Evening star., 1902-08-30

s...s.s Ass7kk .AN-1 y
The oncoming theatrical season has cast
its shadow on the billboards of the city. The
| posters have been thrown out in every di-
| rection- One playhouse begins the new year
| this evening. Another takes it's place in
| the lists Monday evening. This will leave
| but three of the seven theaters Of the capi-
| tai dark during next week. Each one Of
this remaining trio will open its doors the
| following Monday. The opening announce
ments are of unusual interest and are be-
lieved to mark the beginning OF a theatri-
cal year which will be remarkable in many
respects. Here Is the way the local play
houses will inaugurate their seasons:
The New Empire-Opens tonight with a
| company of thirty-five playing Hoyt's "A
| Stranger in New York.
Columbia Theater-Opens Monday even
| ing, September 1, with a new play, st.
! Ann"
National Theater-Opeus Monday even
ing, September s. with The Show Girl" a
musical comedy of the period.
Lafayette Square Opera House-0pens
! Monday evening. September s, with Andrew
| Robson in Richard Carvel."
| Chase's Theater-Opens Monday after
noon, September s, with polite vaudeville
| bill
| The Academy and Kernan's have already
| entered well into their respective seasons
! and will continue. the former with melo-
| dramas and the like and the latter with
| burlesque organizations.
); X
| The Empire and the Columbia theaters
| have been placed in readiness for their re-
| spective openings. The Empire patrons will
| tonight find many new conveniences at
| their command. and it is claimed the at
! fractions booked will be up to a high
| standard.
Whether "St. Ann" which will make It's
! debut to the public and open the Columbia
| on Monday evening should prove a success
! or failure, the entire originality which has
! characterized the piece from beginning to
! end makes it worthy of serious notice from
! this standpoint alone
The author-proprietor. Paul Armstrong is
! former newspaper man. as is also Barton
| Pittman, under whose business direction the
piece is presented
| Not alone in this does St. Ann differ from
| other similar enterprises. but in many other
ways AS a general thing an entirely un-
| known author would prefer TO launch his
| first play a least backed by the prestige
! of some well-known producer like kirke La
! Shelle or Charles Frohmau, but Paul Arm
| strong it seems, preferred to take the
| chance himself. Accordingly he rented a
| theater in small Virginia town. utilizing
| stock company which was already per-
| forming there and tried st. Ann at
| heavy loss merely for the purpose of better
judging its merits and dement's prior to
| making the present elaborate production.
Several Of New Yorks leading theatrical
| magnates attended these trial performances.
| and among the offers the author received
/ was one from Kirke La Shelle to buy the
! piece outright. After he had declined this
! and succeeded in interesting Barton Pitt
man, formerly associated with La Shele, in
! the enterprise, Armstrong commenced the
! production of st. Ann himself. AS he
| selected the cast. designed all electrical and
| other stage effects. color schemes and also
| planned scenery of a kind never used be
| fore. his versatility can be pronounced most
| daring at least, while it would be unfair to
| say more until all Of these things have
| stood the judgment Of the public. RehearS-
| ais have also been conducted always be
| hind closed doors. while in the majority OF
| cases friends of the players anc many
| others are allowed to be present.
The greater number of new productions.
| and especially such are launched under
| practically unknown management, are forced
| for many weeks into the one-night stands.
| while the first three cities in the st Ann
| tour are Washington, Baltimore and Phil
adelphia after which the piece will prob
ably go into New York for protracted stay.
Mr. Pittman says there is no secret or trick
about the booking which has enabled them
to secure the best cities, and yet in this
the good fortune of the management seems
unprecedented.
The Academy's new entrance will be used
for the first time Monday night. The cell
ing is finished in plastic relieve, in buff and
old rose tints. The walls are I'm oX-blood
red with a golden frieze of Grecian de-
sign. The woodwork is enamel in white,
with white marble steps and dado, and there
is a mosaic floor. The whole lobby pre-
sents a very attractive appearance.
G. A. Wegefarth of the Empire Fa..-ly
Theater who has been III for the past two
months at the Jewish Hospital, in Phila-
delphia, was discharged from that institu-
ton yesterday '1tfrelv recovered in health
Mr. Wegefarth recently leased the Grand
Opera House in Philadelphia, one of the
most commodious theaters IN America.
dramatic stock company, numbering fifty
people, will be the permanent attraction
tncre, presenting from week to week, on
an elaborate scale, all the recent great
dramatic successes.
X
Charles B. Hanford was recently asked
why he did not yield to the furore for
dramatized novels. II have never regarded
the dramatized novel being in a distinct
category" he answered. The playwright
of all periods has owed a heavy debt to the
romancer. 1 have seen plays whose strong
est situations We're easily traceable to some
popular work of fiction. In fact, Shakes
peare's pots were. as is commonly known,
would now be wholly overlooked. except
by students, were it not for the yivifying
touch of his genius. Shakespeare had no
publishing houses to interview before his
dramatizations of popular stories were put
before the footlights. Neither was he ham
pered by the personal tastes of the authors
whose tales he utilized. He worked with a
free hand, culling what he needed from any
source that his reading might open to him,
and welding or discardfng without fear of
censure. While l am glad to see ever
man reap the full reward Of his own brains,
/ must confess that do not think the pro-
cess of dramat tiZing stories which subordi-
mated the playwright to the author and the
publishing house is conducive to artistic
results. 1t is likely to be purely mer-
cenary enterprise with so ~any influential
shareholders that distinctive results are i'm
possible. Yet il should lot be overlooked
that some Of the greatest plays are those
whose plots were not of the dramatists' own
devising. The Tanning of the Shrew' was
adapted from a previous comedy which
was brought to Shakespeare's attention as
a Pleasant Conceited History Called the
Tanning q a Shrew' The ulot of .Ng,ol,