The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-15


| second and third acts of his play. has oc-
casioned not little comment, favorable
! and otherwise Local theatre asseInbIages
/ have become SO accustomed to having
! their favorite players step out Of their as
sumed characters for brief oratoricaI ef-
/ forts that Mr.. Cranes deviation from the
/ usual course of his contemporaries comes
/ to The majority Of theatre patrons as much
/ OF d wholly commendabIe innovation.
I Mr. Crane shares with Mr.. Richard
! Mansfield the belief that it is inartfstfc to
! indulge in the superiuous curtain
/ speeches. and each provides a substitute
! who thanks the audiences for their APPROX
/ al Of the work of the actors and their as
/ s0ciates.
! On last Monday night when Mr.. Crane
/ first showed his admirable character crea-
/ ton of the bonneville banker-horse trader
/ al he National the audience appIauded
/ with vigor and persistency that were
! quite remarkable and seemingly could onlv
be satisfied by the appearance of the chief
Z actor before the curtain and the cuStOma-
~ address of thanks for the appreciation
; OF the efforts of himself and the others
! concerned in the performance. But in
! stead OF the comedian. Mr. Devere. the
! stage manager, stepped in front of the
. curtain and explained that Mr. Crane did
/ not approve of the idea of coming
/ out Of the character of David Ha-
/ rum during the action Of the piece He
/ then proceeded to thank the audience, on
/ behalf Of Mr. Crane for their cordial re
! cepJiOn OF the production. Mr.. Crane dur
/ ing his present local engagement has
/ steadfastly refused to favor his patrons
( with a speech between any of the acts,
although doubtless if one had been re-
( quested OF him at the conclusion Of the
play. he would have been only TOO happy
( to personally address his admirers.
In discussing the matter Of bef0re-the-
/ curtain speeches. in his dressing room al
the theatre last night. Mr.. Crane said to
a Times representative:
Almost every critic who has seen
| David Harum' has said that as a play
pure and simple. it is slight in structure
mere series Of character sketches more
than anything else and yet they have
taken ne 10 task in some Instances be
cause I have refused to come before the
curtain in response TO the demands Of
the audience for a speech Now, there IS
no man in my profession who appreciates
any more than I do the applause and
commentator of my audiences. and /
also realize that II means a great deal 10
any player 10 occupy a position in the
affections of the theatregCers that makes
possible the demand for 4 .ew words be-
tween any OF the acts. Il David Harun.'
my sole capital is my characterization
and my makeup. I have never studied
any part IL which ! have previously Gp-
peared with the thoroUghness that have
HaTum. I have followed the description
of Afr. Westcott, the author, as given on
page 119 Of the book most minuteiy. I
have reproduced the famous wart on the |
side of the nose the diamond in the shirt
front even the red tie you will find in !
evidence 1 make no claim that David |
HarUm' is a great dramatic composition; |
nothing of the sort; but it is a very en-
jOyabIe entertainment-at least, the peo- |
pie who come to see it say so-and /
would most assuredIy be sacrificing all OF |
my capital to step out Of the character /
and even for few minutes disillusionize /
the people on the other side Of the foot |
lights by showing them some one else |
than the character they have been inter |
ested in during the performance II an /
audience would but rea iZe what a dis |
tinct loss il would mean and bear In mind |
that I could not get hack into the at |
mosphere' of the piece ard personality OF
the character once more, were I TO allow |
myself 10 step out Of 1t. they would not
think of calling for q speech, let alone
criticise me for refusing to grant their
seemingly reasonable request
Il don't know OF anything more ridicu-
IOus TO the average theatre patron than TO
witness an actor who has just been
through the throes Of a stage death come
before the curtain a moment later and tell
his audience how delighted he Is that they
seem TO take kindly TO the idea of the
temporary supremacy OF the villain It is
not only ridiculous IL IS inconsistent and |
decidedly inartfstic, and yet some of our
very best actors viii persist In the absurd
practice
7 realize that in comic opera, bur
Iesque. comedy. or some Of the lighter
forms Of stage entertainment. II is part Of
the performance and suppose that If
some Of our comic opera comedians failed
10 tell how much pleased they were with
the enthusiastic demonstration on the part
OF the ushers and other attaches Of the
theatre. the major portion Of the audience
would feel as II they were not receiving
the worth Of their money. But I must
firmly decline to come out Of my David
Harum get-Up and display the real W. H.
Crane. Understand. I mean between any
Of the acts. Were the same volume OF ap-
plause to be accorded me at the end OF
the piece. OF the audience 10 evidence the
same feVerish desire 10 have me open the
food gates OF my elOqueuce when I could |
remove the bald wig OF HarUm, I should |
be most delighted to accommodate them
This compliment was pad me on several
in New York State earlier this
year and I was only TOO glad 10 thank my
auditors for their appreciation OF the mer-
its Of the performance without any loss 10 !
either myself or them.
Il want to repeat that, after working for
thirty-eight years for the honor, no actor |
or appreciates better than I do |
what il means TO occupy place In the
heart of the public to the extent that is
manifested when il applauds ones efforts
10 please and asks to be favored with Just
1 few words outside OF the play II peO-
pie would only bear in mind that it is no |
Dbl I
than II is from Baltimore to Washington |
and that if I detained them five minutes
at the end OF the play they would not be
compelled to remain in the theatre any
longer than II I had occupied the same |
space of time between the second and third |
ACTS. this before the-curtain speech bust
ness would be very simple proposition
and might be easily solved to the entire |
satisfaction OF everyone concerned"
To Float q Stranded Ship
NORFOLK. Va. Feb. 1.-THE Merritt |
IVTeckinP Comuanv has deenafcNed &c