Evening star., 1897-02-27
SOME WAR THEATERS.
| TribuinttOns OF the Drama In the
Ranks of the Confederate Army.
| From the Chicrso Timas-Herald

Tribuintfons Of the Drama In the
Ranks of the Confederate Army.
From the Chicrco Times Herald
The confederate authorities knew the
value of well-regulated amusements at a
ume when the people were wrought up to
the highest pitch of excitement and all
reputable actors found difficulty In Sc
curing exemptions after the passage of the
conscript law. Among the stars on the con-
federate stage I'm those days were w H.
Crisp. the father of the late Speaker Crisp;
r. X Dalton, Theodore Hamilton and Sam
HUBBARD Among the ladies We're Mrs
Crisp. Miss Jessie Crisp. Miss Eloise Bridges
and the Waldron sisters. These fayorit,s
OF the public appeared before the footlights
III various cities, but. a rule, they al
ternated between Richmond and Atlanta
row the managers got along during that
turbulent period is mystery to me- Night
after night | went to see the popular plays
or that time. and. boy as I was. / could not
ran 10 note the threadbare raiment of the.
payers and their tawdry tinsel All sorts
oi crude makeshifts had to be resorted to
IN the production of stage effects and some
OF them would be laughable now Bur the
people were patriotic. They felt il a duty
10 encourage the drama. and when there
was any lack of attendance on the MARI of
the citizens IL was more than compensated
Tor by the large audiences of officers and
soldiers who swarmed i'm every city
!" nat We're the plays the southern
wartime stage? Perhaps the most popular
We're Camille" The Marble Heart" The
Romance of Poor Young Man" 'Rolla,"
la Tour de Nesle.'' London Assurance
The Serious Family. Naval Engage
ments. BOX and Cox" .t,orsicsn
Brothers. "Lucretia Borgia" BLACK
Eyed Susan" and others familiar to the
theater-goers before the war Comedy
seemed to have the preference. The people
had so many serious things to worry over
that they did not care for tragedy
The last year of the war found the the
aters in a bad fix. The property men and
managers were in despair. To dress these
stage ladies and gentlemen in a fashion
suited to their different roles was an i'm
possibility. So Camille went through her
struggle with consumption and other things
in front of delighted audiences attired in a
costume which would have peen more be-
coming to her grandmother and "Rolla''
looked not only like the last of the Peru
vians," but like bewildered gentleman
who had come to his last shirt and was
wondering where he could get another.
Still. the theaters drew better than ever.
People had money to throw away. and they
tried to get rid of II.
Sometimes il was very inconvenient to
attend these places of amusement Soldiers
with muSkets and bayonets were stationed
there to preserve order. and when the au-
diences filed out officers were on hand to
force every man to show his papers. Tre-
quently young man with his best girl
would find that he had forgotten his dccu-
ments, and squad of soldiers would then
escort the two to the lady's house, and then
carry the gentleman before the provost
marshal for an explanation.
In Atlanta the theater became a trouble
some problem shortly before the siege. The
city was filled with soldiers and refugees
and with them the play was emphatically
the thing. 1t was their only amusement
and the roughs crowded the theaters H.
such numbers that the better classes re-
mained at home.