The times., 1898-01-30

He must be very religious man, for
| all the time / was playing he walked
up and down the room saying: MY
! God! Oh, my GOd.
! George Bernard Shaw is at logger
| heads with Henry Irving. for the al
| legged reason that Mr.. Shaw wrote
play which Sir Henry was to produce
| and did not produce. The latest Dit
| of gossip with regard to this feud is
that Shaw did not go to see Irving IN
Peter the Great" and said that the
star had omitted to send him tickets.
A theater patron in New York has
been making a kick because the seats
away around at one side in the orcheS-
ira do not command as good view OF
the stage as those on the center aisle
They do not, that is a fact; but II that
theater patron really wants a JOB ne
might edit newspaper in which all the
advertisements shall be at the top OF
the page, next reading matter. and all
the reading matter at the top OF the
page, next advertisements.
William H. Crane gives scientific
analysis of stage fever, in which ne
says that it is intermittent FEVER, CON
stitutional, and caused by hieh
strung. nervous temperament, tnat e%
aggerates the natural impulse TO act
a part in which all people feel at soIie
time or other, from chiidhood up
William Terriss. the London actor,
left a fortune of rather more that
quarter of a million. He drew from
| $3.50 to S40O a week, and had excellent
business Judgment
The tribulations of the dressing-roou,
| have long been source OF woe 10 ac-
| tors and actresses. especially the lat
| ter. Russell-FoX-De Angels Company
! have solved the difficulty by carrying
| among their stage properties two por-
| table dressng-rooms about eight feet
| square, folding together like screen
A mirror, a folding table and wash
stand, hooks on hinges, and holes
through which electric lights may De
introduced. constitute the furniture,
| and the idea is so simple 1t seems
strange that nobody has hit on II De-
fore.
A lively sense of the dramatic pro-
prieties was exhibited by a small boy,
who was watering his horse, Ga
chair out of an empty cup His moth
er suggested to him that he might put
some water in the cup. "Oh, no. said
the young Roscius, "a puhtendin' horse
mus drink puhtendin' water"
The Cuban play has appeared. II is
called "The Last Stroke" and is the
production of Jacob Lift.
Modern Society a journal of Lon
don town. seems TO know more about
American actors than the actors know
about themselves. 1t says that Mr.
Robert Taber, who has made a great
hit as Alexis in Henry Irvings Peter
the Great is in private .life the nus
band of Miss Julia Arthur.
Paul Potter has written a play call
ed THE Dyddler" That way of SPELL
ing it is doubtless all right, but one
wonders just what is Mr.. Potter's ex-
cuse for the name.
Harry Gilfofl. a Washington boy. is
one of the cleverest of the clever peo-
pie in "A Stranger in New York and
his portrayal OF Baron Sands was
most remarkable piece of work. To
those who saw his inpersonation of an
aged rOunder, it will be a surprise TO
learn that he is still under thirty. The
characterization was so perfect in ev-
cry look, tone and gesture that some
of his friends in this city failed to rec
ogniZe him at first, but when they did
they were very proud of him.
Bert Williams and George Walker,
the two negro comedians who are at
the Grand this week in Hyde's Vaude-
vile Company, are largely responsible
for the epidemic of coon songs and
cake-walks.
Yes" said Walker. we popularized
cake walking when we made our long
run at Roster & BiaTs, and since that
time we have had a number of en-
gagements at private houses in New
York. They seem TO have gone wild
about walking over there. and some
time or other we may have the honor
Of walking in the same room with Mr..
Willie Vanderbilt, though maybe not in
competition with him"
Bert Williams is the author of several
of the most popular coon songs, of
which his Dora Dean" has the real
negro music in it. The others have
been adapoted more or less to the exi-
gencies of the vaudeville stage Some
BODY asked Williams if he had ever
studied music. Studied music?" he
said meditatfvely We'll. no: the only
kind of notes that / know anything
about are bank notes. and I'm not |
lighting any ddNaNaS WITH tIGlIl. HOW
did I come to write You Amt So
Wahm?' Wen, you see, George and l
were strolIing up State street in Chi
caso. when along comes a man and
woman fussin'. The man said some
thing or other and the woman replied.
oh. I don't know; you amt so wahm-'
And he wasn't for she proceeded 10 do |
him then and there until the patrol |
wagon came l went home, sat down |
TO the piano. and in about ten minutes |
the song was there. That night We |
sprung it on the audience. and it made |
a hit. But coon songs are on the go
Rag time has been overdone. ana t1e
public is getting tired of it
1t is a fact that the rag time and !
COON melodies do not have the real |
old plantation music in them, and one |
reason for this is that the songs, when |
written by negroes. as a great many |
of them have been. are written 10 or
der. and in accordance with a precon-
ceived idea of what the coon song
ought to be- Williams and Walker
have been together five years, and are
going on the road next season with
coIored company. They say that. judg-
ing from past experience, they do not
see why they should not make hit
THE DRAMA IN NEW YORK.