The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1899-04-30

am to do next has not been determined.
but / am anxious 10 get back to grand
opera. II do not succeed in that it will
not be because | have not had a sufii
GENTLY varied experience in-5ut they are
about 10 close the dining room. Won't
you have lunch with me?'
And here the interview terminated.
Says Geofrey Stein: 1T is a singu ar
circumstance that despite the constancy
with which / have been cast always for the
roles of scoundrels and adventures. my
taste runs in an entirely different dire
ton. / should like to play parts in which
] could have the sympathy and admiration
of the audiences before which ! was APP
pearing To me the most beautiful char
acter ever drawn is that of Sidney Carton
in A Tale of Two Cities. and. while
hardly dare do more than hope that l
would be adequate to il. ] should like
very much 10 have a try at the portrayal.
Dickens magnificent story has never
achieved the success il deserves on the
stage, and the impression IT has made ar
CUES only for the novelist. The work has
not yet been properly adapted. Set forth
with all the delicate charm with which the
great Englshman spun his yarn. A Tale of
Two Cities should become a classic.
Dickens as dramatist would have had an
advantage over even Shakespeare, in that
while the Bards creations reflect admir-
ably the spirit and feeling of his time. the
larger number of the types which sprung
from the master mind of the later writer
were so broadly human that they will
never cease to exist. The men and women
to whom Dickens introduced rs are tse
men and women whom we recognize en-
the street today, and in that ability would
he his most supreme strength as an author
of plays. All fiction. to me. does not af-
ford another Sidney Carton. and the height
OF my ambitions will invariably be a per-
feet portrayal of the dissipated young fell
low who so cheerfully gave his life for
another"
A Times man asked Milton Mobiles for an
account of his efforts as playwright while
the two were conyersing in the lobby of
the Regent on last Wednesday. Mr.. Mobiles
has spent the past few days in the vaude
vile bill at the Grand, and it occurred
TO the reporter that some knowledge OF
his famous melodramas might be enjoyed
by those who had seen him there.
Like all young authors" the enter
;aiper remarked, Il had bueau drawer
filled with manuscripts before one of my
pieces was produced. II is no light matter
for an unknown man to force himself into
public notice. and for a very long time
my path was an uphill one Fortunately,
and so was not only familiar with the
technical necessities of a successful play.
but was enabled to have my work read
with view to its presentation. OF course,
my first real hit was made with The
Phoenix which was done originally in
1879. The offering scored heavily and is
still occasionally put on by stock COM
panies. a Man Of the People followed two
years later and then ! finished with In
and IN
which was staged in 1884. From Sire to
SON followed in 1887. and For Revenue
Only in 1893. "A Son of Thespis. Under
Martial Law and Love Goes On Forever
also achieved some degree of prominence.
Since 1886 l have really done nothing
IN the way of piaywriting, combining my
self to the production of vaudeville
sketches in which either my wife and my
self appeared or which were sold 10 other
stars Among these comedieftas are
Bilgeville Junction y Blue Grass
Widow His Uncle in Fordham.' His Busy
Day A Farce Tragedy. Belinda Baileys
Boarders' and Why Walker Reformed
which We are showing here. Altogether,
you see. my life has been a busy one.
When it is considered that during the time
in which these works were being turned
cut / was acting almost regularly, ] think
i may say that / have been employed
rather constantly. Don't you?"
A charmiDgly clever woman is Comma
Jewell. the operate prima donna who
made her debut in the field of vaudeville
last week in this city. Miss Jewell has
done some exceedingly promising work in
Boston and other large cities of the coun-
try. but ultimately turned 10 the con
tinuous." regarding which she expressed
herself the other night as follows:
A great deal is being said just now for
and against the variety houses and l learn
from many Of my professional friends that
the influence of the twenty minute turn is
considered seditious and illegitimate. II
may seem foolish for me to set my opinion
up with some of the critics and actors
who have declared this branch of work
degenerate. but i confess my inability to
see things that way. On the contrary, 1
believe that the harmlessly frothy matter
which occupies the vaudeville stage Is
rather beneficial than otherwise. Ger
family II has TO a great extent destroyed
the patronage which was until recently af-
iorded such offerings as The Girl From
Paris and The Slums of Great City
Neither so suggestive as the one nor so
stupid as the other the acts seen in the
aires like the Grand are performing the
better Offices of both in that they amuse
class of people who wish nothing else
j believe that the present craze for con-
tinuous is more than the fad OF an hour
that IL represents the spirit of a time in
which men and women want the meat of a
nut without the trouble OF breaking its
shell. To this fact is due the vogue of
the short story, and to this fact and a
desire for entertainment may be laid the
profits of vaudeville. There may be some
Improvement in each field, but both have
come to stay.
Harry Corson Clark, of the Frawley
Company. has a plan for a tour OF the
world which promises great things. He
says: Since have been old enough to
do my own scheming ! have had a great
desire to go globe-trotting and during the
last few years this anxiety has been graft
fed in large degree. Ny trips have not
only taken in all OF the United States and
Mexico but Australia and the South
Pacific islands as well. Even this has
not satisfied me, however. and I am now
working on the idea Of taking an or
ganization around the world. Ny prelim-
inaries were all but completed and my
preparations could have been made at a
weeks notice when the Baldwin Hotel
burned down with my papers in one of its
rooms and the experiment was delayed. /
am stin pegging away at the plan. how
ever. and negotiations by which / was TO
be starred in Browns in Town having
fallen through, / may attempt the journey
next season.
In case ] do go I shall be accompanied
by troupe OF six people and we will
present the Rosina Vokes plays with spec
ialties between. This is about the only
form of that NAV he count