The sun., 1902-02-23
A DRAMA IN REMINlSCENCE.
LOOKING BACKWARD AT ONE OF
THE MEMORABLE CASTS.

~ "Tne Two orphans" for A'ber
n. Palmer In the Day. OF His bi'
stsck Company At the Union square
A temptation TO be reminiscent Ia offerec
Nv a controversy over THE Two Orphans.
That nnelodrama made the fortune OF Al
bert M. Palmer's stock company at th'
Union Square Theatre, and thus was the
means OF sustaining the first effectua
opposition 20 Lester Wallack's vogue. fol
AuRustin DAILY had altemated between
failures and scarcely redeeming successes
Old folks are apt to have roseate memories
Of theatrical performances. Nothing al
present on the stage looks TO them as good
as things they used TO see. But after making
due allowance for that disposition TO be
optinistio backward, the fact remains
that the original cast for THE Two Or
phanss was remarkably strong. The one
proposed for a revival by the Lieblers
this spring does not promise anything like
a uniform duplication Of excellence, though
several OF the roles may fare as well or
even better. Nor were the Union Square
actors then in the embryo OF their ability
40 that their celebrity depends on what
they did later In their careers. Charles
".
Dion Boucicault from a ranter into our
first noteworthy exponent OF suppressed
emotion at a time when naturalism had
only Just begun 20 displace exaggeration
on our stage That change from roous-
tiousness TO quietude in Mr.. Thorne had
been wrought by Mr. Boucicault In the
course OF rehearsing LED Astray and
II rendered the actor an ideal selection
for the aristocratic lover in The Two
Orphans" The character was not dcfni-
nant. and only incidentally heroic but
Mr.. Thorne gave it a semblance OF conse-
ouentiality. No New York stock company
since thcn-for Mr.. Wallack was pest his
prirne-has had a leader who received
or was worth the salary Mr.. Thorne com
nanded He at length parted from Mr
Palmer 70 become n star, but was In Ill
heath, and died after a few appearances
IN THE Corsican Brothers His stage
value was due more 10 personality than TO
ekil
A far finer artist in the same company
was McKes Rankin. in the prime Of his good
looks and the height of his versatile ability,
and som awhat famous IA 81 iakcspcarian
star. Mr.. Rankin played the bully and
thief in "The Two Orphans all the better
for the swagger which. as he could not rid
Himself Of it. had been detrimental in polite
roles. He afterward made fortune with
Joaquin Miler's The Danitos.' lost it In
other ventures, grew too old and fat for
heroic parts and is now IN Australia with
Nance O'Neil as manager and heavy"
actor. The third man to distinguish him
self In the production was Frank F. Mackey
as the brave cripple. That was his advent
into New York esteem, which he held many
years. He is now at the head Of dramatic
school, His successor in tho part was
James o'Neill, who has since beco me
wealthy with Monte Cristo" Those souls
OF stage dignity. Mr.. Porcelle and Miss
Morent. were the two representatives OF
ancestral strut; Marie Wilkins re allied the
depravity o. the brutal old beldame memo
rably, and Stuart Robson's eco 'ntricity
forced the scant part of the valet into value.
The orphan girls were a most winsome
pair. Kitty Blanchard. already the wife
of Mckee Rankin and favorite In bur-
lesques. was one, and Kate Claxton was
the blind other. Mrs. Rankin shared with
her husband the good luck of THE Danites."
and is now on the new stage at the Lyceum.
Miss Claxton IL the wife of Charles Steven
son, the actor. and an active member Of
Sorosis. the Professional Women's League
and other feminine clubs.
The present contention over THE Two
Orphans" is for the possession Of stolen
property The famous melodrama was
published in France long before there was
an international copyright law, and go It
was open to foreign seizure. Translations
were used in many languages without the
consent Of Adolf D'Ennery. the author.
and without remuneration. Such piracy
on the high seas OF literature was consid-
cred q respectable business In those days
for book publishers and theatrical managers
10 indulge in. Hart jackson. a New York
linguist and play tinkerer. was one Of those
who made an English version and this
was the one produced by Mr.. Palmer at
the Union Square. Mr.. jackson received
$500 for his work. II differed from the
original piece in only one important par
ticular-that Of looping on the last act and
ending with the rescue Of the blind girl In
the thieves resort. That had the bene-
fetal effect, at least for American purposes,
Of curtailing the prolix matter pertaining z
to an arlstocratic family's lineage and con-
centrating attention on the adventures Of
the orphans. But the changes were such
n any export playwright could have made
In q day or two, as they involved scarcely
any origination and the title remained
untouched. such as tley were, how ever,
they could not he copied without violation
Of law, but il seems strange. in view OF the
American value developed in the play.
that not until recent years, since the revival
Of cut-rate stock companies, has Kate
Claxton's claim Of exclusive right derived
from Mr.. Palmer been dlsreglrded. The
ado now made over the question Is caused
by the assertion OF Jules Murry manager
OF Kate Claxton. that Liebler h Co. shall
not defy his control OF composition for
which neither he nor they nor any other
American has paid the author a cent. Very
likely the talk may all be for advertising q
purposes anyway.
AT least one OF the parties interested,
Miss ClaIton, has reason 10 know the value
OF loquacitv for publication. The Two
Orphans WIS being performed in the
Brooklyn Theatre when the house and moro
than half the audience were destroyed by
tre. The company scattered to nearby
places of refuge too DaniN- II fipkpn Z, piNa