Evening journal., 1896-12-04
HAMLET LEFT OUT.
THE PRODUCTION OF PLAYS With
OUT THE PRINCIPAL CHARACTER.

Eroughsm's Story Of Tho Absence OF Po- .
oahontas and How the Play WAS Put On.
1t was Sir Walter Scott who furnish /
cd the base for the proverbial express |
sion, Hamlet with Hamlet left ont. "
In the introduction 60 his "Talisman" |
be 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 iin-
ished product diuUs 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
or way ln 1881, in London, tie ycr-
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 seem
cry or decorations, and the actors were
CARRIED as Raleigh and his friends We're.
About the same Time too Edwin
Booth and his company arrived at Hart
ford minis their trunks and gave three
acts of the play in their travelling cos
TUNES. Probably however, the eject
! was not vastly different from Booths
ordinary production of the tragedy.
Then the Count Joannos and James
Owen O'Conor acted the part of Ham
lot with two readers, man and woman,
TO take the other parts; and Bcllew-
Kyrle Bellew father-rcad the play at
a desk ia front of the prosccnium, while
the actors moved about the stage with
appropriate gestures and opened and
shut their mouths and said no words.
Rut most nearly approaching TO Scotts
omitted Prince of Denmark must have
been the performances where women
played Hamlet; Charlotte Cushman,
Miss Marriott (who made famous
princel Adele Belgrade, Anna Dickin-
son, and a 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, schcolteachor. She
thought She could write a play, and so
worked on John Kemble until be pro-
duced during the season of l70l-2 her
five act tragedy 'Huniades, based on
Hungarian history. Komblc played
Huniades; Miss Brand played Agmundn,
the heroine The play failed and then
Hannah Brand left out Eomble's part
ard produced the rest Of the play under
the name "Aemunda " AS before, She
played the heroine and as before she
heard tho play Missed ard damned be-
yond redemption.
john Broughgm, however, really
played a play with one Of the princira
characters left out, though, as he says
"it was a frightfully dangerous expert
mont.
The play was his famous burlesqu,
'Pocahontas produced at Wallack s.
then on Broadway, near Broome street.
in 1856. Brougham played Powhatan,
| Charles Walcot, Captain smith; Mis-
Hodson, Pocahontas; Peters, the Dutch
man. and the play worked its way III
in the public estimation Let Broughau
tell of his feat:
cone evening Mr. Lester Wallacl
came into the dressing room where
Walcot and myself were preparing fo
( the performance, with the announce
mcnt that Pocahontas was missing an,
could not be found anywhere in the city
''What was to be dcno under the cir
cumstances wc couldn't conceive. Al
sorts Of plans wero projected, but nom
would work at last; in desperation,
said TO Walcott. Suppose wc do itwith
out Pocnhontasn
" Agreed said Charley who wa
always bright, quicl. and witty. Wei
do IL anyhow
" Mr. Wallack went on the stage an'
announced that, owing Go the absenc
of Miss Hodsou Cthe truth was sho hai
oloped with somebody, tho play woul
be produced without her. Messrs. Wal
cot and Broueham having kindly con
sontod to fll her par
"Eor q moment dead silence reigned
but directly ihe fun OF the thing wa
taken iu, and ihopeoplo fairly screamed
We went m. First Charley would say
'Ihis is what Miss Pocahontas woul
remark IL she were present, and the
he would talk TO himself Where
Pokeys hc would cxclaim. TO which
would rcply Lost among the iceberg
Of Broadway But il she We're here
know she would answer you in thi
. way and then Iwould give herspcech
"At the end. when 81 became neces
sary TO Join their hands in matrimony
e wcdidn't know exactly what TO Go, bat
looking around the stage, / saw broom
and, soizing st. boldly advanced I
the front, saying as 1 handed il I
Charley, Take her. my boy, and b
happy It brought tho house down, bu
! it was a irightfully dangerous expert
ment-
3 The audience the next night wantc
Pocahontas left out again, but Broughm
wouldn't have it so. Hamlet may ,
left out once, ON the spur Of the mC
i ment, but not q second time, and nevc
3 when the man who makes the ghc'
walk has time to put even gravedil
ger in the princes place. The histor
of the stage seems TO prove that Scott
playbill was not actual, but, like hi
quotations from "Old Plays merel