The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-22

asked a policeman. is this Brooklyn7'
Yes he said, and he looked at me as If
was crazy But it does not look bit like
the Brooklyn that knew. Where did the
big bridge come from? The whole make
up of the city is different, and it has
most emphatically effected a change OF
scene.
when was here before there were
only two theaters, Mrs. Conway's old
Park theater and Hooley's Ministries Qf
you consider that a theater. Compared
with the theaters of that time, Mrs. Con-
ways was first-class. 1t makes me laugh
now, 1 got hold of an old programme
of the Park theater the other day. 1t an
nounced that during the production OF All
Baba and the Forty Thieves the entire
depth and width of the stage would be
thrown open in the transformation scene.
That was thought to be something grand.
Why, the depth was not more than TWEEN
ty-flve feet the drops only twenty feet
wide and the hight sixteen feet. Now, a
stage is sometimes sixty feet wide. The
Auditorium Of Chicago has stage that
is seventy feet wide.
"Oh, things have changed enormously
in scenery and stage effects. Size, mate
rial, methods, all are changed. 1t was
harder task in the old days to get piece
than 1t is now to get 1t from Brooklyn
to San Francisco. 1 remember that when
Lester Wallack produced Rosedale at The
Park we had to bring a piece of scenery
over from New York. 1t had to be sawed
in pieces, and carrying 1t was an awful
task and putting it together again still
harder. Now, ever piece Of scenery will
fold up in size Ave by ten feet All peo-
pie have to do when they bring scenery
from New York TO Brooklyn is to notify
the bridge authorities of the time when
they will arrive. Then one-half the bridge
roadway Is kept clear for them, and they
come over with no difficulty at all.
when / left Brooklyn, scene painting
was in its infancy. There were only about
a dozen scenic artists in the country, and
they were not very particular about some
matters which we now think very tm-
portant. They did not look up books ind
study costumes and old pictures in order
to get the details right. They just slap
ped away hit or miss, and were as right
as the old masters are who have their
apostles and prophets going about In
twelfth century toggery. 1t Is dinerent
now; we have advanced.
! Here l am painting Florence In 1900.
DO you think I take picture of Florence
OF the present day with the buildings
broken down and in ruins and reproduce
that? Oh no. l must get that particular
square of Florence Just as II was at that
1
curate. / must be right as to details. l
must not only have the buildings, but
must also have their accessories. Ny
first work on this scene, therefore,, was
done I'm the Astor library among old pic
lures and books.
"A manager comes to me and says: The
scene of this play Is laid In Cheapside,
London, in the year 1895; time Of year,
May; time of day, morning. Then he
goes on and gives me an idea of the
story Of the play. 1 go and study and
then make model. The artist the man
ager and / get together and talk over
the model, There may be some SUCCESS
tlons--in fact there always are. There
may be some alterations. When these are
made, we look at the model again, and
II Il passes inspection. / and the stage
carpenter get together and examine the
model to see II there is anything about
II that can be altered for the better. II
not I begin the work OF painting. The
painting Is done in water colors on a sort
of linen made for the purpose. 1t used
to be done on burlap. When newspapers
describe fires In the theater, they give