Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-21
Theatrical Matters of Interest to
Everybody.
BOUC1CAULT AND BROUGHAM
The Disputed Authorship of London Assur-
ance-Anna Dickinson's Strange HaIlucina-
tions-How Sara Bcrnhardt Looks to
Actress.
Written for The Evening Star.
"


authorship of London Assurance Tina:
famous comedy was first acted at the Covent
Garden Theater on March T. 1871. The prior
announcements had named nobody the
drsmatist. Boucicaut and Brougham were
very young men. and both had done little in
the way of acting and composing. but neither
had made any reputation at all. The late
Charles Matthews acted part and directed the
rehesrsals. and the youngsters were in close
attendance during the preparations. but it is
doubtful If even Matthews knew positively who
had written the piece. At the conclusion OF the
trial perfor nance the audience called for the
author. Boucicsult and Brougham stood to-
gether beside the prOmpter. when Madame
Vestris. the Ld,ty Cay SpNJtkeT of the original
cast, remarked that the time seemed to have
come TO divulge the identity of the successful
person On the instant. Boucicault stepped
out in front of the curtain and held its edge
behind hum. close to the side of the proscenium,
80 that Brougham could only have joined him
before the audience by using force. These par
ticulars of Broughams exclusion from the
honors were given by Matthews. during his last
visit TO this city. to friend; but when Mat
thews asked who really wrote the comedy
he replied emphatIcally that he did not know.
The general public has all along been aware
that, while BOucicaults sole authorship has
never been formally disputed. BrOugham has
been credited by many with part of the work
ORIGIN OF LONDON ASSURANCE"
Not many years before John Broughams
death he and Boucicault met by appointment
in the office of George Lewis. the noted Lon
don lawyer. and there passed from the latter
to the former the sum of $4,000. Boucicault
had Just made a great amount of money out of
The Shaughraun. and BrOug ham poor,
his last venture in theatricals here in New York
having failed. \ third man present Jean
mi II IL a of
upon the authority Of an old member of the
Lotos Club (of which Brougham once pres
iient) that can now be made FOR the first time.
and which goes far to clear the mystery away
from the authorship of London Assurance
The basis of the play was three One-act French
pieces of farcial character. like those which
Madison MOrtus adopted into the many
English farces bearing his name. Two had
been printed In Paris and transiently used
there MANY years before. But the third
in the manuscript of Jean Paul Parets father.
and was bought very cheapiy by Boucicault.
who amalgamated it with the others, the result
being London Assurance How clever he
was at doyetailiiIg short pieces into a long
was demonstrated 80 late as Forbidden Fruit,
which he manufactured out of two French
farces OF two different authors. John Brougham
had an eqnai hand with him. however. in thus
producing 'Londor Assurance The exact
proportions of their collaboration cannot now
be ascertained. But the fact i positive that
Brougnam was a joint author. The bargain
years from the date of the first production.
Now that il l. disclosed all the parties to the
compact dead. the uucopyrighted play has
no money value. ard only those interested in
the rights and wrongs of fame will care much
about the subject anyway
ANNA DICKINSON As AN ACTRESS.
Anna Dickinson failed in Hamlet" but she
Ss- enough of actress to get $3.50 from the
actors fand now that she is poor and crazy
Il -. e. rl,r
never believed tina: she did not succeed arts
tically IL her brief venture on the stage. The
absurd iaseo Was. to her thinking. a brilliant
achievement Even at that time she must have
been demented a little. for she talked yehe-
mently and ireoherently of plot to ruin her
theatrical chances. She declared that men of
the political party opposed to her own had con-
splred. IN retaliation for her rOstrum elOCuence
against them. to thwart her stage ambition.
One of her delusiOns was that large fund had
been contributed by these enemies to bride the
dramatic critics of all the big cities. and she
construed every published article in which the
futihty of her essay and acting was described
"a just so much evidence of corruption. To her
IL WAS uncomfortable that a great orator could
be other than great player. William Winter,
the veteran critic of the Tribune. had long
been an intimate acquaintance and he tenn
pered his condemnation with the utmost posi-
bic kindness; yet she included him among her
subcrned foes and rated him soundIy. Stage
folks are at once 20 sensitive and conceited
and her hot temper was so well known that her
wild talk passed FOR an ebUlition OF distp-
pointment. but the belief is now that her mind
disordered. friend who has visited her
in the asylum saws that her magina ton is now
filed with enmity To Mrs. Leslie Carter. and
that her fluent tongue is employed in uttering
it She regards Mrs Carriers sudden con-
spicuousness on the stage personal outrage
and voices her resentment in mad addresses to
imaginary audiences.
FADs OF POLITE SOCIETY.
Polite society approves only Of polite places
Of amusement, yet deariy likes to venture into
resorts Of quite another kind Carmencita was
an illustration As long Murray Hill
bellies had TO be taken TO a concert hall of bad
repute In order to see her dance and thus go
Summing. o. else bring her TO their home as
semblages a hired entertainer. and so prove
their ability 20 buy costls amusement for their
guests. the Spanish wrlggier and twister re-
manned fad But she Is dead now. She at
tended her own funeral this week az a matinee
benefit of the Sherman monument fund
big Broadway theater was crowded. Carmen
eitA made her first public appearance outside of
= beer garden She was a distinct and COM
plete failure The spectators cared very little
about her. The same dainty ladies who had
deemed II good fun to make up parties for the
garden and there sit in the smoke and smell of
tobacco and beer. in the presence Of the wors,
women Of the town, found Carmencita only
commonplace under clean circumstances. But
they have chosen "a successor in Jenny Hill a
rough and tough example of the London music
hall vocalist Jenny Is fOrty-fve years old.
her face Is ugly and her form is poor. She is
NOS without ability in mimicry of a violent.
caricaturing kind but her voice is in tone with
the filing of a saw. She imPersonates London
types Of girls, who are almost Unrecognizabie
by Americans and whose language is mostly
cockney slang uninteiiigible here. But she i
30 English, you know, Therefore our Anglo
MANAGES dote ON her. Her first audience here
however. contained few sympathetic witnesses
Of her efforts. and the EnglIsh woman realized
nj once that she had failed
"Cawn't please you till I've learned 'ow,'
ahe said, in a speech. but Ill stroive to learn
In . urry, don't yah know"
Then laughter stopped her on account Of the
don't you know phrase. which we use as a
comicality. but which had such intention in
her vocabulary.
Il cawn't fswncy what you're laughin' at ~
she went on, but I'm glad awe il anyway
don't yah know"
IL was Jennys cockneyism. and the fact that
she was London concert hall pct. that turned
her bad start into winning nnish. She meant
TO give up these limitations of Whitechapel
characters which the first New York audiences
had rejected and try to substitute others which
would b. comprehended. but before the end Of
the ws<k sweiis were coming in carriages TO the
variety show where she Is engaged. AID now
the lower part Of the house Is iilled nightly by
the same fashionable folks who made a passing
fad Of Caruaeneita- They are don't-yah- know
"A Al ii. l. IL