Evening star., 1898-06-18

| tnlS week IN steele Mackaye'S Nv on al
Last" Mr. Barrows, Mr.. Ingersoll and
Miss Haslam being seen to excellent advan-
tage. The piece selected for next week
however. THE Mighty Dollar" Is more
| in harmony with the summer season, for
| it is fun all thu way through. and in 1t Mr.
Barrows and Mrs Findlay should be shin
ing lights. At the National the opera COM
pany has pleased in two operas widely diff
| ferent in character, both to story and
music. and that both have been creditably
sung is tribute to the vocal ability OF
| cast and chorus. For next week Offsn-
bach's tuneful and amusing Grand
| Duchess" Is announced, and that should
make big hit.
| At Glen Echo the Parry Opera Company
| has been highly successful in THE Chimes
| of Normandy cast and chorus being re-
| warded with many encores at each per-
| fOrmance. Next week The Mascot" one
| of the most melodic and humorous of comic
| operas. will be given, and it is safe to pre-
| dict that it will be well sung and well
1 acted.
| Mr.. Otto Sellhausen has been made treas
| urer of the Academy of Music to fill the
| place made vacant by Harry Aliens resig-
| nation. Mr.. Allen has gone to New York
| to assume the business management Of the
| Murray Hill Theater. position for which
| he is we'll qualified by natural adaptability
| and by many years of experience. During
his long residence in this city he made
| host of friends who regret his departure.
but who wish him the best of success.
Mr.. Sellhausen owes his promotion entire
| ly to his devotion to duty and to his own
| merit. He began at the Academy six years
| ago and has steadily advanced to his pres
| ent position by reason Of his industry, tidel-
| ity, integrity and ability.
Mr. w. Webster Cullison, who has been
| with Ria's Girl from Paris Company dur
Ing the past season, is back in the city
spending his summer vacation. Mr.. Culli-
son made a good record wherever he went
| and now has his pick of several advan-
tageous offers for next season.
Maud Haslam has a grievance against
amateur playWrights, and is not shy about
giving vent to her feelings on the subject.
| The other day some friend, with intent to
compliment her, spoke about her work
here in the original production of "A Paris
Model last season, in which she carried
not only the leading part, but practically
the play through. please don't mention
it, said Miss Haslam, with emphasis that
left no doubt of her earnestness. That
was one of the most weirdly awful expert
enCeS in my whole stage career, and
don't care to recall it even under the head
OF compliments on my work. No one can
appreciate under what difficulties l under
took that Iart, unless re she has had
the misfortune to try to interpret the ideas
of an amateur playwright and at the same
time maintain a moderate reputation for
sanity if not art in acting.
The author of "A Paris Model was
woman, and therefore had my sympathy.
She also had some excellen. ideas, al
though not the kndck OF presenting the m
in the best dramatic form She wrote brill
liant lines, but she could not learn that
mere conversation. no matter how bright
cannot make an interesting play unaCcom-
| panied by action. That is the difference
between a play and novel. The novelist
Of
| his scenes and chara crers, which must be
| compasscd by the scene painter and player
| On the stage. The clever writer can hold
| your interest with subtle analysis of the
| emotions. but the actor must express most
| of this In actions rather than words. II is
not so much what one says how one
| SAYS it on the stage, FOR frequently we are
! called upon to contradict by oar actions
! the words we utter. Thus mere lines do
net count, especially IN Eight comedy Tn
| less accompanied by or bearing uI on ac-
| tion-for it IS the cid prOvarb proved. that
| actions speak louder than words.
| you ought to see one Of Mr. Gillette's
| prompt books" continued Miss HasIam
| There are whole pages of stage drcc-
! uons to every speech, for he realizes. as
| few American dramatsts have done. that
/ it is action rather than lines that makes
a play. He follows literally ,Iamlet'., ad-
| vice to suit the word to the action the ac-
| tion to the word, ard in ,act he rather laws
| the accent upon the acoiun, for which he
| VIII frequently 3dClliCS Vi cilillSS speech
| completely.
| The best playwrghts are accustomed to
| buiid their plays on the stage for a play
! is rather a mosaic of words and actions
| than a series of sentences marshaed in
| regular rhetorical order Just consider ID
| conversation in real life, and see what
| great gaps there are in dialogue. Only in
| court is the conversation confined to alter
nate questions and answers. In real life
much is taken for granted, implied by the
manner of the speaker or conveyed il. pan
tomfme. OF course, a dramatist condenses
| the developments of lifetime into a few
hours, and must, therefore, explain char
| acter and motives more at length in Ian
| guage whereas in real life we live rather
| than utter our emotions.
1T is by this mutual collaboration of
player and playwright that the best dramas
are produced, and dramatist is indeed
| fortunate when, like Mr.. Gillette he can
work out his ideas and effects in action
rather than through pen and paper"
There has been a great deal of mystery
surrounding Glen Echo's new contralto
who has made such a hit in all the reper-
toire of summer operas at that resort 1t
was quite evident that the possessor Of
such voice could not thong remain without
celebrity in opera yet q search of the ros-
ters of the principal companies failed 10 re-
| veal the name Of Viola D'Armon. The Sc
| cret has finally leaked out through the fact
| that Miss DArmon never appears at the
Sunday concerts, for she takes the train for
| New York regularly every Saturday night
| returning Monday in time for the opening
| performance. From this it has been devel-
| oped that she Is the contralto of one of
Gotham's fashionable churches and in or
| der to maintain her incognito she adopted
| the stage rame of DArmon. Heretofore
| her stage work has been confined to concert
| and amateur performances, but it Is said
| that Mr.. Parry. who discovered her dra-
| matte possibilities. has quietly secured
four-years contract with her, so 1t seems
| probable that. as in the case of Jessie Bart
| lett Davis and other opera singers, the loss
| of the choir will be the gain of the stage.
And just now the operate stage needs such
! voices. The facility with which she has
| mastered the intricacies of stage business
proves her possessed of the true dramatic
| instinct. for since her opening night in 1.-The
| Mikado," when she confesses she was
scared nearly to death. she has not be-
| trayed by the slightest nervousness the
| fact that she is practically a novice on the
stage. For this Mr.. Parry's excellent train
| ing is doubtless largely responsible and he
| deserves the prize he has discovered and
developed.
The ladies of the National Opera Com
pany have got the athletic craze, and al
| though there are among them some of the
| most beautiful of Edward Z. Rice's ranks
| which means that they must be very come
| ly In face and figure, they are working hard
| to develop the charms that nature has Civ