Evening star., 1898-10-22
MCsketeer' in chorus and fortissimo. Sure
ly this sign of musical success anyway.

and it is my forte. l imagine, to appear in
| that style of entertainment that is more
| Up to the times, in something that admits
| other up-to-date material besides the worn
| threadbare topical song. i banker after
! modern pieces; they cannot be too modern
| 20 suit this young lady. That Is precisely
] why | commissioned Messrs. Edgar Smith
/ and Louis De Lange to build for me The
| Little Host 1t is awfully jolly play
| set to the prettiest music you can imagine.
| There are not only in it catchy songs for
| me, but there are excellent numbers for all
! my principals, and the situations are fun
| ny enough to make one laugh at rehearsal.
| everybody has chance to distinguish him.
| self or herself, the motive being merely to
| make an all-round splendid evenings enter
| ta1nment. The public is very fond of pop
! ular music, the kind that you can whistle
without paralyzing the lips. or hum without
! dlslocating the throat. and | just revel in
| that Kind myself. Well in The Little
Host there are barrels of it, so to speak.
| On the occasion of the first presentation of
ote piece every single number was encored
| again and again. The lines. you know are
all smart and telling. Not one speech
throughout the entire play is longer than
ten lines This is in keeping with the idea
! or the play itself. Oh, just think that my
| part is dandy one. 1t is the best / ever
had In my life, and / can do with it what
| ever is prompted at the time Oh, no,
want no more old-fashioned comic opera in
| mine, thank YOU"
The public often wonder no doubt, what
manner of men those individuals may be
VINO appear in the chOruSes of the big op-
era companies. 1t can be said that they are
recruited from the many and various walks
OF life and social Cond ton. The writer has
known many men in the humble ranks of
the chorus who We're scions of important
American families, some who were men of
wealth and many more, of course who
come from that Indifferent but splendid
pody OF individuals distinguished by the in
sufficient and obscure phrase the people -
The case now cited illustrates the fact that
these men are worthy and sometimes ad-
mirabl in their character and experiences
Manager Ben. d. Stevens recently wrote
10 one of his old chorus men who had
been with him for many seasons while man
aser OF the De Wolf Hopper Opera Com
pany. sending him in the same letter a
contract for his acceptance with the De
Angels Company. In reply to this he re-
CelNed a letter from the young mans sister
II was plain note, but sweet and pathetic
IN itS simple expressions which, as | said
before, throw new side light on the COM
pOSitc character of the chorus man IT
simply said that Will" referring to her
brother, was lying at the point of death
at Cavite. Manila bay" whittier he had
gone with the advance guard of General
Merrltts army of occupation. She thanked
MI stevens extremely for his kindness in
sending her brother the contract for he
would undoubtedly be happy to sign 1t if
he were only here" The letter closed with
the touching hope that he might be permit
ted to accept a some future time the kind
ofer extended by the manager.
The science of plsywritng has gone
through many evoluticns in the last two
or three generations; times and conditions
are rapidly changing, and the managers
who are able to look a little in advance of
the popular taste arc the ones who nova
davs are gathering in the dollars of the
public, which is ever keen for amusement
In the old sto * days, when a weeks run
was usually the life of play for the time
belng, the old stock plays and published
& la -ifE 4
the public palate. Now. however. In the
days OF long runs and elaborate settings a
play must be sure of run for several
months in the metropolis before the man
money expended.
1t IS therefore necessary to be continually
on the lookout for new plays and novel
IDEAS, and the brain of a playwright Is
subject to the same limitations as that of
any other man. 1t is natural that he has
10 be OH the constant lookout for new
material Three or four prominent man
ayers. among the nj mber Daniel Frohman
OF the New York Lyceum, We're recently
discussing this subject, interchanging heir
ideas with view to future productions,
and the question arose among them rs to
what source playwrights in the last ten
years had been most Indebted for the plots
and schemes for plays which had made the
greatest popular success during that Iime
Different opinions were advanced but they
finally agreed with Mr.. Frohman upon one
point.
Whatever other plays" said he. have
in late years been successful and money
making. and l grant that there have been
many IN farce and musical comedy, 1t Is
| certainly a fact that no class Of play has
been more successful than the dramatiza-
tton of popular novel and | consider that
kind Of a play TO be one Of the safest in
vestments. The reception given by the
public to the dramatic value of the Incl
dents in book Is one of the surest tests
as to how those incidents will be received
hon lIirys.l
Take as cases in point 'Trilby,' which.
| while it is now old story, was one Of
the most pop Ilar sucC esses of Its day: Tie
Little Minister. which every one through
the country s waiting for; The Prisoner
of Zenda,' which has been one of nv best
and The Christian which has had
most prosperous start The success Of these
plays caused me to secure the rights of
Rupert of Hentzau,' which 1 consider to
promise equally with any of the others"
Tim Murphy seems to have made hit
With his new play, The Carpet-Bagger,"
by Opie Read and F. 8. Pixley AS the
tltIe indicates, the scene of the play is laid
| in a southern state during those exciting
reconstruction days, when the nation was
going through that painful process known
as 'burying the hatchet." We have now
reached stage where, with a reunit ed
country devoted to the common good we
can look back upon those days with re-
| gret mingled with amusement, since we
| redIlZe now nOrthernerS and SOuthernerS
mutually misunderstood each other to their
| common disadvantage. Now that all Amer
leans are Yankees" and we have learned
/ now beautiful and good it Is for brethren
/ to live together in unity" we may laugh
/ at and profit from former mistakes so en-
/ tertainingly portrayed in the new play
/ Mr. Murphy plays the part of an ex-Chfca-
I go aucuoneer, who has gone into politics
/ on the platform TO the victors belong the
| spoils," and when his term as federal gov
/ ernor of Mississippi expires, he is not dis
: posed TO give up a good thing. For in ad-
| dition TO his dominating instinct, he has
! come TO love the people among whom his
| lot has been cast, especially a sweet south
! ern widow, who is the principal factor in
/ reforming him. He is opposed at the
| polls by a fiery son of the state and the
| two come perilOusly near a personal as
well as a political encounter. In the end il
! is the carpet-bagger'' who is reconstruct
| ed" and he so reforms his public and pri-
| yate life that, instead of being the de-
/ spised interloper, he becomes the beloved
| and respected governor of his adopted
| state. and the husband of one of her fair
I est daughte rs.
| The other day as Tom" Davis of the
| theatrical firm of Davis & Keogb was seat
/ ed at his desk studiously figuring on how
| to jump The Finish of Mr.. Fresh" out of
nd n,,S Satlt ,iuht ;,,,