The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-07-09

delightful class stage work which years
ago served 70 place her In the front rank
OF American actresses. She IL one OF the
few women In this country not now star
ring who IL fitted both by experience and
ability to bcad a company Of hcr own.
Still the remuneration Of q star IL problem
atical, as Miss Shaw knows by experience
She prefers the certainty OF large salary
and the acknowledged premiership In her
own field, In which respect, as In many
others, she differs from most women Of
the stage. Miss Sbaw's professional career
Is an interesting one.
She Is native OF Boston, where, more
than 80 years ago, another Mary Shaw
Mrs. John Hoey's sister--was also favor
ite. The Mary Shaw of today was ut 1rst
q teacher In a grammar school for girls
and began on the amateur stage, playing
Miss Hardcastle In "She Stoops to Con-
quer." Although 1t was nonprofcssional
performance, 1t was before O strange au-
dience and for money. The first part on
the professional stage that MISS Shaw at
tempted was that Of Chorus In a sort OF
burlesque or extravaganza called IA Rob-
insonade." She was shot up and down
through trap in front Of the curtain be-
fore every scene, having long explanatory
speeches In blank verse. She AYERS that
this was the most trying part she had ever
played, but her rendition of the lines won
her at the outset of her professional career,
from some of the critics, the praise Of being
one of the best readers on the stage.
For two seasons she was at the Boston
Museum and played everything, in CON-
pany with such good actors as william
Warren, W. j. LIE Moyne, Frank Harden
berg, Charles Barron, and with Dion Bou-
cicault, John Gilbert and the other stars
who made yearly visits to the Hubs home
Of comedy. After that she spent season
at Daly's theater, New York city, and sue
cessfully created one Of the partsin "Serge
Panine." From there she went with
Fanny Davenport on the road, playing In
the old comedies, and the next season
Joined Modjeska, playing the opposite
roles to the Polish star for four years.
She next starred in a comedy with the
rather Ill chosen and blood curdling title,
"a Drop Of Poison" Except In an artis-
tic sense the tour was not a success, and IL
was abandoned. Since then Miss Shaw
has been devoting herself to creating roles
In New York city productions. This course
has resulted in greatly enhancing her al.
ready excellent professional reputation and
adding to the size Of her bank account,
for her salary is large one.
Miss Shaw is bright, vivacious, intelli-
gent and accomplished. Through hei
veins runs both Puritan and Irish blood,
a combination of the sedate and restive,
the grave and gay, that explains the versa
tility which enables her to play Maria at
the matinee and Elizabeth in the evening
Her assumption Of England's imperious
queen shows no trace of the qualities that
make her such rollicking, mischief max.
ing waiting woman in the afternoon per
formanee of "Twelfth Night" Her yer.
satility, however, can be better illustrated
by saying that in "As You Like 1t" she
has played both Celia and Audrey and in
"Twelfth Night" both Olivia and Maria
during the same season and in tho same
company, and all four parts equally we'll