Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-01-22
A WONDERFUL PLAY.
Presented with NH the Marvellous
Effects OF The Metropolitan stage.

EtIettS Oh thc metropolitan stage.
When Sutton Nanc wrote " HUI
mainly" he probably never contcm-
plated the difficulties before Il foreign
purchaser in the matter OF one Of the
most pleasing features of the piece.
In England it is easy to lay hold of
thoroughbred and trained fnx-huntcrs
both horses and hounds. They are
produced on every English estate.
Horses and hounds have been part
of English country life from time i'm
memorial. In their introduction in
the play, therefore. the playwright i,
simply holding the mirror up to
nature.
Manager Brady foun |, however, that
no such horses nor dogs could be found
for sale i'll this country. He was
obliged to import both before pruduc-
! ing the piece. And he has gone on
importing, for the vicissitudes OF
travel and changing climate are hard
ON hor>cilr>lI, i'll spite of the elaborate
care and accommodations provided for
their safely and comfort. ANY Judge
of animals will note that the English
thoroughbred. trained to stecple chas-
ing and field sport generally, is qnite 4
different horse from the animal we are
accustomed to seeing. The magnificent
stage picture showing the group OF
these horses is an interesting object
lesson for the American sportsman.
This not alone because Of the exhibit
ton Of Il peculiar breed OF horses, but
also with regard to dogs. Trained
dogs there are of every variety on the
vaudeville stage, but it wouldn't do to
| bring on Il lot of miscellaneous animals
Of that sort in fox-hunting scene,
since it would only subject it to ridicule
An enterprising manager like William
4. Brady believes in the perfection of
details, and to pcrseryc the unities of
the stage picture he would not per-
nit few dollars one way or the other
to sway his judgment. Few people in
this country have really ever laid eyes
upon either the trained hunter or
hounds. They will therefore find in
these rare animals not only harmonious
relations with the scenes and lines of
Il great play but lesson in animal
breeding.
The simple fact of the correct
representation of the historical is not
all. The animals used are no more
adapted to stage uses than any other
horses or dogs quite the contrary.
The beasts must also be trained for the
stage. To succeed in this requires
more work with animals bred to the
wild, harum scarum habits of the chase
than with any other variety. Nature
must be overcome and reduced. To
do this skilled animal trainers are
bought into employment. The narrow
limits OF the stage, the glare of the
footlights, the sounds of music, the
roar from delighted audiences close at
hand, and the crowding of costumed
actors and actresses and supernumer-
aries in the wings, all contribute to
the disadvantages of management of
any but the most intelligent and we'll
trained brutes. Those who are familiar
with spirited horses must marvel at
the control of the thoroughbreds, in
the prolonged sword combat, for inst
ance, where the heat of real battle is
thrown into the clashing steel and
where, as of old, it is horse against
horse as well as man against man.
Yet this is but one of the multifarious
details of staging great modern
melodrama.
Humanity" will be presented at
Olympia Theater, tonight, with all
these accessions, just as it is presented
in metropolitan theaters.