The times., 1899-07-02


Conversation dragged for a moment, as
Mr.. Grunewald thought of the amateur
performance of the early eighties. being
resumed when the newspaper man re-
marked that ability soon forced its posses
sor to the front in the professional life.
Yes was the answer, lit will interest
you TO know that Loie Fuller was once my
leading woman at the magnificent salary
OF $S5 per week. We played nearly every
thing from 'Fanchon, the Cricket, to
Shakespeare, and Miss Fuller had the
nerve to try any part and get through it
with pretty good effect. she was then, as
she is now, very magnetic. She would
take the part of Lady Macbeth at ten
hours notice and give a pretty fair per-
formance, too. She had never danced at
that time, and had anyone suggested that
she would revdlutionize the terpsichorean
efforts of the world no one would have
scoffed at the idea more than she. l re-
member distinctly funny occurrence in
little town in Illinois. Petersburg by name.
We were playing East Lynne and Miss
Fuller did not know her lines. Elizabeth
Baker, who also became quite well known,
was playing the part of Willie, the lost
child. When We came to the last act Loie
didn't know the lines. and while appearing
to be dying with sickness was really near
ly frightened to death searching for cues.
So we arranged for Miss Baker to lie be-
hind the lounge and read the lines to
Loie, who repeated them to me with the
proper intonation. Once in a while Miss
Baker would lose the place or turn two
pages, and when Lady Isabel finally died
there was breath of relief on the little
stage and oceans of tears in the theatre"
With whom else have you been asso-
ciated, Mr.. Grunewald?"
We'll, you know / appeared here with
Katie Putnam about in n or thereabouts-
Remember that my first idea of going on
the stage was to get ideas for dramatic
composition. | went with Miss Putnam
in '73, getting the smallest of parts and
was doing her leading business four years
later So you see l made rapid advance
ment. / am little amused to see Katie
| doing Bossy in a Texas Steer now.
| Unless l am mistaken, she was born in
81, so must be pretty close to the half
century mark. She doesn't look it from
the front, does she? l played here with
her in the old National in the '70s."
Tell me about the plays you have writ
ten, Mr.. Grunewald?"
Like DAILY, my first efforts were adapta-
tions from the French and German. 1t gave
me good experience and taught me con-
struction. You know some one has said
that there is no need for new plays, the
old redone will satisfy. True 1t is that
many of those produced as original efforts
today are founded on the old yellow backed
manuscripts which you can purchase for
fifteen cents. l am really responsible for the
play which made Paul Potter. We were
then both in Chicago and he had written
some and so had |. He suggested that We
collahorate on something and l assented.
gave him musical farce which | called
| The Joneses. He kept it for a while and
then returned it. saying it was no good
or something of that sort. Then pretty
soon he sold The City Directory to Rus
sell and sent me box to the first per-
| formance. There I found my play, The
Joneses,' masquerading under the newer
name. 1 sued him. of course. but my law
yer sold me out and the only return 1
ever secured for my piece was the privi-
lege of seeing it from a box
Have you anything in contemplation
now?"
"Yes, indeed; two very good romantic
| plays well suited for several of the younger
star actors. One has been submitted and
highly commended and the other is being
| read. l have also a good comedy with
an atmosphere similar to that pervading
Sweet Lavender the scene being laid here
in Washington. l have collaboration in
this effort and a pair of good actors now
in the West will produce it when 1t is
| completed. 1t is a clean sort of a piece,
| for in all my work l believe in keeping
| the stage free from filth. OF course, it is
discouraging to see money made by foul
means, but cleanliness pays in the long
run. Witness the career of Sol Smith
Russell Last year. with very inferior
! play, he made the most money of any
season in which he has appeared as a
| star, merely because he has created repu-
tation for reliability and chasteness which
stands him in good stead. No mother
would refuse to let her daughter go to
see Sol Smith Russell for his reputation
| for decency is behind him. It pays in
the long run, l tell you. I've seen con-
siderable dramatic work in Europe, and
| for vulgarity it lays all American efforts
| in the shade, and / don't think the fad will
| last much longer here. The reaction is
already on and finally managers will learn
| that it is profitable TO be decent"
| Inasmuch as Mr.. Grunewald is a man
| of considerable means. 1t will be signii-
| cant TO note that another local playwright
! of some reputation and considerable abil-
/ ity is negotiating with him, relative to
staging one of his romantic plays the sea-
son of 1900-1901.
Charles Dickson and Katherine Oster-
man, both well known in Washington,
made their vaudeville debut at Keith's. in
! New York. Monday evening. in compara-
! lively new and unique sketch, entitled
/ Tomorrow at Twelve" While a little
| over advertised. the offering is said to have