The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-09
GET TING A RED-HEADED BALLET
DIFFICULTIES EXPERIENCED BY
a NEW YORK MANAGER.
Amusing Story OF Typical Thea
trical Scene When Women With
Bright Hair Were Wanted.
(New York Times


The residents of West Forty-fifth
street, in the vicinity of the stage door
of the New York theatre. formerly
Hammerstein' Olympia, experienced an
unusual rise in the temperature at 1870
o'clock yesterday afternoon. The pri-
mary cause was the following .adver-
tisement, whic happeared in a morning
newspaper:
'WANTED.-One hundred attractive
women, possessing vivid auburn, in
tense brick, or natural strawberry
hair. Apply at the office of the New
York theatre Sunday, April 2, between
1870 and p. M
The theatre will be opened shortly by
George w. Lederer with a burlesque,
entitled THE Man of the Noon" one
of the promising features of which is
number of white horses. The manage
ment, having due regard for the writ
ers of the drama, put the advertise
ment in the paper. and then set about
strengthening the stage door.
Mr.. Lederer and Manager Melville
Stoltz went home early to luncheon,
leaving only vague hints as to when
they would return. Assistant Stage
Manager Mccormick was left At 1890
came at he stage door. Doorkeeper
Clark, an experienced man, opened the
door about an inch and peeped out,
shading his eyes with his hand. Mr..
Mccormick stepped behind a painted
tree. y tall woman of uncertain age
demanded to know where Mr.. Lederer
was. She had freckles, but her head
was crowned with a veritable sunburst,
and she attempted TO enter over the
doorkeper's body.
Head 'em off! Keep 'em out until
Mr.. Lederer comes shouted Mr.. Nc
Cormick, hastily entering an artificial
cave and disappearing in a trap door.
The applicant eXpostulated vigorously,
but the doorkeeper was desperate, and
insisted on delay.
TWO minutes later the doOrkeeper sent
word to the stage manager that three
ladies wanted to see Mr.. Lederer. This
number was increased TO twenty-One
few minutes later, and after this the
reports were sent in in the form of
vague estimates on the part of the door
keeper. And still Mr.. Lederer did not
return.
Every applicant was arguing with the
doorkeeper and denouncing the man
agement for keeping "a lady waiting in
the street" Something had to be done,
Mr.. Mccormick concluded to make
some sort of a start. Has the near
est lady lGair of a vivid auburn, natur-
al brick, or intense strawberry color?'
he inquired timidly of the doorkeeper,
emerging tentatively from behind
painted cloud near the doorway.
She's got a head like the Windsor
hotel fire. shouted back the perspiring
Clark, in a stage whisper.
We really must wait until Mr.. Lee
derer returns was Mr.. McCormick's
decided answer.
Red headed girls were by this time
sWarming about the stage door and
line of them extended some distance up
Forty-fifth street. There never was
such lurid convention in New York.
At o'clock Mr.. Lederer entered the
theatre by a secret passage. He con-
ferred with Assistant Stage Manager
Mccormick and it was finally decided
that Mr.. Mccormick, who has very lit
tie hair on his head. and that very
short, should treat with the women,
acting as a sort of buffer for Mr.. Lee
derer, who grasped a fairy's wand and
stood by 10 do the actual choosing.
When the gathering assembled, the
sunset in Neapolitan scene used in
recent production was seen to pale and
the painted flowers on a scene repre-
senting a ducal palace was seen to
wither and crackle. Still it was ascer-
tanned that the locks of all the women
were ilOG VI TIC NlNlu hue pICSCIIDCQ III
the plans of the management Mr. Le-
derer had few ribbons of the color re-
quired, and these, were used as a sort
of standard. There were some appli-
cants with what are known as golden
locks These wouldn't do, of course.
There were peach blondes rejected by
the score, as We're also many brick-col-
ored tresses. for the MANAGEMENT In
sisted on intense brick" Every appli
cant was painfully surprised when told
that she was not expected to take the
leading female role in the piece. but
was simply required to look pleasant
march a little and display her hair
Much recrimination followed this infor
nation. There was a very warm half
hour during which the examiners work
ed rapidly. Peroxide blondes were bar
red. The final result was that among
all the applicants but twelve of the real
simon-pure red-haired girls were dis
covered. TWO others were accepted ten