The Philipsburg mail., 1899-01-20

ter French than thA4 which Chaucer
said was spoken in Strattforde-a&-
Bowe, settles the problem authoritAk,
lively by pronouncing "Cyrano" -
though 1t was spelled Sirrano. with tho
accent placed squarely on the first syl-
liable. This decision about his own
name by the knight Of the Rueful Nose
will dispel doubt and confusion and
enable the general public to discuss the
drama without embarrassment or the
scorn Of the French maid and the girl
from Paris" The "g" in Bergerac IL
soft.
The average audience will patiently
sit through an uninteresting first act
In the hope Of something better to fol-
low" said Stuart Robson recently.
Il remember producing play called
Champagne and OYSTERS the funniest
piece l ever played. 1t was laugh
from beginning to end. The first night
Immediately after the performance.
Joe Jefferson came back to see me.
Well / asked, what do you think OF
1t, Joe?' It's too funny to be money
maker answered Jefferson. TOO fun
NY repeated dumfounded. Yes, too
fully echoed Jefferson. You don't
give the audience time to rest between
laughs. GO you tire them out laughing.
You'll never make penny on the
play And didn't.
did 1t ever strike you as odd, how
every theater-goer constitutes himself
a judge and jury and sits on the merits
or dement's Of play or player? Nine
out Of every ten men when asked as to
the beauties OF coloring in this picture
or that would profess ignorance Of the
laws of pigments, and modestly state
that they were not in fit position to
Judge conscientiously. In nearly all
branches of art and of literature we
| find the same modesty of opinion as
regards the layman. In the theater
alone does the man who knows 1t all
discourse most glibly on ethics In
plays and their constructive drawbacks
when he knows not even the A, B. Cs
| Of dramatic workmanship. The dra-
matte critics post IS fast becoming a
sinecure, for he writes for people who
knew it all before the critic did"
In review Of THE Elder Misa
Blossom" the new comedy at the St.
| James theater In London, one Of her
critics puts the case thus: There
| have been times when Mrs. Kendars
high spirits and acute sense OF humor
have got the better of her; there have
haan fnndc aud knnlYc uyraathnH
smiles All that is over now. There
| is not one instant Of excess. They say
that English artists come home from
| America too highly colored, too strong
| ly accentuated. 1t Is not the case with
| Mrs. Kendall, for II we may Judge by
her recent performances she Is Infinite
| ly better actress now than she ever
was in her life, and that is saying
great deal when We remember her ex.
emplary comedy career"
| Years ago a trapeze performer in
the circuses was Zara, the beautiful
Arabian. A lawsuit In Pittsburg re-
calls her. She was adopted when a ba-
by waif by Louis Sussmann, an ath-
lete, who trained her for his business.
Her beauty and skill made her excep-
tionally valuable. Sussmann lost her
through an elopement, but he had &C.
cumulated a fortune, with which he
and his wife settled down. He Is dead
now, and there is fight by Zara, now
Mrs. Leon Provost and long absent
| from the sawdust ring, for share In
an estate which has grown to value
OF a quarter Of q million.
George Alexander promises, at tho
! St. James, London, an adaptation by
Justin Huntly Mccarthy of "The
Dukes Motto" This piece, In which
Fechter was seen January 10, 1868, at
the Lyceum, as Henri de Lagardere, is
rendering by John Brougham OF "Le
Bossu" of Paul Feval, the great sue
cess at the Porte Saint-Martin OF the
previous year. Melln was the original
Lagardere.
Miss Maude Adams Is spending her
leisure moments in the study OF Juliet,
as Charles Frohman has announced his
intention OF having her essay that
character In New York before the close
OF the present season.