El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-30
THEATRICAL TOPICS.
SAYINGS AND DOINGS OF THE
PLAYERFOLK.
A Glimpse at the London Stage-Edna
May Winning Golden Opinions In the
British CapitaI-Amusing and Start
Ling Anglican Customs.
GOndOu Letter.)

For ten months that American mu-
steal comedy called 1.-The Belle or New
York" has drawn thousands of British
ers and thousands of pounds to the
pretty Shaftesbury theater, and as yet
there seems to be no letting up. George
Shiller and his confreres are wonder
ing still what is the matter with the
English mind that it will put up with
such a thing for ten months. In the
piece, Edna May plays the Salvation
Army lassie, and every night. comes
out in the last act with a new regalia
of diamonds on. Edna can never do
anything but the "lassie," and she
doesn't do that so very well, but the
British Johnny is in love with her, and
that is all that is necessary, from the
managerial standpoint. 1 was told in
the Savage club the other evening that
the worthy son of most worthy Lord
Somebody or other became so infatu-
ated with this flower Of English beauty
that he presented her with all his
mothers family jewels. When pop
per heard of it, he called on Edna and
asked them back, but little Edna was
so coy that she bewitched governor
himself, and now she has his family
jewels, too. And he-mean he was,
too-sent the scion of his house down
into the country, or to Monte Carlo, or
somewhere 'to break up the attach
ment," he said, though, really that he
might buy birds and small bottles for
Edna himself. That's the British
mind as it pertains to theatricals.
And in the Strand theater, as well,
America holds forth and reigns SUI
prenely. In fact, Miss Dorothy Us
ner, one of the cleverest little ac-
tresses and finest minded women that
America has ever sent over here, has
been taken up by the theater-going
public and been made the chit of the
season." The play in which she is
appearing is why Smith Left Home"
The Broadhurst brothers have taken
the old historic Strand theater for a
period of years and have transformed
it from a dingy hole of no attractive
ness whatever into one of the pleas
ATTEST of London's playhouses. The
entire Smith company is playing there
now and from the business it has done
since the first of May the play has
come to be regarded as "long liver
The customs of the British theaters
are rather amusing, not to say start
ling, to an American. In the first
place, it costs a small sized fortune to
see play here, that is, if you want to
see one. That portion of the theater
that at home we call the orchestra is
L,
is merely a seat down in front, but
you pay ten and six for it, that is to
say, two dollars and sixty-two cents.
In America the corresponding seat
may be had, to see the same play pre-
sented by the same company, for one
dollar and a half. Every play, here,
too, is preceded by a curtain raiser
about half an hour long. The an
nouncement of this theatrical "pre-
face is merely incidental in the adj
vertisements. Nine and quarter past
is the usual hour for the play of the
night to begin
The other evening at the Strand it
was entertaining to look down from
proscenium box upon My Lady This
and That and she wandered into the
house at about 9 o'clock and bought
her programme of the usher, for
sixpence. For programmes cost you
a sixpence here. All the ushers in
London theaters are girls in black
gowns and white aprons, and they
are most ready to receive a tip when