Evening journal., 1896-12-29
HAMLET LEFT OUT.
THE PRODUCTION OF PLAYS WITH
OUT THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTER.


ed the base for the proverbial express
sion, 3" Hamlet with Hamlet left out. T."
In the introduction to his ''Talisman"
he wrote about ''playbill which is
said TO have announced the tragedy of
Hamlet, the character of the Prince of
Denmark being left out" As in the
case of most modern proverbs, the fin
ished product differs in form from the
raw material
There is no record that Hamlet" ev-
er was acted with the character Of the
Prince of Denmark left out, though the
play has been acted in almost every 9TH
er way. In 1881, in London, the YER
sion of the first quarto, which was print
ed in 1908, was acted by amateurs.
They followed the customs of the thea
ter of Queen Bess time, using no seen
cry or decorations, and the actors were
garbed as Raleigh and his friends were
About the same time. too. Edwin
Booth and his company arrived at Hart
ford minus their trunks and gave three
acts Of the play in their travelling cos
tunes. Probably, however, the effect
was not vastly different from Booths
ordinary production of the tragedy.
Then the Count Joannes and James
Owen O'Conor acted the part of Ham
let with two readers, man and woman,
to take the other parts; and Bellew--
Kyrle Bellows father-read the play at
desk in front Of the proscenium, while
the actors moved about the stage with
appropriate gestures and opened and
shut their mouths and said no words
But most nearly approaching to Scott's
omitted Prince of Denmark must have
been the performances where women
played Hamlet; Charlotte Cushman,
Miss Marriott (who made n famous
prince), Adele Belgrade, Anna DiclSin-
son, and round dozen of others tried
the part
But if Hamlet" has not been played
without the prince, other plays have
been ON occasion.
In the last century there was Han
nah Brand, schoolteacher. Sho
thought she could write play, and so
worked on John Kemble until he pro-
duced during the season of 1912 her
five act tragedy tHuniades, based on
Huniades; Miss Brand played Agmunda,
the heroine The play failed; and then
Hannah Brand left out Kemble's part
and produced the rest of the play under
the name "Agmunda As before, she
played the heroine, and as Lcfore she
heard the play hissed ard damned be-
yond redemption.
john Brougham. however, really
played play with enc Of the principal
characters left out, though, as he says,
lit was frightfully dangerous expert
mont.
The play was his famous burlesque
"PocahontGs, produced at Wallack's.
then On Broadway, near Broomo street,
III 1856. Brougham played Powhatan,
/ Charles Walcct, Captain Smith; Miss
/ Hodson, Pocahontas; Peters, the Dutch
man; and the play worked its way up
in the public estimation. Let Brougham
tell Of his feat:
Zone evening Mr.. Lester Wallack
came into the dressing room where
Walcot and myself were preparing for
the performance, with the announce
ment that Pocahcntas was missing and
could not be found anywhere in the city.
"What was to be done under the cir
oumstances we couldn't conceive. AL
sorts of plans wero projected, but none
would work. At last. in desperation,
said to Walcott, Suppose we do it with
out Pocahontas'
Agreed, said Charley, who was
always bright, quick and witty. We'll
do it anyhowP
"Mr. Wallack went ON the stage and
announced that, owing to the absence
of Miss Hodson' (the truth was she hac
eloped with somebody, the play would
be produced without her, Messrs. Wal
cot and Brougham having kindly con
sented TO fill her part.
''For a moment dead silence reigned
but directly the fun Of the thing was
taken in, and the people fairly screamed
We went on. First Charley would say,
This is what Miss Pocahontas would
remark if she were present, and thei
he would talk TO himself Where il
Pokey?' he would exclaim, 60 which
would reply: Lost among the iceberg
of Broadway. But if she were here
/
way, and then would give her speech
AT the end, when it became neces
sary to Join their hands in matrimony
we didn't know exactly what to do, but
locking around the stage, saw a broom
and, seizing it, / boldly advanced {,
the front, saying, as / handed it I,
Charley, Take her, my boy. and b
happy. 1t brought the house down, bu
it was a frightfully dangerous expert
ment. "
The audience the next night wanted
Pccahontas lett out again, but Broughan
wouldn't have it So Hamlet may b.
left out once, on the spur Of the mo
mont, but not a second time, and neve
when the man who makes the ghos
walk has time to put even a gravedig
} ger in Tic princes place. The histor.
} Of the stage seems to prove that Scott
playbill was not actual, but, like III
quotations from "Old Plays, merel,
produced for the occasion from his won
derful imagination. New York sun