Evening star., 1901-12-21

Shse~
tended If there is one thing on earth that
stage people as a rule would rather do than
act-it Is to see other people act. To do SO
not only affords excellent opportunity
for criticism, as many believe but it is
also study, and many valuable points are
often secured by the actors in this way
FROM their professional brothers and sis
ters. Stage people like to others work.
There is no duobt of it. And they enjoy
the performances, too. In most instances
the professionals in front are acquainted
with several people of the performing COM
pany, and those lay members of the thea
ter-going public no occasionally have this
privilege know how great it adds to the
general enjoyment of the performance.
With the performance of last Saturday
night Digby Bell. who has been featured as
the leading comedian of 1.-The Chaperons,"
severed his connection with the company
and will next week go back into vaudeville
doing his monologue on the Keith circuit.
Ii Is said Dlgby was not congenially cast
in The ChaperonS,'' and that consequently
name is good one to draw with on the
vaudeville bills, however. and the combina-
ton OF an uncongenial part and the pros
pect of lucrative weekly returns for
talking sketch was what took him from the
legitimate line of comic opera and will
plunge him once more into the realm of the
continuous.
His part of Adam Hogg in the Perley
production will be taken by Harry Conor
in Baltimore Monday night for the first
time. COnor is one of the most familiar
figures on the stage. His name is connect
ed with many amusing and original char
acters in the Hoyt farces. He was last in
Washington as pickles." the awfully dis
agreeable man Of The Girl From Up
There, on which 50 m Ich Frohman money
was spent in featuring Edna May so
cold and careless. Conor has been in
Washington all the past week rehearsing
for the part under the direction of Mr..
Lederer and is said to have it down letter
perfect, aside from being we'll suited to
the character.
The second change in the company places
Harold Blake in the role of Tom Schuyler,
which has heretofore been played by Tenn
pier Sake. The company has been rehears-
ing in the morning at the Columbia Thea
ter and in the evening at various down.
town halls which could be secured for the
purpose. Between rehearsals, attending
the performances at other theaters and do
ing a bit of Christmas shopping 1.-THE
Chaperons' have had quite a lively week
of 1t.
X *
James K Hackett is thirty-two years old.
He takes rank as the youngest actor-man-
ager-star on the stage. His associates In
the present enterprise include a number of
people who are interesting personally, as
well professionally.
Jane Oaker. leading lady, is a grand
daughter of Christian PEPPER, the millionaire
manufacturer of St. Louis. She made her
debut with Modjeska. and last season
played Hernia in Midsummer Nights
Dream with Louis James and Katherine
kidder
Victor Mapes, who wrote Don Caesars
Return is nephew Of Mary Mapes
Dodge He graduated at Columbia Univer-
sity in 81 and spent five years In Paris
studying the methods of the French stage
Theodore Hamilton, the veteran Of the
company, used to be known as the favoire
actor of the confederacy. Before the war
he was a member Of Ford's stock company
in Baltimore and Washington. and he sue
ceeded the late Frank Mayo as star in
''Pudd' nhead Wilson,"
William Lamp Is the name Of a rising
young actor. He leads the soldiers chorus
in Don Caesars Return" which Is one of
the features of the second act.
Fernando Eliscu. who plays Lazarillo, is
a Bohemian by birth. which accounts for
her odd name. She played Micah Dow the
Scotch lad. with Maude Adams in 1.-The
Little Minister" and later supported Grace
George in Her Majesty making quite a
hit
Richard Dorney. for twenty years busi-
ness representative with the late Augustin
Daily. holds a similar position with Mr.
Days company. 1t is related that Mr..
Dorney once fined him $40, whereupon
Hackett got even by deducting 1t from Dor
ney's first weeks salary.
Maude Roosevelt, who plays the Queen of
Spain. is second cousin Of President
Roosevelt, her grandmother and his grand
father having been twins.
Mr.. Hackett is the of James Henry
Hackett. an ardent American in spite of
the fact that he was equally popular in
London as in New York. He will join
forces in the spring with Mrs. Hackett,
known on the stage Mary Mannering in
a hal n-,,aa ~.
city is in the route
Armstrong. Baker and Armstrong are the
three professional trick bicycle riders who
startled the New York vaudeville world re-
Gently by their riding on the smallest and
steepest track ever employed on a stage,
Upon which they were held only by the CEN
trifugal force resulting from their sreed
around the tea-cup shaped track. They
constitute the attraction known as the
Keith cycle sensation. All of them are
more or less famous, and Baker Is remem-
bered here for his daredevil bicycle ride
down the west steps of the Capitol years
ago. He lost the entire control of his
wheel after the third landing was reached,
but was game enough to hold on to the
handle bars until he struck the bottom
with a crash His bicycle was a total
wreck from the jars it received after
jump OF nineteen steps. Baker was cut
above one eye. but otherwise uninjured
Mr.. Baker has given an interesting descrip-
tion Of their first efforts to ride on the
track.
We were entirely at loss as to how
to get started on the steep Slated path
and we did not ina gine that we could ever
stay on it IL We did get going. We were
almost ready to give up in despair after
hours Of unsuccessful attempts to get
started and We had figured out If we did
get going fast and become dizzy, and
couldn't get down. it would mean certain
death to run over the tops of the pickets,
for the tendency Is always to ride higher.
We all hesitated and tried to get up our
courage and finally Doc Armstrong, after
considerable persuasion from our manager
de oided to make a final attempt before CIV
ing up.
He padded his riding suit well and did
everything to prepare for the heavy fall
We all thought he would surely get. He
started In and after about three hours of
taking headers and riding backwards down
to the center Of the track without even
having made one lap, he finally was much
surprised TO find himself on the track and
riding as fast as he could possibly push his
feet. He sped around and around. and
suddenly We heard a pitiful cry of For
Gods sake. catch me- and a moment later
there was crash and Doc lay senseless at