Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-18
A COMIC OPERA WAR.
Pauline Hall Out With Her Managers
and Discharges Them.
JEALOUSY OF AGNES HUNTINGTON
Given as the Cause of the Row Stirred Up
in the 0peratic Camp.
MAY HAVE A SENSATIONAL ENDING

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.1
CINCINNATI, November Ill is not
longer possible TO conceal the fact that
Pauline Hall, the comic opera star, is at
outs with her managers, Mayer & Stern.
Her engagement in this city brought matters
nearer to a climax than they had been at any
time since the disagreement first became
known. A week ago Harry Vaughn, the
theatrical agent, arrived here from New
York armed with letters of introduc-
tion to Miss Hall and the local managers,
stating that he would act as the official rep
resentative of Mayer s. Stern during the
remainder of Miss Halls tour. Miss Hall,
however, stoutly refused to recognize Mr..
Vaughn in any way. II am no longer un-
der the management of Marcus Mayer and
Ben Stern" she declared. "They did not
direct my affairs as 1 wished and dis
charged them, as I had perfect right to do
| by my contract. 1 am NY own manager
now."
WATCHING BOX OFFICE SALES.
Waugh remained around the theater all
the week, awaiting instructions from Mayer
& Stern, both of whom are with the Agnes
Huntington company. 1t was declared by
Vaughn that Mayer & Stern have an
ironclad contract with Miss hall; that
there had been no violation of its provisions,
and that they are acting in accordance
with the advice of their counsel, Howe &
Hummel Vaughn's chief object seemed
to be to gain an accurate record OF the box
office sales from which fact it is inferred
that Mayer & Stern's contract gives them
a certain percentage of the receipts
1t is learned here that the trouble began
three or four weeks ago, and that Miss Hall
and Stern had very harsh words early in
the tour. The success, social and artistic,
of Agnes Huntington, who is also under
the Maver & Stern management, is said
by Stern's friends to have aroused Miss
Halls jealousy. One of the company,
friendly to Mayer, said to-day:
Miss Hall is a very hard star to handle. She
refused to sing "Erminie'' when billed in it by
Stern, preferring to cling to "Amorita," in
spite of the decrease in the size of her
audiences She covets newspaper notoriety,
besides, and the extensive press notices volun-
tariy awarded to Agnes Huntington have had
a very irritating effect upon Miss Hall, who
has openly charged that Mayer & Stern have
been neglecting her interests to forward Agnes
Huntingtou's.
A SENSATION MAY ENsUE.
The stage manager. J. S. Greensfelder, was
released by Mayer & Stern early in the tour,
but Miss Hall insisted upon retaining him, even
after snother actor had come on from New
York Till his place. Since then Miss Hall
has been guided largely by Greensfelder's
advice, and he is naturally inimcal to
Mayer & Stern. After the New Y York engage
ment things were so unpleasant that Stern who
had been our manager, refused to continue
with us any longer and joined the Huntington
troupe. That is why Vaughn came on to Gin
cinnatl.
There will undoubtedly be suit and it may
be sensational one too, especially if the law
yers ask embarrassing questions as to the
financial backing of the company.