The record-union., 1899-04-09

New York Post: It is said that Mrs.
Craigie's "A Repentance has proved
fairly successful at the London st.
James Theater in spite of the severity
with which it has been assailed by the
critics One of the weekly commenta-
tors, after plenty of time for reflection,
says: THE sentiment Of the thing is
false and hollow from beginning to. end,
and the writing is SO undistinguished
and badly commonplace as to suggest
serious doubts of the authors wisdom
in attempting to stray beyond the linn
its within which, in The Ambassador ;
she has done such excellent stage work
OF the incomprehensible Des Ecsas Mr..
Alexander can make nothing whatever,
and Miss Julie Opp, who is not with
out intensity, but lacks something in
dignity and distinction, makes no at
tempt to give relief to the character of
the doleful Countess This seems to be
in accordance with the general opinion,
although rather more bluntly expressed
than most Of it.
- =
1t is estimated by those who ought to
know that j. M. Barrie's royalties from
THE Little Minister" will ultimately
amount to S25O,000. The piece in addi-
ton to playing to between $4,000 and
$12. 900 a week in America, has begun
it's second season in London at the
Haymarket Theater, where the audi
ences are enormous, and it is also going
in Australia to very large houses 1t
seems. moreover, to be a permanent
kind of success, and not one of those
had it's run and then rolled over on it's
back and died. The author of 1.-The Lit
tie Minister ought to congratulate
himself very heartily on having put it
into the form of play. instead of re-
lying upon publication fees for the so.e
income from the story. He sold the
American rights on the book itself for
$50, and his fees from the English pub
licatiOn were not anything as large as
one would naturally look for from a
book that had recorded such an extra
ordinary sale.
Mistress Gwynne." the Restoration
comedy in which Miss Julia Nelson and
Fred Terry are to appear by-and-by in
the London Garrick Theater, has been
wrongly attributed to Anthony Hope
The misunderstanding is due to the fact
that Mr.. Hope has, in conjunction with
Edward Rose, completed a dramatiza-
ton of his novel Simon Dale" in which
Nell Gwynne is a central figure. The
two plays, however, have no connection
with each other.
The story of 'Zaza," Mrs. Leslie Car
ter's new play, is interesting just now.
Zaza is a strolling singer-a careless.
impulsive woman surrounded by ad
mirers. OF these she loves one, and
six months happiness with him in a
little cottage outside of Paris follows.
Then Zaza hears that her lover is un-
true and has married young woman of
high social standing in Paris. The
| tigress in the woman is aroused. She
goes to Paris and visits the home of
her truant lover. While waiting for
him and his wife, a little child comes
| in, the daughter of the household. A
| pathetic scene between the baby and
ZaZa follows. and she Isl completely dis
armed. She returns to her home with
out telling her story to the innocent
victim Of her wrath. Zaza then sep
arates from Dufrene, and a year later,
when she meets him again, with the
whole of Paris at her feet, she refuses
| to resume her relations with him and
sends him home to his wife, while she
lives out her life alone.
| Nine. Rejane is credited with a great
success in lie Lys Rouge a new
comedy by Anatole France, just pro-
duced in the Paris Vaudeville. The
play is founded upon NJ. Frances novel
Of the same name, and is his first work
for the stage.
! The Dramatic Mirror" has the fol-
low to say concerning the painted and
puckered smile that we all know so
we'll:
Oh, wonderful is the property smile,
So utterly shallow and full of guile,
And yet 1T brings bliss to the baldhead
row,
And joy to- the souls that can never know;
While you and I laugh in our sev'ral
| sleeves
That some one the property smile believes
Richard Mansfield is credited with a
! bonmot which is said to have passed
over the wine and walnuts the other
evening at the Holland House The dis
eussion related to the evolution of the
Thespian. 1.-The actor, like the poet, is
born" contended one. ION the con-
trary, the actor, like the musician. is
made" argued another. They finally
appealed to Mansfield, who is said to
have remarked that IAN actor, like
Isaak Walton's angler, is born and then
made" The jest was accredited as a
verdict, and ended the discussion.
What threatened to prevent per-
formance at Grand Island. Neb.. turned
out to be godsend. A snowstorm de-
layed a train. and three members of
Daniel Sully's company telegraphed
that they had missed a connection. The
manager replied: Come on a hand
car So they made a trip of nineteen
miles, and might have frozen to death
but for the violent exercise at the
Ecranks Upon their arrival a great
crowd was in waiting and a band of
music escorted them to the theater,
which, in spite of bad weather was
packed with people whom shrewd ex-
ploitation of the affair had served to
gather.
1t is now almost positively known
that Mime. Duse, the great Italian
actress, will visit this country next
sea son.
William Archer. the distinguished
English dramatic critic, is in New York.
He is to write up the American stage
for one of the English magazines.
Wagenhals and Kemper. of the
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