The Washington times., 1901-11-10

newly formed organization. and in 1ST!
came East, where J appeared in the origi-
hdl American productions of 'Olivette
| ana Mascot, which | count among my
euod fortunes in view of the lasting sue
| cess or both operas. | was member of
| the Bostonians for some time. under
| studying Mr. Barnabee. and when The
| Serenade was produced. / originated the
/ itoie OF the broken down tenor. ! might
nave bsen with them vet, for Mr. Barua-
! bee and Mr.. Macdonald both assured me
| mat there would he space on the bills
| Tor my name as long / cared to avail
| nySeif of il, but | like to create parts
| and wanted to get back to the dramatic
stage.
This is my first engagement in the
: popular price houses. but we've got a
/ fine play, and | have a part that suits
me down to the ground The only disad-
| vantage that find is that in big cuun-
try like America. you cant stay in one
place long enough You make friends in
one place. and then go somewhere else.
and it may be years before you Vt back
again. Now, in England. there is com
| parativcly so small a territory that you
soon become knOwn-and your reputation
is made. I shall remain with the present
management. for there are some good
things ahead for me, and l have had my
fill of skipping from pillar to post"
Blanche Bates, whose illness was re-
corded in these columns last Sunday. has
suffered a relapse, and her condition is
now said to be very critical, She is in the
Hope Hospital. Detroit, and the physi-
clans in charge say that she viii not he
able to return to the stage for many
months, even il she is fortunate enough
to recover.
In Washington. where Miss Bates is
better known, perhaps than in almost
any other city in the country. on account
of her connection with stock companies
at both the Columbia and Lafayette
Theatres, the news OF her illness is a
matter of considerable regret
Few actresses have a larger or more
admtring circle of friends here than has
Miss Bates. and her recovery is earnestly
hoped for by everybody who enjoys her
acquaintance.
When Ada Rehan visited Washington
last season in Sweet Nell of Old Drury"
she brought a leading man little known
to the local play-going public. He enacted
the role of King Charles ii so artistically
and with such grace of manner and bear
ing that his performance proved one of
the few redeemable points in the pro-
ducuon The actor was White Whlttle-
sey. now leading man Of the Bellows
Stock Company who, until last week. has
had no opportunity to prove that his
success as Charles was not due to the
part but what he made of it Mr.. Whit
tlesey is great favorite in San Francis
co, where for the past three summers he
has played leading roles with the Alcazar
stock company. In addition to being a
conscientious and painstaking actor, he
is man Of culture whose happy faculty
Of seeing the best in everybody and ev-
erythins makes him a wholly delightful
person to meet and converse with. He is
extremely modest regarding the work he
has heretofore done, and when a repre-
sentative Of The Times approached the
actor one night last week he manifested
but himself
Really" said Mr. Whittlesey. Il feel
tnat l have accomplished so little that
what have done can hardly be of inter
est 10 anyone. The years that | count
most in my career are those spent AT
Daly and with Miss Rehan. cannot
appreciate them enough. After Mr.
Daly's death l went with Miss Rehan in
repertoire, and last season played Charles
in Sweet Nell. Although / did not real
re 1t then, my good fortune in arousing
MISS Rehans interest cannot be esti-
mated. She drilled me so thoroughly in
the role and was always so ready to re-
hearse at any and all times, that | shall
always feel that for any success attained
IN tne part l am indebted wholly and di-
rectly to her.
Il expected to rejoin Miss Rehan this
season, but in a letter to me last summer
she stated that her tour must be aban-
health, so having received the offer of
my present position. l accepted it. and
shall do all I'm my power to get into the
good graces of Washingtouians.
stock work is very fatiguing as every
player who has ever experienced 1t will
tell you. but / rather like 1t. It's a good
school, and my only objection is that one
does not have sufficient time with a part.
hara rTNr Far II,
tors, and l am glad of the opportunity to
be with one Of the best in the country,
Mr.. Bellows.
He is so thorough. IN the production
of The Wife he gave every direction
without once referring to the manuscript,
even to the slightest turn each one made.
| should like to play in some of the pieces
in which / appeared with Miss i2ehan.
The School for Scandal is one of my
favorites. and am especially fond of the
role Of Charles Surface. The Tanning of
the Shrew is another l always long
ed to play PetrUchio tC Miss Rehan's
katherine, but the opportunity never
came. Another niece which l believe
would go here. although it is ineXpvessi-
bly, sad, is Bonnie Prince Charlie
which Julia Marlowe ard Robert Taber
did some years ago. I'm not up in mod
ern repertoire and have played COS
tune plays for 50 long that I was say
ing the other day that am almost for
getting how to buy modern clothes. Now.
if the good people, or rather the authori-
ties here, would allow me TO go about as
King Charles, or some one of the others,
might be better satisfied. But m
afraid they won't
Joseph Jefferson addressed a woman's
club in Chicago a few weeks ago and here
are some of the questions asked of him,
together with the answers:
How win the present popularity of
vaudeville affect the drama?'
Not at all. l have gone to vaudeville a
number of times and enjoyed It. In fact
there was a time when l did little of it
myself. There are times when people
want to be amused and entertained with