The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-06-23
A PARROT STAGE MANAGER
An Intelligent Bird Creates Dire Con
fusion in a Boston Theatre.

An Intelligent Bird Creates Dire Con-
fusion in a Boston Theatre.
From the Boston Globe: There are
parrot stories in abundance, but in most
of them this bird is credited with possess
ing a large vocabulary of swear words.
The parrot that is really bright and
witty, without speaking vulgar is not SC
OTTER heard of, but there is a rarely clev-
er bird on the'stage of the Park theatre
A few weeks ago the bird was intrusted
to the care of John Callahan, the prop.
erty man of the Park
The parrot was placed ina good posi-
ton on the stage so that he could hear all
that was said and see all that was done
during the rehearsals of "The Golden
/ Wedding"
Several days passed and not a word was
heard from the parrot. Mr. Callahan
began to grow anxious. He feared that
the bird was ill, but was comfofted by
noticing that the parrot always held his
head tipped on one side, and always seem
ed to listen attentively to what was said.
Monday morning, during the final re
hearsal of the play, the parrot began to
talk necessarily and correctly repeated
line after line of Mr.. Miller's iibretto.
The bird seemed impressed most favor
ably by Dan Daly's character, and very
often interjected in Dan Days own tone,
''I'm so tired -
Another favorite line of the parrot was
taken from Jennie Yeamans' part, Say,
what are you giving me, jollyl"
The parrot was removed to a secluded
corner at night for fear that it might talk
too much and break up the performance.
The next morning it was reported to
Callahan that the parrot had repeated
but one sentence, and that very fire.
quently That was Darn DAILY" with
emphasis on the darn"
After this experience it was decided TO
allow the parrot to remain on the stage
during the performance, and he behaved
himself most admirably
pThere were good many cuts made in
the piece after the first night Lines
were changed and-new situations put in,
just as there are in every new production
of this kind So it was, night after night,
each performance being different from
the preceding one, as a result of the re-
hearsal held during the day.
Toward the end of the week the parrot
seemed to be getting restless. The lines
that he had learned to repeat from one
performance to another kept changing,
so that he seemed to be completely I'M
done.
During rehearsals frequent demand
lar words, "Cut that out.H et,..
ThepaFrot had evidently learned this
we'll but spoke not a word until the Sat
urday night performance
On this night the players had no end
of trouble They had their lines and sit
uations changed so often that it was with
difficulty that they followed out their
parts on the lines laid down at the last
rehearsal. They would start to do some
piece of business, which they thought
was right when they heard a voice from
the wings crying "Cut that out"
They could not understand the stage
manager saying such a thing in the
midst of the performance, and it was not
until the curtain was rung down and af
ter several severe accusations had been
exchanged by members of the company
that it WINS discovered that the parrot
who had been silent for whole week
had forgotten every line of the play, but
had remembered too well the oft-repeat-
ed command at rehearsal of "Cut that
ont -