Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-22
Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

the calculation. There's big profit in variety,
as we all know. The three richest men in
American management today-that is, Of those
who made all their money out of the stage-got
their fortunes chiefly from variety theaters.
Reckoning chiefly on legitimate theatricals,
and in their aggregate, they don't pay ex-
penses.'
| The conference conceived proposed means
| OF making theatricals pay. and the prime mover
was putting forward an argument in justifica-
ton OF the plan, which was nothing else than
to make alcoholic traffic help support the
| drama Seven managers were present. and
| they were harmonious in the belief that the
| liquor law should be SO amended as to permit
| bars in places accessible directly from the
theaters At present the statute forbids the
| sale OF intoxicants in any room which can be
| entered from theater without going into the
street on the way, the intention Of the law
makers having been to separate the two diver
| sions Of drama and drink. This law is observed
generally in the Broadway theaters. Once in
| while a door is opened from a lobby into q
bar room, but the Offense has to be stopped
| quickly. The consequence is not any curtail-
| ment OF tipping between acts, but the division
OF 1t among the groggeries close to theaters
Now, the seven managers in secret session
agreed unanimously that the liquor traffic de-
pendent upon each theater could and should
| belong to the house, and be made to swell its
revenue. ''The bar would pay the orchestra"
i SoAu ouc, All WuOsc mluQ Tue Cost OI ORCHESTRAL
music was begrudged, as it is generally among
managers.
wouldn't it degrade legitimate theatricals
just little bit?" was a rather timid suggestion
Mot if it's done right" was the very posi-
tive reply. 'It should be made fashionable
London theaters, with their open bars in cor
ridors and lobbies, should be cited as a swell
example. Degrading Nonsense. Why. don't
you remember that the late Lester Wallack
opened bar in his new theater, and not only
hot h,1\ kAl l.
from London? 1t was brilliant idea The fell
lows were little shy Of ordering drinks from
the girls behind the counter, but the strange
ness was wearing off rapidly, and in a month a
bar would have been booming adjunct of the
SWEETEST theater in town. But the police
wouldn't allow it. The bar was down in the
cellar, with a stairway from the main lobby,
and that was violation of the law. What we
want to do, and can do, is to amend the statute
so as to permit bar in theater. Then every
manager can scoop the drink business. that by
right belongs to him."
WOULD NOT HAVE BAR ROOMS.
Your correspondent spent a single hour in
going to the Offices of Broadway theater man
ayers other than those who had attended the
conference and in that short time he found
eight who declared. unhesitatingly. that they
would not sell drinks on their premises, no
matter how much freedom the law might give.
Four of them had leased their theaters with q
certainty that the adjoining stores would not be
used for bar rooms. Friends of the unsulied
drama or Of temperance need have no dread Of
bars in legitimate New York theaters. A ma
Jorlty OF the managers are against it, no mat
ter if it would be so English
This has been a dead week for new matter on
the stage. but next week will be all alive with
the production of eight new pieces. The the
atrical doings, therefore. are still preparatory.
Upper Broadway is still thronged with PLAYERS,
most of them so jaunty and pronounced in
style as to be recognizable on sight az show
folks.
POWDER AND PAINT.
THE mistake" said q pretty actress, ''that
most Of the women in my profession make is
in putting powder and rouge ON their faces
when they go on the street in the daytime. 1t
is absolutely impossible to make up the face SO
that daylight will not reveal the false coloring
How many women Of real beauty have seen
cheaper themselves and disfgure the honest
good looks that heaven bestowed on them by
wearing a stage makeup in daily life! 1
wouldn't like to mention the names of actresses
that paint and powder and crayon for the
street, but il l started in to do SO don't think
1 should leave many OF them out. l have
often heard men say that they suffered an
who had seemed almost divine to
them across the footlights merely because
they found them vulgarly made-up They
could have easily forgiven the few blemishes that
a clean face would have revealed, and with that
clean face the actress would have preserved for
them nearly all of the fascination that she
exerted by means Of her theatric artificialities
/ have tried SO often to talk nv friends into
this way Of thinking. but I've never had any
| success and though there are many girls and
old women for that matter whom I am very
fond of most of them make me frightfully
ashamed of. myself and my profession when
ever go out with them in the DAYTIME. And
rouge sooner or later coarsens the skin until q
woman who uses it gets positively unwhole-
some to look at. But they will use it. and the
crayon on the eyes, too, and the consequence
| is we actresses are often taken for something
very much worse than we are All well, l. at
least. am free of the habit. OF course l touch
powder puff to my nose once in q while Just
to take the shine Off you know. Like this, YOU
see. A dab on this side, then a dab on that,
and then, just to blend it, you bring the puff
over the cheeks and chin-and there you are"
And the merry little actress, with her sound
ideas on the vuigarity of making up went her
way, her face a luminous white and her lips a
deep crimson from constant biting.
ACTORS AND THEIR DOUBLES.
Nat Goodwin has been the weeks greatest
parsonage in Broadway, if we are to rate him
by the curiosity evinced by observers That is
beca 'e his exploit of attempting to break into
his wIfes house has been published extensively.
Besides, Goodwin is such blonde little fellow,
SO exactly like his stage self that strangers reg
ognize him readily. He is having a prolonged
spell Of conviviality. 1t is being told Of the
son Of the late Joe Emmett that he used to
take his inebriated fathers place on the stage
without the substitution being detected. No
such thing ever really occurred. But it is
fact that an actor named Charles Coots used to
take Goodwins place when that actor failed to
come to curtain time and the audience would
not know the difference. The character was an
exaggerated one in mako up and delivery how
ever, and that made a clever imitation posi-