The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-06-28
HER POOR BEGINNING
BUT. AS THE PRoveRB DECLARES. II
MADE A GOOD ENDING.

''S~ I" oIOO CNOlN0.
Mary Anderson's First Romeo Describes
Her Debut q Ridiculous Faifure-For
Months She Peddled Tickets to Secure =
suficient Guarantee Fund.
Among the actors who compose the
stock company Of Richard Mansfield Is the
man who was the first TO play q leading
r,he part with Mary Anderson. This is
w M. Grifiths, who was Romeo the night
she made her debut as Juliet
] les he remarked To tho writer. ."I
can well remember the first time Mary
ANDERSON ever recited to show professional
too thoroughly ridiculous ever to be for
| gotten was then a member Of Barney
| McAuley's stock company here and was
the leading actor. After the performance
one night Twas just going out Of the stage
door when Johnny Mackey, now dead.
called me back.
Hold on, he said, you don't want to |
miss the, fun. We've got a stagcstruck
giri here, and she's going TO recite.'
walked back TO the theater and there |
on ,he stage was strip of an undeyel-
oped girl who couldn't have weighed az
niuch as 100 pounds. There was but one
that was her eyes / never saw eyes which
seemed SO large and furtive In the front
row sat Barney McAuley and o lot of
newspaper men. Soon she began to recite
from Romeo and Juliet" and when sbe |
came To the part where the lovelorn lass
reiers TO her ancestors bones she got down
on the stage and rolled all over the place
She wore dark dress Of the cheapest ma.
teriai The stage was never scrubbed and
NOT swept with any great regularity The
result was that she caused quite q cloud of
DUST, and Barney and the newspaper men
appiauoeo uproariously, laughed immoder.
ateiy ana shouted Bravo' with such In.
tensity that her words could scarcely be
heard
This was Mary Anderson's first appear-
ance as an aspirant for dramatic honors. Ial
Later she came to Barney McAulev IN
and said sho wanted to make her debut in | s
Romeo and Juliet !
NY child, said Barney, you can have I
my theater II you will pay me $500 for il /
whenever you are ready to appear n
But where am to get that much v
money! she asked In despair. v
Barney then suggested that she 90 s
around and get people pledged to attend u
the performance. II they didn't want 10 | i.
ouy tickets, he would accept the pledges r
~ business men In good standing. So out b
sne started, trudging the streets from plaoe 9,
10 place For four weary months She Lent %
going daily. would frequently meet her
'n days when the sidewalks were covered
81th this miserable sluhh you have here
20 much In winter. Plainly nttirod and 4
sith no protection from the rain. I have
deeh stopped to let her walk under mv
Umbrella. Sometimes would meet her
orning out Of a store with a smile on her
ace, and she would say delis htedly:
=" sold two in there -
once asked her If men never inspItad
er.
" Oh, yes often,' was her RESPONSE
'us pay no attention to them. I am
,orAips ,no ior one object. That is to raise
soo, and I'm going to accomplish it,
FINALLY she raised the amount and
ent to Barney, who had never dreamed
10 girl would succeed. Only Barney and
lrs. MoAuley were present when the de-
GIFTED girl told Of her success. After Bar
~ realized the girl had actually raised
e sum he had fixed, he asked her what
ay she had chosen for her debut.
Romeo and Juliet,"' was her an
7er. 4
But my dear, he demonstrated. the
stumes will cost you at least $780,
AL this the poor girl tainted She felt
Q could not raise another cent. When ?
had revived, Mrs. McAuley said tho
plring girl should wear her costumes IN
70 IDEA OF strip Of a girl In Mrs. Mo- NJ
iiey' costumes was absurd, but she was 4
happy to think of this. When she came
rehearse the part, she was utterly unfit
for it, III
MY greatest difficult was in showing S
now TO act when she came to the lines.
me- my love, my SOUL At the first =
net should gently caress Romeo. at INV
o her arms should be thrown passion.
~ about his neck, and when INV soul'
cached Juliet should fairly throw her.
1t Romeo. She was afraid even 70 mt
arms coldly about my neck.
rave You ever been In lover I asked.
NO, sir, was the timid reply.
Didn you ever put your arms around
an peckp
No, sirP
.,al, linen M how the world did you happen
elect Romeo and JulietP" ~
do not know, sir. That was whatI
ted
Though 1t was Saturday night the
70 was packed. My, what a failure she
1 never saw anything 80 awkward
was born. She would 20 across the
Q In three steps. I have never ceased s,..
dering how she managed IL. This put ladies'
'p TO her career for time. Ben Debar also M
T. Louis wrote Barney McAulsy, stat
no had an open date and would IKE IN s,o 10
an attraction Barney responded that
was girl hero who had packed his
Q, principally on the claim that aha -
the daughter Of Confederate general. VI
gh he didn't know whether her father
been In the army at all BY working
outhern sentiment Barney Thought
louis people might be worked too Q8l
was tried with capital results John
On was attracted by this and under.
TO star her, with the result that he PEG
every copper he had Prior 10 this
'riffn had persuaded his brother to q
- 200 to take Miss Anderson and q
company through small Kentucky
;. They came to me, and 1 refused oat
saying IL was pure madness. The
er backed out then. Miss Nnd,r.a,s -