The San Francisco call., 1895-12-01

even before it came to dress rehearsal
Inat was some eleven years ago. Las!
month, when Belasco's play, The Heart
o. Maryland, was produced at the heraio ;.a
square, Mr.. Coward was in front to write
the worlds criticism. NO newspaper IN
town was more emphatic in its praise OF
Belasco's work. The next day Belasco
happened to meet Coward on Broadway.
he grlpned him by the hand, ana, with
tears IN his eyes, he exclaimed:
THAT was the finest notice l ever had IN
my life." Then he added, with sly little
twinkle IN his eye, 81 say, Coward, ougnt
never to have said that you couldn't play
Romeo"
Mind you, this is only rumor, and
manager Charles Frohman denies 1t. But
Tor all that its dollars to doughnuts that
next season Maud Adams will start out as
1ull-hedged star. The wlseacres say
that this starring project is willy bitter
Donne Douche, which her manager IS mold
ing out to her to keep her from marrying
Richard Harding Davis and leaving the
stage. These two young people, always
accompanied by Miss Adams mother, or
some other suitable chape1on, are seen
abroad together very frequently; and
through his intimacy with John Drew
young Davis is also able to gain access
behind the scenes. His attentions to Miss
ADAMS are most marked, but neither OF
them Will as yet admit that they are en-
gagged. In fact, when a friend cornered
Davis about this matter, the other day,
the short story writer remarked with his
most Van Biberish air. "You know, old
man, that l would never marry woman
VINO was on the stage This Is merely
conceded as clever hedging on Davis part.
Mark you, he didn't say he wouldn't marry
an actress. That's quite another thing.
Actresses have retired from the stage to be
married before this. Anyhow from cold
FLOODED point of view. it is sincerely to be
hope0 that Mr.. Frohman will prevail, and
that the stage will not be robbed in the
immediate future of one of Its sweetest and
most modest figures.
"Rodimon, the Student" the play which
Richard Mansfield will present at the Gar
rick next week, is a dramatiZatlon OF the
Russian novel, "Crime and Punishment"
The book has been dramatiZed by Charles
Henry Meltzer.
BY the way, speaking of Meltzer re-
Clement Scott, in which the London critic
threatens to sue Augustin Daily to recover
royalties on his adaptation OF lie Collier
de la Re,ne," a work on which both Melt
ger and Scott were employed.
Next week we shall have Ada Rehan
and Olga Nethersole on Broadway wrest-
ling for metropolitan honors. This week
MISS Rehan is revivlng 1.-The School for
Scandal" but as soon as Nethersole opens
Mr.. DAILY intends to spring some novelty
on the public. For Mr.. Daly's sake, it is a
pity that Miss Rehan ever prevailed upon
him to relinauish the management of Miss
Nethersole, for she has proved this year,
under Mr.. Frohman's management, that
she is undoubtedly one of the strongest at
fractions now before the public.
1t is a long time since the Rialto has
been so shocked as by the news from Aus
tralia last week of the suicides of Arthur
Dacre and Amy Roselle. Sir Henry Irving
was particularly shocked by the news, for
Mrs. Dacre (Amy Roselle) was an old
friend OF his, and had appeared in his
company only as lately as last year in the
original production of king Arthur"
LESLIE WHITACRE.