The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-10
Some Home Truths Told About
the New York Man.
ayers.
AS TO LILLIAN RUssELL's TIGHTS
Wealth Is a Great Handicap to a
Musical Com.
poser.

| land" the other night Northern
man suddenly found himself applauding
| the Southerners in whole hearted man
mer. AS he realized what he was doing
| his hands fell to his side and he exclaimed:
well, I'm bowed! I've sat through a
good many war plays before this, but I
never saw one yet that could make me sit
up and blubber like baby and give the
| Southerners the good hand. That fellow
| Belasco must DE corker."
| The man who made this speech simply
! instanced one of the remarkable peculi-
arities of this play. Examine the manu-
script, and you would be forced to admit
that Belasco has favored neither side; as
far as words go he has remained strictly
| neutral. The heroine is Southern girl,
| the hero Northerner. The heroine nat
urally excites the most sympathy from
| the audience; but, as though to counterfeit
| this factionaI effect, both the villains in
the play are Southerners. Perhaps, how
| ever, the most wonderful feat which Mr..
Belasco has achieved is that before the
curtain has fallen on the first act he has
reduced the women's hand kerchiefs to a
briny pulp, and has obliged the men in
his audience to take refuge in ''sniff1es''
What other playwright has accomplished
this? Look through the big successes of
the last fifteen years, and if you can show
| me single dram where tears have flowed
| with such alacrity as in 1.-THE Heart of
Maryland" l will take off my hat to your
| superior knowledge.
Every American should rejoice at the
success of ''The Heart of Maryland" 1t
means SO much, not for David Belasco
alene-and surely no man has ever served
longer and more bitter apprenticeship-
| but to all American playwrights this sue
cess is fraught with significance. 1t really
| begins to look as if
| THR AMERICAN DRAMATIsT IS LOOKING UP.
! So far this season there have been thrice
great big successes-"The Prisoner of Zen
da," 1.-The Social Highwayman" and "The
Heart of Maryland" The latter two of
these plays are the works of American
playwrights. The success of Belasco's
play has set the teeth of every New
manager had refused to produce it, be-
cause Belasco insisted that Mrs Leslie
Carter should be cast for the part of
Maryland. The managers claimed that
Mrs. Carriers unsavory record in the d-
vorce court would prevent her from ever
being accepted in New York, even if she
were capable OF playing so difficult part.
But so many actresses have been divorced
since Mrs. Carriers affairs attracted public
attention that the New York theater-
goers seem to have forgotten all about it.
Indeed, her success in the leading part has
been most emphatic. and the New York
critics, without single exception, have
been Obliged to acknowledge that she gives
a performance of which any actress might
well be proud.
WHAT BELAsco SAYS ABOUT 1T.
Yesterday, in speaking of 1.-The Heart
of Maryland" BeIasco said: Nobody
knows what a fight I have had to
oct Mo ha
quarrel with Charles Frohman my way
seems to have been blocked in every
direction. Last year l had made
all my arrangements with Mr..
Palmer to produce the play at his
| theaters, when Frohman's New Woman
and The Fatal Card companies were
hurried in time. After that slap in
| the face l went from one manager to an
| other only to be turned down. Finally, I
| met Max Bluman. He and Charles Evans
had just leased the Herald-square. Bluman
| read my play and then he said to me:
| that play is great. Even l can tell that.
You go ahead and stage it at my expense.
| don't care how much you spend. I'll foot
| the bills all right, and We'll open our next
| season with it at the Herald-square'
You know the rest" continued Belasco
"I'll tell you another reason why l am SO
| elated at my plays success. 1t has always
been said that [ could not write dialogue,
and that in order for me to write play
that would be q success l must have a col
laborator. This play, Heart of Mary
| land, is all my own, and | am ready to
stand or fall by it,"
From present prospects Mr.. Belasco will
stand.
SOME FACTS ABOUT "THE sHoPGIRL."
"The Shopgirl,'' the latest importation
from England, has only scored partial
success. 1t will never repeat the i'm
| mense success here which it scored in
London, because it is too much in the line
of the Hoyt farce-comedies. Only words
of praise, however, can be bestowed on
the company, for cleverer crowd of per-
formers have never been sent over here.
Young George Grossmith made the hit of
the piece, and his song, I'm Beautiful
Bountiful BERTHE" is already being whis-
tied on the streets. As one of the New
York critics remarked, young Grossmith is
Grossmith, but he is the nephew of his
uncle, Weldon Grossmith, an actor who,
during his first season in this country, was
chief comedian with dear, neyer-to-be-
forgotten Roslna Vokes.
After Grossmith returned to England
Felix Morris played his parts, but his
place was never filled, and although he
has not appeared here for ten years now
New Workers have not forgotten him.
LEFTY LIMBS LESS GRACEFUL SISTER.
Young Grossmiths wife, Adelaide Astor,
is also member of the company. She is
pretty girl, who sings in a still, small
voice. Her chief claim to distinction lies
in the fact that she is sister of the famous
Gaiety dancer, Lefty Lind. Miss Astor
dances prettily and is agile, but the grace
of the only Lefty lies not in her toes.
There are several young women in "The
Shopgirl' who are already cutting a
sWath on the Rialto.
DAN FRoHMAN coNsULTs WITH MANSFIELD.
But to bark back to American PLAYS
again. There is chance, a very strong
probability, in fact, that when the Lyceum
Stock Company comes back to the home
theater it will appear, not in "The Home
Secretary" as has been announced, but in
1.-THE Social Highwayman.
Ii this plan, which is now under consid-
Stone, who wrote the play, will be paid a
| compliment of immense dimensions The
situation is simply this: The Hollands
produced 1.-THE Social Highwayman" lust
at the close of their New York engage
ment. IL only ran two weeks, and as it