The times., 1899-10-22

careful research, lest some grievous mis-
take be made apparent to the captions The
difference between working on modern
story and on one Of ancient times is con-
siderable. The governor put in sixteen
hours every day for months on Tie task
until his health gave way and be became a
shadow of mis- former self.
The eitCrt OF turning Ben HuT into a
theatrical offering is more thau labor
adaptation. General Wallace wrote the
tale in q series Of articles. each of which
was complete in itself The result is taat
lhere is a lack Of straiEhtfOrw7rines5
about the book that cannot bo easily glim-
mated in the play Since what you have
! picturesquely termed unity Of yarn is n
great essential in a drama the elimination
must be accomplished, and. resultanIy,
the job is quite as difficult as would be
that Of writing an original piece. The va
Iious threads of the plot must be drawn
together, speeches and incidents altered,
and everything done quite anew.
An attempt viii be made TO have Ben
Hur' ran through the year at the Broad
way. The pTOdUcticn viii be either q gi-
gantic failure or gigantic success. and
the preparations necessary to each per-
formaEce are such that it would NOT pay
10 visit too many small cities The chariot
race, which viii be worked on treadmilIs,
is the most elaborate effect you ever saw,
and its weight on the stage will easily be q
hundred tons. Flying dust streaming
/ robes. straining horses ioltng wagons,
I passing scenery. will all be reproduced, and
marvelously reproduced. Ben Hun VIII
probably not be seen in Washington until
next season. but when il reaches here it is
/ likely to prove a sensation.
Clad in the most unaristocratic of elon-
gated sporting suits, Francis Wilson greet
ed a Times man quite warmly The other
afternoon at the Hotel Raleigh. The erst-
while Caddie was a-gofng going, md in
quite a hurry. bat his lack of minutes did
not detract from the heartiness with which
his hand was extended to the dramatic
writer. Come over here by the window
if YOU want me to tell you anything.
quoth the comedian. You may not believe
II. but / am a little inclined TO BE- modest
when talking for publication. There are
some people by the desk who know me.
and I don't want them to hear what ! say.
Now, what I can do for you2"
What in the world induced you to at
tempt to play the part of Cyrano legiti-
/ mateiy?" was the natural query pro-
pounded.
quizical expression. the stage repro
duction of which would mean dollars ga
lore. swept over Mr.. Wilson counteuance
as he replied: Il didn't-and thereby hangs
a tale You may know some French and,
if you ever read 'CyranO de Bsfgerac' in
the original, you viii remember that it
IS a real comedy, in which the lighte- sit
uations are pre-eninent and paramount. |
went over the piece and thought in this
fashion: Here is a high-clas5 work which
has created an International furore. Ii re-
quires for the leading role a comedian and
a swordsman- / am supposed 10 Be a COM
edian and, as you viii recCIlecJ 1 was
once the champion amateur sworisman OF
America. Now why not combine these
abilities in the character Of Cyrano? l de-
cided to do so-and did. Remember. l
never attempted TO appear romantic. The
first night the critics saW me doing some
thing different from anything / had done
for years and they went at me. Then
Messrs. Robson and Crane took TO new
fields of labor. The reviewers clapped their
hands ard said, All the funmakers are
getting serious So they made a great
story out of it. I saw Immediately that
my step was a false one, and by Wednes-
day evening had entirely changed my op-
era No use. We could not alter the mi
ti8l impression.
DO you know that I was accord
ed the right TO play tragic roles years ago
Philadelphia, before had any great in
tentiOn Of starring Once between that
time and this last effort I decided to be
scholarly and risk my fortune by present
ing a vehicle as il was written This
vehicle was The Oolah" and cost me a
good deal Of money. One can't lead the
public. After one has accomplished the
feat of winning a following he must con
tinue TO cater to that following. This
'Cyrano' would be valuable al present in
New York if we could correct the impress
ion that ] am trying legitimacy. We are
pleased with our success in Washington and
have decided to make some alterations sug-
gested by the Times the other morning
especially in Miss GIaser's costumes and
in my nose song although the latter is one
Of the foundations of Mr. Herbert's orches-
tratiun
Over by the door some Of the would-be
golfers began 10 show impatieEcs and. aft
er a few remarks upon general subjects,
Cyrano Wilson bade the scribe sdieu An
hour later be was following the advice OF
mol ~