The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-10-16
1T MAKES HIM BLIND.
Johu Griffith Says that Facing CALCIUM
Lights Ruins His Eyesight.

Johu Griffith Says that Facing Calcium
Lights Ruins His Eyssight.
A prince of devils, John Griffith, arriv-
ed in Topeka at IL this morning from
Leavenworth. He is looking just as
young ever and expects to show To-
peka people what Mephisto in Faust" is
ike, at the Grand this evening.
"Mr. Griffith said to a reporter, eyes,
Pm back in Topeka again. We may be
back again too, before the season is over.
I'm playing east now. From here we go
to Atchison and ST. Joseph, and from the
latter place we jump to Chicago and con-
tinue east. Along in March we are going
to start for the coast and play Topeka
in the spring. If we do l shall present
''The Bells" by Leopold Lewis, with
"Chatterton" by w. A. Southwick, a one
act curtain raiser. This is my change
bill.
Il am doing twice the business this
year that I did last in the same places.
They treated me elegantly in Kan
sas City, and my business there for
the week was three times that for
the same time last year. l haven't one
of last years company with me this sea-
son--no, Pll take that back. / have
the same electrician l think the COM
pany's much improved"
''Are you introducing any new stage
OuSAnOSS4 dkh6Q lAS 0DOEL0E.
"Why, no, they won't allow you to do
it. You see the people know the play so
well that they'd know if 1 attempted
anything like that It's just like play
ing Hamlet" People all know whatyo
ought to do"
"Do you like playing Mephisto?"
mo, I'd much rather play Shylock or
Richard. l don't know why l dislike
the work, but l do. The way l happen
ed to take up the play was: Tom keene
and l were going into the dressing room
one day and we saw lithograph of Nor
rison as Mephisto pasted on the wall. He
said Jack, why don't you go out this
summer with Faust production?' 1
followed his suggestion and have been
playing it now two years.
'But l don't like the part and am
gradually drifting away from it and will
eventually quit it altogether. Morrison
has three companies on the road and
mine makes four For this reason am
putting on other plays this year and will
gradually play them all the time.
"Faust.is affecting my eyesight-
think it is the calcium lights used in the
production. l can't see at all when the
stage is dark, and some one mas to show
me the way. l never see the audience
in front whsn the lights are all eff in the
auditorium l don't want to see them, it
interferes with a persons work Why,
you know Morrison is as blind as a bat
and has to be led around, just from play
ing this piece. This is one reason I'm
going to stop it.
"Keene is coming here this winter.
think he is good actor. The trouble
with Keens is that he hasn't kept up
with the times. Booth set the clip and
Keene was unable to follow
He doesn't study, that's the rea
son. Why, that man has more
natural talent than Booth had if he would
develop it. When he learned to act
every body ranted and raved. The trag-
edy of today is what is called suppressed
emotion. Come out on the stage and
swell out your chest and your arms and
get red in the face, but don't say any
thing. Keene shouts whenever he gets
q chance.
"Why, just 10 show you what kind of a
man be is, when he was going to play
Louis XI the first time he just learned
the lines. I asked him how he was going
to do when he got on the stage. He said
he didn't know. You see, he was just
waiting for the inspiration of the mo-
ment. He is clearly a spontaneous ac-
tor
Griffith will be 81 years old in Decem-
Der. He spent two hours this afternoon
at photograph gallery having pictures
taken of his characters in "The Bells"
aud "Chatterton." He leaves at o'clock
in the morning.