The times., 1899-12-17


ayers did not prove what was required and
as the lrisnnau has it. there sex aire.
wonder il there was man iu ,te country
a theatrical man-Wko did not expect that
Brauder Matthews and Bronson Howard
would evolve n remarkable comedy from
their ideas for Peter Stuyves8nt. Those
who had heard the manuscrip, read were
enthusiastic, And yet note what came 90
the whole expenditure Of brains energy and
money
Really You may take my word for iF
no manager or actor possibly can do more
than guess at the merits of a pioc before
its presentation. If there were q single
exception 10 the rule the prophet could
make 100000 a year without leaving New
York The average person cannot imagine
Nnat &c Is 10 score a failure Conjecture
a star In need Of a vehicle. tfe looks over
hundreds Of submissions and finally ac-
cepts a scenario The author completes
the drama. Generally the result Is sat
isfactory and second deposit is paid Then
a company IS engaged scenery painted
costumes finished printing designed book
lng done. the newspapers filed and scores
OF smaller affairs attended TO. During long
and tedious rehearsals the piece in question
Is changed altogether Every possible eg-
fort is put forward. From thirty to iiftv
able and experienced people hear the story
and like IT, The first night comes and
perhaps in ten minutes the labor and
Worry Of months is rendered valueIess.
Caudidly. play producing is a heartbreak-
ing business.
The worst part OF the condition is ia
the fact that it is not being mitigated.
Day by day the purchase OF mesitorious
matter becomes more difficult The best
OF the foreign presentations are bought im-
mcdiately after their premieres. nor are
the majority Of these impOrtatious worthy
Of thought. | always have found that L
could do as well in America and with
the American scribe as anywhere else
But here. as abroad, the men who can fur
nish what IS wanted are very few. And.
as have said. even the few cannot b. de-
pended upon Those who are established
demand fabulous and outrageous Sums
for their work. Only in the rarest eases
do aspirants for quill honOrs appear TO
possess the slightest ability and when the
ability is there experience is lacking
Then. too. it is hard for a newcomer to
gain an impartial hearing Meanwhile
there ere dozens Of actOrs-Sol Smith Rus
sell. William II. Crane E H Sotheru. and
Nat Goodwin, for eSample-who like my
self. really are in need Of vehicles that
VIII do more than suffice The eircum-
stance Isl queer one. and its solution is
not az hand Ultimately. I suppose. mat
tiers E'i riGht themselves but meanwhile
Auf .ae Times man wended his way
downtown r0 write his criticism.
Experience In the legitimate is apt to
render one stilted and a biz unnatural In
other vOrk-rather out Of the picture you
know. ny cousin is responsible for my
stage existence. Were you aware that
Walker Whiteside Is my cousin2 He IS.
and to the fact that spent my FIRST three
seasons in his organization is due my ini-
tial remark. LOttie Alter who now is with
Roland Reed. gave me my inspiration
call a minister would term t. I saw
Miss Alter in The County Fair and l wa5
simply Wild over her. Then and there /
determined to be an actress. Do you
really think that 1 have succeeded2 Tell
me truly
These mingled futerroga tiOus and state
ments were wrung from Antoiuette Walker
by a query prOpOunded TO that little wo-
man last night in her dressing room a. the
Academy. Those who saw her portrayal
in Through the Breakers" viii wish to
answer the questions in the affirmative.
Considering her brief experience. Miss
Walker has won the right to be classed
with such ingenues as Louise Galloway.
Katherine Mulkins. and Minnie Dupree
1t was during a rsheasal Of "A Passing
Fancy. which, after a new sketch Lillian
Burkhart intends 10 include with "A Deal
on Change in her repertoire, that Times
gC=sip-satherer sJrolled on the stage Of
he Grand The great house looked cheer
less and chilly in its empty state. but the
charming little vaudeviIliau was working
hard and paying but slight attention to
outside matters The iuterviwer, listening.
heard her direct. "NO-U0-yOu are sur
pris5d. That line is rsad well but the ac-
compauyiGg gesture is sJjlted. Try it over
again Then he joined Miss Burkhart in
the wing 70 which she had retired to await
the end OF her leading mans sOliloquy.
You are very careful about riHes, said
he
Miss Burkhart smiled. In a presenta-
ton like this" she remarked, every tiny
point is important and nothing important
can be called a trile- I believe chat be
cause or their brevity If for no other rea-
son. a piece like a Passing Fancy should
be produced in a fashion absolutely correct.
And / try to live up 70 my ideal. See the
NJ on that pOekstb0Ok2 Can you guess
why iJ was put thers2 I thought not The
girl in A Deal on Change is named Ma
riOH and she carries
en- the table here. came from the
leading man. Then there was pause.
oh, Miss Burkhart. said the voice.
What is the table,
Miss Burkhart stepped to the fore. THAT
chair viii serve" she replied. and then she
Tejoined the reporter.
You have been having some trouble
with Her Soldier Boy. I believe sug-
gested that individual.
Yes" quoth the actress. 4 have been
much worried over the affair. Some fellow
who came from PitJsburg. / think. claimed
that I had stolen the idea for the play from
one of mis-. The pTeteuCe was absurd
probably in line with those which such
greater folk as Charles TrOhman have 70
tolerate-bUt it was annoying, nevertheless
Suit was brought against me and the trial
occurred last week in Brooklyn. but the
case was thrown out Of court / understand
that another effort VIII be made in Feb
ruary. OF course. the whole business is Z
bother but I shall fight sooner than submit
to an Injustice. The folk --'
There was a cue at this point and Miss
Burkhart disappeared In doing likewise
the visitor could not help musing on the
hold up" methods adopted by certain sup
posed authors in this country. The actress
seems to have been the victim Of Just such
an attempt al money making.
Says Brandon Hurst: 1T is not unlikely
that you in Washington VIII see me again
in September, when play Of my own.
probably. viii have its initial performance
here. The piece is a romantic drama
queer as II may appear fer a juvenile 10 at
tempt such a thing. and 1 look forward to
its success. Nothing positive has been ar
ranged as yet, but I am in earnest when
[ say that YOU viii have an opportunity OF
reiudging my efforts sCou. Wish me luck"
Arrayed in a becoming street dress.