Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-10-04
ACTORS AND HOODOOS
WOE TO ApLsy WHOSE FIRST NIGHT
SEES A YELLOW FLA6EoLET.


Yhs In Itself Harmless Instrumsnt Exer-
else. /. Peculiar Fatality whea In . The
ter Orchestra At = Dress Rehearsal or
Il the Inisial Performance.
That PLAY can never succeed" said an
Nd time manager in an up town cafe sew
eral nights ago 1T is pity, tco. for lisa
good play and good company wish
that had not seen TIE dress rehearsal
you're getting old. colonel. and you
snly see success IN the past, said leading
man .
THAT Is where ron are wrong" replied
the manager. L know a good thing when
see il, and this play is a good thing. but
il began with hoodoo, and it will surely
fall
"Hoosioos are toumyrotl There. is To
such thing as !, hoodoo that can harm any
play"
Around the table were half a dozen actors
and meu interested in theatrical affairs
Few men in New York know more about
the history Of the American stage for the
past few years than the manager who spoke.
Booth, Jefferson. Barrett and Irving have
all claimed hiu Is their friend, and his
reminiscenccs Of the stage make him the
center figure in any after t. play gather
ing Of actors.
Now ,colouei, said the leading man when
the glasses had beea filed, you were talk
ing about hoodoos on the stage. don't
believe in them When play is failure,
it is easy to explain it by saying it had d
hoodoo."
"Wen,'' said the colonel, actors the
world over are T. superstirious lot. Even
Henry Irving brought his horseshoe to this
country when he first came here l didn't
believe in hcoioos and that sort of thing
when was young, don't like to accept
them now, bat | am forced 10 by ey9eri-
enee.
Have YOU ever known The yellow flage3-
let To fail in Wreckiug play? Now, you
laugh at that think that, as a rule. there
is no harra iii "a yellow flageolet in itself,
but there is a peculiar fatality in the cir
eumstances tbat briug il into a theater or
chestr1. at a dress rehearsal or on an open
ing night 1uere was yellow lageOlet
in the orchestra today, and that is why |
say that the piece is doomed. Yes, that's
right; laugh II you will, but my experience
is a long one, and think am a sane man.
Any old manager in this country will tell
you that yellow tiageolet is sure TO wreck
any company. Circus men won't have them
in their bands. could tell You many in
cidents to illustrate what | say. Perhaps
you remember that when The Junior Part
ner' was put on. every one said it was go
ing to be a biz success Everything point
ed that way, but it opened with a yellow
flageolet in the orchestra, and then Mrs.
Mckee Ruukin's troubles began. That is
10 L mn
sensible men, too who would refuse to ring
up the curtain until the yellow flageolet
was driven out of the orchestra"
That is Just NJ absurd" said the light
comedy man, "as the cheese that the ltal-
ian ballet girls in the Crystal Slipper kept
in their dressing rooms. know the effect
Of that mascot, for was in the company
Every time | went ON the stage or near the
dressing roonis thought of Hunters Point
and the 2:.shoi~c district. Couldn't per
suade those girls tothrow away this cheese
They believed that "A. long as they kept it
they woud he sure of an engagement. The
cheese had been given to them in Italy to
rotect them from harm. Each girl had u
small piece of i,-luud cheese it was, too
rolled mp III paper in her trunk. To be sure
If protection they took it to their dressing
rooms. Eddie 10y nearly choked because
Of the smell of that cheese. Eddie never
lid like comic opera, and that cheese set
tied him. 1 could only show them what
es1,l ln In paly' : company he would say.
'nnd escape from this horrible Italian
cheese I'm tno delicate for this work any
way Just wait until get into the 'legit'
and wear swallow tails and smoke ciga-
rettes on TIE stage and pail my cuffs
Now, colon,i e.eakju, about the hoodoos,
that is my experience with "a mascot"
For soine reason, said the leading man,
factors are naturally superstitious. Per
haps it is because their life is one of many
ventures, and sometimes the most insig-
nflcant thing may lead to failure or sue
cess. Probably good deal of the super
stition is assumed Most people have
dash Of that in them, whether they will ad-
NIT it or not. Do you remember when
Rose Coghlan made her hit at Wallack' s in
Diplomacy IA the Countess Zicka2 As
you remember, the plot of this play hangs
on the perfume that the countess uses
Rose Coghlan used n certain perfume on
that night and she madea big hit. | have
heard that she always uses this perfume
now, no matter what the play may be- Of
course it is only a woman's fancy, and yet
have heard that Miss Coghlan would
rather lose her wardrobe than her per
fume. Patti also has Il similar fad. When
she made her first great hit, she wore n
pair OF shoes Of peculiar pattern. Patti
wears in her concerts now shoes made on
this identical last and of the same pattern.
She believes they bring her luck, and ap-
parently they have done So Yes. stage
folk are bit superstitious. You probably
have all seen would be funny men thrown
off the stage mt rehearsal for quoting some
If the hoodoo passages in Macbeth
There is very little or no connection"
.aid the colonel, between these little fol
bles and spiritualism, but the conversation
suggests it, You would all probably be
surprised to know the number of well
known actors who believe in spiritualism.
Billy Florence was a spiritualist, although
few people knew it. knew him as init
mately As any one. and he has often talked
about his belief to me. BARLEY Campbell
was another, aud 50 is McVicker of Chi
cago, Ada !saacs Menken is now simply
name TO you youngsters. She was clever
woman, as we'll as n very beautiful woman.
The elder Dumas and many other men OF
letters were among her friends. She wrote
two volumes of verse, which, she claims,
we're inspired by the spirits. These verses
consisted II musical lines Of varying length,
and they attracted some attention Pm not
u spirituaist. but | am firm believer in
Eoodoos and occasionally in mascots. Let's
have a nightcap. New York Sun.