-
pal stockholders in the Metropolitan Opera
house.
The latest instance in which this theatrical
business has been interfSred with is the play
Of "Bluebeard, Jr.,n in which dozen little
children are drawn on the stage in a big char
lot representing a shoe. They jump out from
the shoe, sing Ring Rosy and "The old
woman who lived in shoe,n aud run off.
Mr.. Gerry prohibited this. The manager ap
pealed to the mayor of the city. The mayor
under the advice Of the corporation counsel
refused to sanction the performance. The
manager deiied arrest and went on with tht
regular performance after obeying the law
for two weeks. So far no one has been ar
rested
What does the public think' So far as
can learn the theatrical public, managers ant
audiences alike, believe there is no harm il
violating the law, provided tho children arr
not overworked or abused in any other way
Certainly the audiences are pleased with th
performances, for clever child actor will
draw better than almost any other card
known. No one, however, pretends to sa.
that the law sanctions their appearance, an'
from time to time the society causes som
ones arrest. Beyond that the law is move
taken into account DAVID A. CURTIS.