New-York tribune., 1900-11-25
CAST-OFF STAGE CLOTHES
HOW AND WHERE ACTORS DISPOSE OF
GARMENTS NO LONGER NEEDED
IN THEIR PARTS.

the scenes mysteries in magazine and news
paper articles there is still a glamour about all
that belongs to the region of the foOtlights.
Astute managers have not the least objection to
letting the public know just how much the
production of this historic drama or that bur-
lesque cost in hard cash. but the frequenters OF
theatres never feel their curiosity thoroughly
satisfied by this they want to know just how the
dazzling and pleasing effects produced, and.
in general how the show business is carried
on. \ favorite saying of the late Frank Mayo
in giving advice to his younger colleagues was.
Remember. this is the show business. and the
attractveness of the stage for the masses doubt
less still depends much upon the presentation
of something unlike the plain. everyday life to
which everyday people accustomed.
There may De something in all this to account
for the revived vogue OF the romantic drama of
bygone days-the drama of cloak and sword
in which the players do not dress at all
and women dress who go upon the sidewalks of
New-York. AS long such plays are popular
the managers will. of course. provide them. but
d play of the last century of any bygone
age must be specially sure of popularity to be
worth a managers while. because the initial
pecunary outlay merely for costumes is neces-
sarily great. When "The Henrietta" or THE
Moth and the Flame put upon the stage
the financial question mostly Of salaries. all
actor by the etiquette of his profession must
be well dressed man in private life and the
man who plays part IN any of these society"
dramas may wear the stage clothes in
several different plays of the same order and
then wear them off the stage. In a play like
An Enemy to the King" for example the case
is different: the leading actors and actresses as
a rule provide their own wardrobes but those
who sustain the smaller parts. we'll ''ex-
tras and "supers.' are usually fitted out with
least the external parts their dresses at :he
expense of the management To the mind with
an itching to know about everything connected
with the production of these fascinating shows
the question may suggest itself. What becomes
of all these thousands of dollars worth of tinery
when the play for which it has been made and
purchased is "shelved"?
SOUVENIRS OF SUCCESS
w. F. Rochester veteran actor stage
manager at the Savoy Theatre when asked this
question began his reply by saying that he
had several trunks full of costumes which he
had worn in various parts throughout his career.
This. it appears. is representative of the fate
of one class of stage costumes. Actors are a
sentimental folk perhaps also superstitious in
certain directions. and they dislike to part with
what has been associated with their professional
success. A leading man OF woman. generally
speaking. At the end of good long run" likes
To lay aside the habiliments Of the part which
has brought the applause and the big money.
together with the thumbed prompt book" and
other tangible souvenirs. Sometimes though.
the run" outlasts the costume. or. at least the
costume ceases To be fresh enough for the use
of the star for whom it was designed. and
then it is discarded In this way a coat which
Maude Adams wore in "L'AiElon'' when that
popular play first produced by her passed
into the hands of Lormer Studdard. by hum
it has been conveyed To Sidney Booth who now
wears it,
That stage celebrities do not always st,r,.
their old costumes in lavender and sweet NOM
ory, however, is shown 10y the history * ;'p
pair of bucket top boots Of the seventeenth
century which doing duty in ''Mistr-sS
Nell" These boots formerly adorned the let
and calves of f.. IL. Sothern in The Three
Musketeers.' and have found their way 10 their
present station through d clearing house of
theatrical costumes in New-York. When an
tor or a theatre does get rid of diSuScd eos
TUNES. or parts thereof. way Is To- sell the
things to second hand second class CO.'S
tuner; but if the and tear has been slight
it is common tn return the articles to the same
dealer from whom they were first purchased.
who pays for them. OF course. much reduced
price. In this way. and because stage folk
gregariOus and love to talk shop among them
provide a pair of seventeenth century boots for