Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-24
HEAT RlCAL GOSSIP


| which he has not given careful considera-
ton. Every gesture. every piece Of stage
| business, every movement of the actor, and
| every word spoken must with him, have a
| definite purpose in the conveyance of his
| Interpretation to the audience. 1t is these
| subtleties in delivery and IN stage action
| which has gwen him his great repute an
| actor. He never appears 20 act. He pos
sesses the art to conceal art in its highest
| development During the rehearsals of
| THE Royal Box" in New York an incident
occurred which shows his attention to de-
tails Mr.. J. Ratclif, the leading man. who
perSonateS the Prince of Wales, sen of
George III, is Il handsome man, who has
! always prided himself the cultivation
| or most symmetrically developed mus
| tache. In the year 1910, the time of the
| action of the play, mustaches were not the
| 1eshion at the court of George Ill. Mr.
Coghlan waited several days to see wheth-
| er or not Mr.. Ratcliff would divest his
upper lip of its adornment, and, he failing
| to do so. Mr.. Coghlan spoke to him about
| it. and reminded him that it would be out
| OF place in the play Mr.. Ratciff took UNI
bragg at once and very forcibly declared
himself" He had not played for twelve
| years without his mustache. and he did
not propose TO cut ii off for this engage
| ment. Mr. Ratcliff is an Englishman and
httie irclined to be obstinate. Mr.. Cogh-
| tan too, Is an Englishn,an, and somewhat
| inclined to have his own way, especially in
an instance of this character where a mus
tache would prove substantial jar to his
| artistic ideas. Mr.. Ratciif and Mr.. Cog HAN
| had an argument over the mustache three
| CT four times, when Mr.. Coghlan too, de
| clared himself and gently limited to Mr.
Ratcliff that if he did not NOW the hirsute
| appendaSe or his UPPER lip, he would not
| be the Prince of Wales, and would not fig
| ure as conspicuous parsonage in The
| Royal Box The result was that Mr. Rat
| cliff came to rehearsal the next morning
1 ho h,,f ha
| famous halter, end not at all resigned TO
| the Coghlan mandate. The incident caused
| considerable merriment in the company. es-
| pecially Mr.. Ratclff was seen several
| times surreptitiously examining his upper
| lip with a small pocket mirror the size of
| silver dollar.
| Mr.. Cranes new play. "a Virginia Court
| ship" appears to have made the biggest
| kind of hit in Chicago, where it has, ac-
| cording to report. been doing an enormous
business at Hooley's Tneater. The play is
| known as q costume comedy" and its at
| Mosphere and general tone said TO be
| delightful. Speaking of the play, enc of the
| leading critics in Chicago said: Mr. Crane
| has very congenial creation in Major
| Richard Fairfax. inspiring him with droll
| gravity and JUNCTION in his sentimental
moods" That admirable artistic. Miss An
| ME Irish. is a member of Mr.. Cranes COM
pany and plays the part of Madame Con-
stance Robert with diplomatic tact and fas-
| cinating finish. The entire production down
| to the smallest detail has been superlative-
| ly praised. and it promises to be one of MIR.
| Cranes biggest successes.
J. H. Stoddart is well known by theater-
| goers. who delight to call him dear old
| Stoddart." Those who have seen him on
the stage may not realize that his parents
We're Scotch. but. as matter of fact. there
| are still traces of the Scotch burr noticeable
| in his speech. and Mr.. Stoddart laughingly
refers to some of his earlier experiences.
l in -fa In hos tor
| he playing one of the apparitions in
Macbeth where he had to say the line:
| Macbeth Macbeth, Macbeth. beware Mac
| duff.''
The stage manager corrected him and
| said: Don't say Mocbeth: it should be
Macbeth. Speak English. my lad"
Mr.. Stoddart recalls an incident of his
youth which illustrates the ignorance pre-
vailing in the country districts of Scotland
as to the theater His father took him
| and his brother over to Scotland to see the
| fathers native place. Dumfries. which is
| not far from the birthplace Of Burns. They
were. tramping about the village. when the
father ran across an old friend of his youth
| and the following conversation ensued:
| "Eh. mon. Jeems. an hoo are ye?"
| Il am weel, Sandie. l hope you are the
same
| AN what are We doin', Jeems?"
I'm actin, mon"
AN what is that. JeemS?"
| .Oh. I'm play-acting in London the
alter, Sandie. Playing Shakespeare and the
| like
Eth, mon. play-actin', is it? An do we
| stand on yer heed, Jeems, an can We tum-
! BILE, mon?"
Charles H. Hoyt is telling an amusing
story Of the first performance of his "A
| Contented Woman in Denver where equal
| rights, the theme of his satire. has it's
principal stronghold. Both on account of
the strong sentiment in favor of woman's
| suffrage and because the scenes of the
piece are laid in the Colorado metropolis.
| the author had misgivings regarding the
| reception the farce should receive. and his
fears were not abated in the least when he
| learned on the opening night, that three
| warm advocates of the cause were in the
audienceNadvocates of the gentle persua-
| sion, and corresponding in much to the
trio of eccentric amazons he utilizeS as
| characters of the play. These ladies are
decided factors in the political life of Den
Yer, Hoyt explains, and their pulp is of a
! quality to render their favor desirable in
even so unpolitical an affair a Hoytian
| farce. The first two acts were received
| with silence that made the author think
thoughts of stopping the performance,
apologizing for the non-arrival of scenery
or for the sickness of one of the cast, and
getting away from Denver by the next
| train. Not a laugh was to be heard; the
| only applause noted was awarded upon the
| first entrance of several of the players who
| had made hits in the city on previous
visits; and, through the peephole in the
curtain, Hoyt observed the three women
| sitting with compressed lips and furrowed
| brows. But Act III changed the aspect of
| things. Cachination began at the very rise
| of the curtain, and continued until the end
| of the performance. and the stony battlers
for woman'S elevation were to be ..eard
| chortling as heartily as any of their fellow
! spectators. The next day. Hoyt declares
! he received prettily-worded note from
| the trio who had caused him so much ter
| Tor during the previous evening, he being
| invited to call at the rooms of the COM
mittee of which they were the principal
| members. Still fearful of their vengeance
| he sent an avant-courier with several dozen
| of the finest roses he could procure; then
| accompanied by the company, he proceeded
o.! the visit. Fla, wright ana PLAYERS were
received With cordiality that quelled all
fears as to their personal safety; and the
| spokeswoman of the committee while in
sisting that the satire as applied to her sex
was unjust, explained that they could for
give the author for the amusement he had
caused them in drubbing the male in poll
| tics with such wealth of sarcastic gro
| tesquerie.
Frank Daniels and Kirke- Ia SbaIIa,S