The herald., 1897-05-16

duction of THE Two Little VagrHntS
from Chicago and produce the play In
San Francisco. Miss Wallis will play
Miss Busby's part and Miss Fitzgerald
the part played by Miss Dupree.
| The Mirror stated exclusively several
weeks ago that Clara Morris would enter
the vaudeville ranks, and the daily pa
pers have ever since made much of the
possibility" and probability" of the
truth of the statement. The cold facts,
however, are that contracts have been
signed between w. j. Gilmore Of Gill
more's Auditorium, Philadelphia, and
Robert Grau, by which the greatest of
emotional actresses will head the vaude-
vile bill there. Mr.. Gilmore has just had
a brilliant success at his theater with
Pauline Hall and a special vaudeville
company organized by Mr.. Grau, which
did an enormous business againet the cir
Gus. The Clara Morris engagement mus /
be recorded as a remarkable one for
vaudeville.
In the recent production in London of
Mime. Sans Gene," Sir Henry Irving
managed to shrink his natural height
ments in a manner that surprised the
English public. Asked by the London
Daily Mail to tell how he did it, Sir Hen
ry replied that he added to his bulk first
by the device of wearing a sheath, over
which the clothes (fac-similes OF the
garments of the emperor) fitted most
exquisitely. Shortnees, assisted, of
course, by the fullness of figure and
-, H.
centuated by most cunning abbrevia-
tion of the thighs, brought about by
cleverly adapted small clothes. No more
effective Transformation has been ac-
complished in our time, concludes the
Mail.
Dame Grundy's daughters are busily
spreading the report that Maud Adams
and Richard Harding Davis are going
to be married. A very pretty tale, but
almost too romantic to be true.
Reginald de Koven and Harry B.
Smith are writing musical comedy for
Vernona Jarbeau, who will star next
season under the management of H. r.
Jacobs.
The failure of notorious woman, who
married title only to disgrace 1t, to Sc
cure a foothold on the vaudeville stage
in Paris ought to be lesson to all such
persons in all countries, says the Mirror.
Fortunately for the profession and for
the world, at large, there are very few
such persons in any country.
=
bered as one of the leading members Of
the Frawley company, is just recovering
from a long illness and leaves for San
Francisco next week, to take his place
with the company, which opens in a
new repertoire at the Columbia theater
on the 31st. After trip to Honolulu Mr..
Frawley will bring his company to Los
Angeles, probably early in the fall. Mr.
Enos has many warm personal friends in
this city, and great many others, who
while not knowing him personally, ap-
preciate his ability as an actor, and for
this reason complimentary benefit has
been arranged for him for next Monday
evening May 18th, on which date Mr.
Wyatt has very kindly placed the Los
Angeles theater at the disposal of Mr.
Enos' friends, who have the matter in
charge The play presented will be
Moths" and will include in the cast
some professional talent and several So
ciety people who have histrionic ability.
The company will include Messrs. Will
son Enos, Walter Fessler, Fred r. Sulli-
van, Will Manning, Miss Louise Jones,
Zaidee Maxwell. Ida Banning, Gertrude
Foster and several others.
The lectures of Ferdinand Brunetiere,
the noted French critic, upon Frencl:
literature, as expressed in the drama,
the novel and in criticisms, have attract
ed large audiences to the Lenox Lyceum,
New York, during the past week. On
Wednesday afternoon the lecturer de-
voted himself to the French drama.
At the outset of the lecture he said
that while other countries have equaled
France in the production of poetry and
fiction, Frenchmen take pride in the fact
that for $50 years their country has been
eminent in the making of dramatic
literature. The record, however, is not
an unblemished one. A goodly portion
of the dramatic production might be-
forgotten with no loss to the French
stage. The lecturer took no pride in the
vaudevilles and operettas of Labiches
and Offenbach variety, and the dramas
of the elder Dumas and of Eugene
Scribe have, he said, none but historic
value. In some respects their influence
was decidedly bad, because of their be-
lief, carried in practice to the full extent
OF their powers, that the greatness OF
the drama lay in ingenious and involved
plots and elaborate situations rather
than in true pictures Of contemporary
life and manners. M. Brunetiere gave ii
as his opinion that to have permanent
value a play must present some great
idea, depict life as it is, or in some way
advance the general good of humanity
and this must be done with literary art.
Alexander Dumas fills. Emile Augler
and Victorien Sardou were mentioned as
the dramatists who led the revolt
against the unnatural school of Dumas
pere and Scribe. The younger Dumas,
said the lecturer, wrote accurate COM
edies of manners in his earlier plays,
La Dame aux Camelias" and lie Demi-
Monde" and showed a disposition to-
ward realistic and philosophical treat
ment. which became even more conspic-
uous in his later work. He was moral
ist and reformer. The lecturer said
that Emile Augier was very much over
rated. His ideas were not original, ne
had no literary style and his plays savor-
ed of the vulgar. M. Brunetiere said that
Sardou's work is more like that of the