The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-24

when he appeared with the Lafayette Stock
Company, in their production Of "Cyrano
de Bergerac.'
Mr. Mahoney was member of the old
Lawrence Barrett Club, Of this city. which
gave Wilton Lackaye, Charles b. Han
ford. and many others to the native stage.
and since then has played with many of
the country's notable stars. He was In
LGttas support for long time, and played
an important part with Neil Burgess "A
County Fair" during its memorable New
York run.
Washington is always glad TO welcome
back its own, and it is hoped that Mr.. Ma
honey may be seen in the Lafayette COM
pany's future productions.
James \. Herne and William Gillette
are the two Best representative Amer
lean -playwrights, and both have
had some remarkable successes.
Mr.. Herne was born in Troy y.
T., on February l. 1910, and has
been on the stage for over forty years.
ii'= first appearance was made at the
Adelphi Theatre, Troy, in 1853. as George
Shelby in Uncle Toms Cabin" He re.
manned in his native city for two seasons
and then went to Baltimore, where he
played In stock company at the Holt
day Street Theatre for three years. Dur
ing that time he delivered the address at
the opening of Ford's Theatre, on Tenth
Street. in this city. in which President
Lincoln was afterward assassinated. After
leaving the Baltimore company he trav-
eled as leading man with the beautiful
Susan Denning. and then went TO Cali
fornia as did all the best Eastern actors.
As long ago as 1865 Mr.. Herne man
aged a theatre in New York-the Grand
Opera House.
Mr.. Herne's first great success was
Hearts of Oak" which was brought out
in San Francisco in 1878. 1t had a won
derful vogue of ten or twelve years and
earned fortune for the author, and only
| last season was successfully revived and
! taken on the road. Mr.. Herne describes
il as a melodrama without villain. His
second play was THE Minute Man." pro-
duced in Philadelphia in 1885. He lost
considerable money on this, and finally
Drifting Apart play first presented in
| New York. and from which Mr.. Herne ex-
pected much. completely ruined him finan-
cially. In 1883 he produced in Chickering
! Hall in Boston a serious drama which
proved to be the forerunner of the prob
lem play. The work was a little in ad-
vance of its time, though il barely missed
being a success.
In 1891 Mr. Horne entered into nego-
tlations with the late J. H. McVicker, for
the production Of new play which Mr..
Herne called The Hawthornes." Mr..
Herre was poor man, disappointed and
thoroughly disheartened, for he had been
long trying to find some one with money
and influence who would interest himself
in this play. Mr. McVicker wanted a
spring attraction for his theatre. and he
was charmed with the work. Ye rechris-
tened it Shore Acres Subdivision and
under that title Il was first produced at
McVicker's Theatre, Chicago. on May %.
| 1892. The production attracted but little
attention, and the play was accounted a
failure. only one critic predicting great
popular success fer It, After n week Of
poor business the play was renamed the
third time, Uncle Nat" but the change
Of title did not draw any larger audiences.
and at the end Of the third week. the
drama was withdrawn and ether plays in
the Herne repertoire substituted
When the season closed. the actor
dramatist came East and began his strug-
gle all over again. Every prominent
manager was either visited or written to
but none would consent to put money
into play that had proved failure. In
the end Mr.. Herne had to give 1t up and
accept az engagement in a New York pro-
duction. About this time Z. NJ. Field, the
manager of the Boston Museum Stock
Company. needed new play and sent his
stage manager. Edward E. Rose. who tas
since become prominent as a drama izer
of popular novels. to see Mr. Herne- Mr..
Rose heard the play read and his report
convinced Mr.. Field of its merits. Ac-
cordingly arrangements were concluded
for Boston production, which toook place
at the Boston Museum The success of
shore Acress was pronounced and il
scored a run OF one hundred and fourteen
= l. -f-,tI
Boston. Mr.. Field believing that it was
merely local hit sold his interest in he
play to Henry c. Miner for 81, 800 and that
astute manager is known to have cleared
s35, 000 as his share of the following sea-
sons profits.
Shore Acres was acted by Mr.. Herne
all ever the country. until his made his
production of Griffith Davenport"
which. BY the way. received its first pre-
sertation on any stage in this city nearly
two years ago.
Sag Harbor" followed REV. Griffith
Davenport" and has proven SO far to have
been the greatest success that Mr.. Herne
has yet achieved, and the critics In all the
cities in which the play has been pre-
scented claim it is a better play than
Shore Acres" which is saying a great
deal.
Sunday night for the accommodation OF
Inauguration visitors. Mr.. Chase has pre-
pared a splendid musical programme,
headed by Della Fox. the comic opera
prima donna, together with the famous
United States Marine Band, in full uni
form, supplemented by the biograph NOV
ing picture scenes and other high-class
musical artists, providing a generous
quota of melody.
Rose Melville, the clever young star
whose quaint characterization of isis
Hopkins" the Hoosier girl. who don't
see no sense in doin' nuth!n' for nobody
what won't do nuthin' for you,' has
brought her not a little fame and for
tune, is an native of Indiana, and made
her studies from life.
Il was a preachers daughter, you
know" says the young comedenne and
as 4 child | often accompanied my father
over the circuit when he held protrscted
meetings. Of course. the larger proper
ton of attendants at these meetings.
which were held in rather out of the way
places, were people from the back dis
tricts who seldom emerged from their
seclusion and whose attire was. as you
may imagine, far from the latest mode
Being a girl and from the city, was nat
urally struck with the queer get-up OF
many of the children with whom l
played while the grown folks were oc-
cupied at their devotions, and having
fine sense of the ridiculous. would de-
scribe to my older sisters on my return
home some of the funny details of the
costumes which / had seen. At that time
nothing was further from my mind than
q stage career. and the thought OF using
these queerly dressed, gawky girls as
models for a character creation never &C.