Evening star., 1902-03-01


X X
A theatrical manager was chatting with
Miss Adams about the matter and he natur-
ally reverted to her first great success in
a Barrie play, The Little Minister" Mr.
Frohman was sitting by. and the manager
had just complimented him upon his dis
cernment in having the Barrie novel dram
atized for Miss Adams when he raised his
hand as if to check him and then said
why, it was all due to Barrie" Then he
told how the casting of Miss Adams for the
role of Lady Babbe came about.
He himself was the prime mover in try
ing to secure dramatizaton of THE Lit
tie Minister but he did not have Miss
Maude Adams In mind.
Il saw Mr.. Barries agent in London"
said Mr. Frohman, land made an arrange
ment with him to have Mr.. Barrie drama
tie The Little Minister We signed a
regular contract, and / came back feeling
sure that in the course of time l would Sc
cure a good play. But | had no one in
particular in mind for either the leading or
the other characters. There was time
enough to make up the cast when 1 had
received and read the play. About seven
or eight months later | got word from Lon
don that it was Mr.. Barrie's opinion, after
making various experiments to dramatiZe
his book, that. to quote his own phrase, it
was impossible to find a play in it. There
ply of those disappointments which
sometimes come to manager.
Nothing further was done until, some
time afterward Mr.. Barrie came to this
country on behalf of the International
Copyright League. He and L had never
met, nor had he ever seen Miss Adams act.
AT the time he arrived here Miss Adams
was playing in Rosemary" at the Empire
Theater Mr.. Barrie. a matter OF cOur-
tesy. having had some dealings with me,
through agent and feeling that he had
perhaps disappointed me, came to call on
me at the theater. l did not happen to be
in at the moment. So he was shown to an
orchestra chair and there saw the play.
Meanwhile 1 had returned to my office.
/ remember very distinctly Mr.. Barrie be-
ing shown in during the second intermis-
sion. He could hardly wait to be intro
duced before he exclaimed. 'Mr. FrOhman,
l have seen my Lady Babbie. If you will
let me have Miss Adams for the role Will
dramatize The Little Minister
Arte Hall. the young woman whose re-
markable mmicry of colored characters
made her one of the real hits of the re-
markably strong bill of vaudeville at
Chase's this week, seems to have absorbed
the traits and dialect of the southern
darkey rather than to have acquired them
by study. Miss Hall was born in Atlanta
Ga. but lived in the north five years be-
fore going on the stage.
AT first she tried her hand at sentimental
ballads. but, according to her own admis-
sion, she put the orchestra out Of tune and
caused the trombone to sputter. Then she
essayed coon" singing and buck dancing
in black face. She scored hit at once.
and has been hard at 1t ever since. She
now appears in propria personae. because
when blackened up many people would
not believe that she was white She used
E. IL IL
and her bosom and shoulders nature col
ored them. When her audience was Won
dering the hardest as to her color, she
would expose her white shoulders for
moment. Even that did not satisfy the
'Thomases.'' who insisted that her should
ers were ''whtewashed," so she abandoned
the black altogether and the result is so
much more pleasing that she will not re-
vert to it.
Miss Hall began solving the bread-and-
butter problem at the early age of eleven
years as a printers devil The family
income from her mothers candy store did
not reach far enough round Artie went
to work in Hogans printing office in st.
Louis, where the family then lived. Dur
ing the noon hour she would sing and
dance for the printers Artie's brother
devil was freckle-faced, red-headed
chunk nicknamed "Cincnnati," because he
could never learn to spell the of
the city. "Cncinnati,' with the gallery
boys appreciation of the real thing
when he sees it, was continually urging
Artie to go on "de stoige" assuring her
that she could throw Maggie Cline down
much Maggie throws down the famous
Mr.. McCluskey''
Finally Artie followed "Cincinnati's" ad-
vice. She answered the "ad Of man
who was forming a trust-to-luck troupe
and two months later found herself strand
ed at Louisville, Ky. She caught on to
other wrecks. and managed to keep atloat
until the end of the season, when she re-
turned to st. Louis a ll-f1edged profes-
slonal with her company.
OF course, the boys at Hogan's knew all
about 1t, and they We're down at the thea
ter III a bunch. They rubbed the super
huous INK off their hands applauding her
When she came on and sent up an Offering
of carnations that looked like a pot -boiler's 3
sunset. After the show they all repaired to
a 1aVorite place for banquet" 1t was q
swell affair. They even had white table
cloth on the table.
There was only one toast 1t was voiced
by Cincinnati" "Artie" he said as he
arose with new-found dignity. "youse is de
proudest moment of me life
x X
Il shall never forget the first day came
to New York." j. II. Stoddard, who is star
ring this year in THE Bonnie Brier Bush"
SAID recently. 1T was in 1854 and / was
good deal OF youngster then. 1t seems
TO me as II 1 had always been upon the
stage for you know my first appearance
was when l was six years old. My father
was an actor of more or less Importance In
Edinburgh. and for more than twenty
years appeared at one Oh the leading the
atcrs, playing the old comedies and Shakes
peare repertoire 1 left him when L was
boy and toured through England and
Scotland, but 1t was a precarious sort of
life, and 1 determined to seek my fortune
In America. Those were days when we
did not know much about your country.
1t was vast, indefinite something, some
where across the water, where every boy
OF Drawn and pluck might strike out with
his good right arm and battle his way to-
ward fame and fortune. Being an actor
of rather doubtful histrionic reputation,
you can easily imagine tnat I was impe-
cunous. So when l started on my VOYAGE
it was on one of the slow packets, where 1
had ample opportunity to loll for days and
days in the shadow of it's spreading can
vas and dream and hope and despair All
this led me to the conclusion that l would
quit the stage and become a man of af-
fairs. But bless your heart, the minute
got into New York. I made directly for
the theater if l had been led with a
chain. l saw the elder Walack and he
gave me an engagement. not important
but still a start. In my modest way | was
successful and remained there for twenty
years