The Washington times., 1903-10-18

Mass. and his first appearance on the
stage was made in "A juvenile opera
troupe at the age OF eighteen. This
took place In Utica, and the piece was
The Child of the Regiment" Crane
was not the child. but notary. and so
frightened over his temerity in going be-
fore the public that he wrote his few
lines in the notarys book and read
them OF from that IN tones which shook
In keeping with his limbs. Previous to
this memorable occasion. Crane. who
was a dry goods clerk. had appeared In
various amateur shows.
In Big Operas.
After seven years with the Holmans.
doing big operas like Fra Diavolo''
and "Somnambula," in small towns.
Crane decided 10 cast in his fortunes
with an organization Of grovn-ups. and
secured a position with the opera com
pany Of which Alice Oates was the
prima donna. This brought him up 10
the year 1873. when he was introduced
to New York. at Niblos as another no
tary, lie Blanc. in Rice's .'EvangeIlne. ="
Il was in 1877 that ne formed his famous
partnership with the late Stuart Rob
son. an association which lasted twelve
years. Their first joint vehicle was the
farcical comedy. our Boarding
House" 1t was brought out at Abbeys
Park Theater. where Brooks Brothers
clothing house now stands. and ran for
one hundred nights.
Their next venture was Boucicault's
Forbidden Fruit followed by our
Bachelors" and "Sharps and Flats"
Then came their dip into Shakespeare
with "A Comedy Of ErTOTs." in which
Robson and Crane enacted the TWO
nd nff
out Bronson Towards notable drama
OF Wall Street, The Henrietta" II
was the big success Of this piece which
/ brought about their separation. not
through any quarrel. but because each
felt that Il was out Of the question 70
secure another play that would meas
ure up TO the standard set by the Bron-
son Howard work in the suitability Of
the two roles TO the respective stars.
| In striking out for himself Crane was
/ lucky enough TO get The Senator" and
after that ''On Probation" Then came
/ his era with the plays by Martha Nor
ton. such as His Wifes Father" and
next an evil time with unsuitable vehi-
/ cles. such as Peter Stuyvesant" and
/ "A Rich Mans Son" In 1880 Charles
Frohman assumed the management OF
/ his fortunes and struck IL rich at once
with David Harum," in which Crane
played steadily for three seasons.
Lucille Flaven's Debut.
Lucille Flaven. the pretty girl who is
| Mr. Cranes leading woman at the
/ Savoy. was first introduced to New
Workers at this same theater two years
! ago as Hope Brewer. when +. NJ. Hol-
land essayed "Eben Holden" there. She
comes from PHILADELPHIA, where the
name Flaven is an old one IT figures
all through the novel Richard Carvel. 9"
She had been In stock work previous 20
her Joining the "Eben Holden forces
Last winter she was the brothers
| sweetheart with Clara BIoodEood in
The Girl With the Green Eyes
In the same week that these three
book plays met their Waterloo. an Ut
terry unheralded comic opera from Phil
adelphia. slipped over on rubbers 10 re-
place the unlamented Jersey Lily" at
Hammerstein's Victoria. IL was called
The Fisher Maiden" Not a soul IN the
cast was known TO Broadway playgoers,
and 1t was generally expected that IN
their first leisure moments the funny
men who SIT in the critics seats. would
deftly harpoon this particular denizen
Of the light opera waters. But nothing
OF the sort occurred, and when 1 went
over 70 see the production a week after
the opening, ] found a good sized and
much pleased audience. and a perform
ance that left a good taste I'm ones
/ mouth.
A Positive Relief.
There is not single show girl nor
pair OF tights In the piece, which IS
certainly a relief by way OF variety
and as / didn't know a single name IN
the cast, there was no need to ransack
my brain 20 try 20 recall where l had
seen such and such a one before And
the music. Well. If you like light and
fetching tunes, with no particular pur.
pose except 20 crafty the ear. go e
THE Fisher Maiden" and you Will get
them in fun measure. As why shouldnt
you, for they were written by HARRY
Won Tilzer. the Wall Street composer
who set half the country hummlnl