The Saint Paul globe., 1897-02-28

of the new play which Mr.. Lift will
produce here later in the season. The
story opens in Queensland and the
scene is then transferred to England.
The leading role will be entrusted to
Miss Fanny Mcintyre.
1t is not generally known, but there
is tragedian on the road by the name
Of Elihu Spencer.
Ellen Terry is to appear shortly in
one-act play written by the Princess
Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud Of
England. -
Julia MarloWe and Robert Taber
have achieved such popular favor in
For Bonnie Prince Charlie" that ne.
gotlations are pending with a view
OF cancelling engagements in other CT
ties, so that it's run at Wallack's thea
ter in New York may be extended
William Gillette. who wrote and acts
in Secret Service" seems to be the
only American -dramatist who is
snatching anything like a share of the
laurels which hthe present New York
theatrical season has yielded, says the
New York Herald. Augustus Thomas
is writing sketches for the music halls.
Bronson Howard is at work on some
thing. but he has not had a play pro-
duced in some time. Paul Potter has
done nothing since '"Trilby'' and is
looking for material for a new play.
Henry Guy Carleton has done nothing
important for a year or two Klein
and Clark have done fairly we'll with
'Heartsease." All the other American
dramatists are resting on their oars.
more or less, while the English play
maker comes in and gaily walks off
with the big royalties.
one Englishman has done this now
for two seasons. edward eRose,.who
turned Anthony Hopes THE Prisoner
OF Zenda' into a play for the Lyceum
last year, and who this year has fur
nished the Empire theater with Under
the Red Robe Mr.. Rose is building
up fortune by means Of his faculty
Tor hndlng romantic plays in popular
books. The royalties that Charles
F'rohman pays him for 2"Under the
Red Robe, at the Empire, are said to
be even larger than those he got from
The Prisoner of Zenda" They are
never less than $1,000 a week.
And so it is the English banner still
waves over the American stage With
the exception of John Hare, hardly
any English visitors this season have
greatly prospered, but Edward Rose
makes up for this deficit by drawing
1Ol lis pldyS, WHIlo ln0 ma
tive dramatist must be satisfied with
$25 or $50 week from music hall skits
If it were not for Gillette's Secret
Service the American playwright
would not be lin it, to any percepti-
BILE extent this year.
1t isn't so very long ago that comic
opera became an established form Of
amusement in this country, yet in that
time it has passed through good
many forms of evolution. The French
operas. which Alice Oates made so
popular, maintained their sway almost
without opposition. save an occasional
translation from the German, until the
satirical works of Gilbert and Sulli-
van came and crowded everything else
to the wall. Offenbach retired grace
fully and completely when Sullivans
melodies became the rage, and the
spirit of imitation created many satiri-
cal works of more or less merit But
when Gilbert began to satirize sub
jects so provincial that only England
could see where the laugh came in, and
Sullivan began to appeal to the skilled
musical taste Of a few instead of COM