The times., 1898-02-20
viii A. Page Interviews Jessie
Wood.
JOHN DREW'S NEW PLAY
The Humorous Methods Employed
by the Most Notorious New York
Critic Exposel-She Tells Moth
ing, But Tries Hard TO BE Funny.
Ofher New Yorl, Stage News.

fear / shall either have to separate com.
positors from their space, after the man
her of Jessie Wood, our famous critic.
or else curtail this brief synopsis of
what is going on in the stage world.
But on second thought, Jessie Wood is
such an interesting object that. in the
cause of universal enlightenment, L think
/ / should kill some space with her. She
is the most interesting woman in New
York city. It is the fashion here to poke
fun at every production unmercifully.
One must always let fall those flippant
remarks that mean nothing about ac
tors and convey no information whatev-
er, but which pass smart sayings.
Here is Jessie Woods stock humorous
remark:
Mr.. John Drew in one Summers
Day" produced ut Wallack's last night
wears straw hat and chilly air" Lat
er on, Miss Elsie de Wolf is attired in
a gypsy costume and a blackmailing
mood Do you see the point? You must
bunch realities with unrealities and the
novelty carries the thing. in spite of tn,
fact that every comic writer since thu
days of Joe Miller has utilized the same
scheme
/ sat right next to Miss Jessie Wood at
Nallack's Monday night, when the play
In question WAS produced for the first
time. Miss Wood is ohe of the best ac-
tresses on the American stage-I mean
in American audiences, She paints hor-
ribiy and lavishly. and uses her face az
a canvas. But she has no idea of the
chromatic diseords she creates. Red and
black are the cardinal colors with het
and she has each in profusion. Some
times the cofors mix and the effect is
most interesting. She is not elderly-I
should say about thirty -three-and lil1eJ
10 draw pictures of herself as a simple
white muslin heroine with a bag and a
lunch basket interviewing stage celebri-
ties. She is English. you know She
came over from the other side about
steen years ago. just how many sha
never cares to tell.
DO you know" she said to me with
a hoydenish chucllle. just as John Drew
slid down of the haystack in
the first act, that John Drew
is an awfully funny man to pre-
tend in this play that he is
thirty-eight and Yet too old to marry
the heroine, who is twenty Here, let me
make note on that. | can use that for
a funny paragraph tomorrow Every
thing | write has to be funny. / think |
write wretched stuff. you know. but il
seems 10 go-I say, il seems to go 1t
makes good and the people like it, but
oh, il is so wretched"
| hastened to assure Miss Wood that
she was not the only one who believed
her stuff wretched from every standpoint
OF art and literature. but she inter
rupted me again to make a note on the
peculiar turn of John Drew's mustache,
which, she said, was good for three
humorous lines, And sure enough the
next day there appeared an apotheosis
of humor, built around John Drew's mus
tache, which every critic has prated
about for years
am sure, if you have read this far.
that YOU are wondering when l propose
to tell You anything about ''one sum
mer's Day" If l followed out the
Jessie Wood precepts I would leave you
as much in the dark, after two columns
of this matter. as YOU are now. But |
will drop Jessie Wood into the bottom
less well of oblivion.
'One Summers Day was written for
Mr. Drew by II. V. IGsmond, to be play
ed until the end of the season at Wal
lacks Theater. providing the patronage
warrants. which apparently will be the
case. Although every one believes that
John Drew left his better-half behind
when he started touring this season with
out Maude Adams. his success thus far
has been very marked. In his latest
play he impersonates an elderly bache-
lor who had formerly become entangled
with a gypsy maiden, who in turn pos
sessed a stage child A startling inno-
walton in this play is that the stage child
does not appear on the boards. Mr..
Drew believing that he is responsible for
the existence of this infant, consents to
contribute until the child finally dies.
Meanwhile he is in love with Maysie.
PLAYED in her usually elderly chic manner
by Isabel Irving, but refuses to declare
himself until he hears that the ''cheild'
is dead Then he jumps off the hay
rack. where he has been sitting for three
acts. and receives a proposal of mar
.riage from Miss Irving, who stands
ready to catch him at the bottom as he
falls.
AS a remarkable relief from this peren-
NAL theme about misconstrued love and
blackmailing pastS, Thy Master, pro-
duced Tuesday evening by Henry Miller
at the Garden Theater. stands out prom
inently. THE Master in this case is
domineering, harsh father, who drives
his whole family from his home because
they refuse to obey him in all things.
Being ruined by a scapegrace nephew.
very tidy fortune of $500 900 from his wife
serves to reconcile the heads of the fam
lily. His daughter and son are likewise
reconciled in the usual manner. AL
though offering nothing startling or nov
ell the play is the best that Henry Mill
Ter has yet had. And this is said with
full appreciation of the remarkable sue
cess Mr.. Miller has scored in the past
two seasons with "Heartsease" But, as
Leander Richardson points out in the
Morning Telegraph, the only doubt
about it's ultimate financial success, is
the possibility that the role may not be
sufficiently sympathetic to score heavily
with the public. Mr. Richardson is in
cIined to think, however, that in spite
of the unsympathetic nature of the char
acter, the play is such an artistic sue
cess that it will have along run.
Beyond these two offerings, New York's
theatrical attention has been disintegrat-
ed by conflicting dramatic rumors. We
have heard from Walrer Jones, who pro-
poses to start out next season at the
head of an organization possessing the
euphonious title, Jones Opera Com
pany,'' and cut great swaths in the
comic opera records of Francis Wilson
and DeWolf Hopper. We have had De
Wolf Hopper announce positively that
Edna Wallace Hopper will not play with
him after his New York engagement.
which opens Monday next, while Edna |
Wallace Hopper has announced that she |
Will support Lillian Russell In comic |
opera next year; after her divorce from |
Ell Captain has been granted. Ell Cap
itan, meanwhile. will take his comic OPP |
era forces to England for a run.
Robert Downing has turned UP on |
Broadway again, together with his talent |
ed wife. Eugene Blair. Nr. Downing has |
Of late been devoting his time to manag |
ing his wife's tour but she has now clos |
ed and he is in New York looking over |
the field preparatory to starting out lat |
ar in the season.