The times., 1899-01-08
CHATS WITH THE PLAYERS.

phere OF dignity and face triiie blacksr
than ebony showed The Times man to the
| room occupied by ". H. Crane at the
Arlington. Left to himself. the visitor
raped on the door and received from in
| side the CHEEKY answer. .-An right" Five
seconds later the star appeared. sans coat
| and vest. and holding in one hand The
\ paper-boUnd manuscript of play.
Are you reading that piece for pro-
; duetion?" the interviewer queried, nod
| ding toward the pamphlet
Yes. replied Dir. Crane. 81 am always
/ reading for production. You have no idea
| how many pages Of such matter | wade
! through every day in the vain search for
suitable vehicle. This work here is By
| Lorrimer Stoddard. who dramatized Tess
I of the D'Urberyilles, and it is proving
! very interesting. Mr.. Stoddard is also
anxious to obtain the rights OF an English
| novel which has struck us both foreibIy,
| and which each thinks would be very sue
| cessful in adapted form. 1t has already
! been done abroad, and We are waiting to
| Iind II permission cannot be gotten 10 use
| 1t in this country
| You have had a great deal of trouble
| in getting plays?"
! Few actors have had more although
have owned two or three efforts OF real
| merit His Wife's Father was a clever
/ thing, and so was The Senator Then
| my personal preference was "A Fool Of For
! tune, which was written by Martha Nor
/ ton, and which won for me more individual
! praise than / have had in years. The
4 public didn't like the end, though. Audi
| ences objected to seeing me die-which
| was certainly compliment as far as it
| went. \ Virginia Romance was vaIu-
able piece OF property. but not very much
/ more. It's story was so thin that ono
could see through it with an eye shut.
/ Why, there was one scene in that comedy
| wherein | might have ended the whole
| thing abruptly by merely turning my head
I around. Worth u Million was a strange
affair and it gave me the benefit Of several
strange experiences. The piece was first
done in Philadelphia and seemed to make
a great hit. The crowd present laughed
and applauded heartily. Then | reached
New York and there there was no crowd
and 1t neither laughed nor applaudad. The
worst fault of the piece vas that il gave
me nothing 10 do 1 told Eugene Presbrey
that, and he made me out 4 scenario show
ing that on my shoulders hung everything.
In reply / told him that therein was not
the difticulty-that had really plenty to
do but nothing to DO while l was doing it.
came IN and told the house that a thing
was so and then went away and left the
people to think it over. Mr. Presbrey call
ed the work a comedy of inference. He
was rlght-the audience had to infer every
thing. This Head of the Family is a
Z
York and there seems no doubt that it will
last out the season"
What about the question Of getting
vehicles to producer"
There you have me-and l don't know
why Either the American playwright
mas run dry or-what is more likely-the
public has advanced more quickly than
ne Ihis is true of every branch of the
theatre. can see no help for the present
state OF affairs. although l have heard a
dozen things suggested. A theorist told
me the other day that he believed in a
collaboration of the new ideas of new men
and the old technicalities of old ones But
there's the rub. The old school viii never
admit that scions of the new one have
any brains at all. and YOU can't force a
Jointure- Every other idea may be net
with just such a difficulty What we are
going TO do | don't know
And as The Times man didn't either and
-dr Crane was already getting ready for
tAe matinee. the interviewer took his leave
Quoth Sam Devere last week. You
critics are completely powerless to harm
, burlesque shows. The public doesa t go
; to see our attractions because they pos
sess artistic merit or any merit at all
4. but because IL wants to be entertained
| and 1t doesn't care how. Most varsity
acts are poor and there is little about any
/ OF them that can be brought into tte i'm
e not very well say that Mr.. Jones SIDE
S talk comedy was not wei constructed. o.
that Mr. Smiths trapeze perfo- nance
e lacked earnest perception. The ouly ooen
4 point in bUriesque bill is its morality
t and you can't iniure n performance BY
] calling it filthy. Go over to your Office
and turn out a story 10 the effect that my
I entertainment is nauseating in its wild
n and wooliy wickedness and while you re
I writing 1t I'll be dusting my standing
0 room only sign for Immediate use You
S reviewers generally have things your OWE
S way, but l think that We have a shade
S the better of you in this case-eh?''
= Over an excellent little lunch the other
I lay at the Gordon charming Georgia Cafne
I discussed her plans for next season with
a representative of The Times After /
! had finished my engagement with The
Girl From Paris " quoth she. Il deter
mined upon taking q long rest before re-
j turning 10 work. But the best laid plans
are often susceptible 10 changes at the
( hands OF managers, land when KIaw &
1 ErIanger came along with part written
especially for me was persuaded to take
IT, At the expiration of this year how
, ever. am going abroad to study a twelve
month. shall spend more than haIf my
time at the theatre and shall endeayor
to acquire some knowledge that l do not
now possess concerning the effectiveness
America I shall star. The bee has been
! bothering me for some time and | have
an excellent opportunity if / desire to
: take it up. l am the outlook for n
I piece with strong comedy lead at present
l But plays are scarce and some months uelv
clapSe before ! can get one to suit me.
Meanwhile, TO Paris and work."
: 4 am not generally troubled with what
! | physicians call Uranium elephantus' and
small boys the big head " remarked Man
: ager Guzman the other day. while chatting
with some friends in the lobby of the
: Grand, still. do feel proud OF he man
! ner in which Francis Wilson was handled
= here. Had the syndicate been arranging
: | his booking ne could not have played TO
: | anything like the business he did There
! | were several difficulties in the way too.
. ! many of them being mechanical ones
When We got the Grand. for example. it
. was the dirtisst looking place you ever
- | saw Tobacco : chewing gum and
: | other substaucns 7-srp stuck over the walls
p g-hile the carpets aud draperieS held dust
nough 10 build mountain. l had force
{ eleven in the theatre for two weeks
nd when We opened no nicer auditorium
: n-fi h"r. haFn s'ed-
n Then there WIS great deal Of skill in
: the way tGoS charge OF the crowds. All