Omaha daily bee., 1902-11-10
TRICKS OF
Freak Substitutes for the Real Thing
in Realistic Plays.

The development Of realism on the stage
has reached such a height Of perfection.
says the ST. Louis Globe-D Democrat, thai
the average tbeater goers are prepared to
believe all that they see IL not all that
they hear.
II is taken for granted that jewels are
more often real than paste-thanks to the
press agents-and that all Is not tinsel
that %glitters. There are, however, a few
subterfuges left. and perhaps these are
practiced more frequently in the dining
scenes than anywhere else.
The gay Lotharios Of the French farce
seldom fail to take some other mans wife
to supper, where they are served with up
to-date repasts, and furnish the men in the
audience with excellent ideas for the real
post-thester suppers.
The tail end Of the breakfast scene is not
an commencement for a play,
while afternoon tea is becoming quite as
necessary to the modern drama as the Gill;
max itself, and is often much more sue
cessful.
The eatables and drinkables used In such
scenes are not always what they seem.
Jewels may be real, but lobster isn't always
lobster inside the shell.
The genuine menu OF a stage meal is
something like this: For the first dinner
course, Of oysters or little necks, thin slices
Of bananas on the half she'll is what the
actor really gets.
Soup, steaming hot, is made Of hot water
and g~elatine cubes. II partridge. chicken,
birds or a hlIet OF beef is supposed to fol-
low, the audience sees instead Of the actual
order it's semblance done in bread baked
and Drowned 10 the proper color. In the
case Of birds, the wings and legs are sep
arate and stuck on with toothpicks.
II there is anything else which has to be
eaten, II is usually the real article. The
other things which are simply shown and
not partaken OF are made OF papier mache
and cloth.
Celery, bonbons, fruit, are invariably ar
tihcial. Cherries and grapes come from the
milliner instead Of the fruiterer.
The joyous wedding cake is realistically
not eaten. and is made out Of cheese box
covered with white paper and frostings put
on with paint. Ice cream and charlotte
russo are concoeted out Of cotton colored
with dyes.
Soda water is plain soda. Champagne is
usually a light cider, sometimes heavily
charged soda water.
Burnt sugar is an important factor in al
most all stage drinks. 1t is a powerful
COlOTluB HQulu, ndTultSS duu, lOEluhdlclys
tssteless. Lager beer is made of soda
water .eolored with burnt sugar. $3.50, 40
WHISTLES which have TO be drunk are
made of water and colored lightly or darkly
for Scotch and rye with burnt sugar.
Liquors in bottles just for show are colored
with aniline dye.
Claret is generally real, tea is real and
coffee is made of tea.
In a recent comedy which failed to pass
muster. tripe and onions constituted one
d&h: this was made Of thin toast. Scram-
bled eggs for the stage breakfast are bread
chopped in milk.
Bacon is made of slices of thin toast.
There are a number of reasons why these
subterfuges are practical and necessary. In
the first place. IT would not do for a player
to NIL up" on a good meal II 1t was really
there, for these representative people are
obliged to dine about three hours before the
performance in order to be in good form
good voice and spontaneous.
II does not 10 for them to eat heartily
and succumb to that "loggy'' feeling which
follows a good dinner.
Then, IL all the stage food was real the
danger Of choking would be perceptibly in.
creased and many dishes would result in &
very wkward performance.
Actors say they feel more s~elf-consciou
in the restaurant scenes than in the mos
risque scenes yet invented.
More than all. probably. the baked-breaC
arrangement for stage food is a good dea
cheaper than the butchers bill would be 4
red-headed ducks had hundred-night runs
and while the modern manager is lavish Il
a degree in his productions, he is by nj
means averse to every possible chance o
economy.