The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-22
GOSSIP OF The THEATRES.
THERE AND BACK" A BIG Sue
CESS AT THE PRINCESS,
And Cfhries @. Evans's Friends Have
Helped TO Make It-Why This Piece OF
Ceorge Arliss's IL Not . Problem Play
Manager Brady wants to bet 500.

Manager Brady wants to bet 500.
Popularity has it's drawbacks. Charles
Z. Evans. who is known to the major por-
ton Of American theatregoers as Charlie,
has found his popularity embarrassing at
times. The Princess Theatre was crowded
With his friends the other night. Not a
speech from Mr.. Evans but roar saluted
IL. Possibly at some time In his career
he has sat in a game. Ii he said cards
In There and Back strong. Intelligent
looking men held their sides and gasped:
When Mr.. Hopper mentioned his thirst
the sudense was oonvuised n.c A ' to
Mr.. Evans He said that he felt 30 sell
conscious after his first five minutes ON
that be would have liked to address the house
thus: ladies and gentlemen. won't you
please give Mr.. Arliss a show?'
well. why didn't you speak up'' asked
q sympathetic bystander.
because was afraid some OF my friends
would yell back-'Charity begins at home!
Mr. Arliss was the coolest man In the
world about the success OF his farce. He
played with his usual Gu inning ferocity
In The Darling Of the Gods and did not
hear the returns until nearly midnight
Secretly he doesn't admire his piece over
much. 1t was written with Hawtrey In
one eye and Florence Montgomery in the
other; and II was written for public which
likes that sort OF thing. Arliss is too fine
an artist not to admire most OF all the play
OF character. He has written. several.
But managers prefer to SEQ full houses.
They like the man in the box Office to earn
his salary. Problem plays usually give
him much leisure for novel reading; and
any sensible manager will tell you that he
loathes a literary treasurer in his office Z.
These things are quite we'll known TO Mr..
Aries Hence his farce, hence its success.
Mr.. Evans and Mr.. Hopper probably WI
not jammed with club friends, for the audi
torium is 30 small that you can shake hands
with any one on the stage and not stretch
the truth
Miss Mont gomery-Mrs. Arliss-came
before strange audience and made the hit
OF the piece. There Is something ire
sistibly funny about her before she opens
From the vague. fatigued glance. certain
details Of her dressing, her fussy movements
and questioning voice, the observer could
reconstruct the daily existence OF Mrs.
Henry Lepson with her baby, her mother,
her cook. her neighbors and her Bayswater
attitude TO life and London. She was ire
sistibly middle class. Miss Montgomery
has the Tennysonian tip-tilted nose. She
recalls, slightly, Marie pressler in iull face.
too few actresses with O sense Of reality
and the dron.
At the Madison Square Theatre "A Fool
and His Money is drawing such full houses
that Mr. Broadhurst gleefully asks: whats
In name-eh?' And then Treasurer King
gets his right hand massaged.
Speaking Of runs Manager W. c. Brady
wishes to wager 500 that the box Office
receipts Of Pretty Peggy during Holy
week exceeded two out Of the four suo-
cessful shows mentioned in THE Sun Of
April 10. Here's q chance for discussion.
Mr. Brady believes that money always
speaks for itself. His check Of 81 900
eent to the Independent Theatre scheme Is
The n 2 Pr:oSiS sa EsaT on INA. sh, we
moro naughts needed to make the millioni
Il It possible that there is a rich man in
town who is afraid 70 cover Mr.; Bradys
money! To Billy. however, the glory
movement, for even in art matters Put up
OF ahut up Is an honored proverb.
There il a Maeterlinok boom on in
London. The reviews. weeklies. dailies.
contain articles, gossip and criticism about
the dramatist and his wife. Georgette
Leblanc. He has been petted In certain
intimate artistic and literary circles. but
tho public has hitherto fought shy OF the
man OF silence and mystery. Now, how
ever. the big success OF .Monna Wanna
q popular success, has placed the Belgian
Possibly he is a commercial possibility
sfter ail-if he will only write melodrama
a Ia Hall Kahn
Zig and brilliant c. x. Chesterton OF
the London Daily Ne1s stopped his mental
ill.,. fnr maj tn
consider Maeterlinck and lola. oh. yes!
Maeterlinck-he's the fellow who sees
the inside as the truth; and Zola-he's
the chap, you know, who sees the outside
rs the truth. And there you are-nichn
you have to do is to sit down and let your
iypist work the machine.
Clever Max Beerbohm chow he must
despise the words CLEVER and brilliant"
when he dies they will spill these two vo-
cables over his remains has been visiting
sEveryman.' He still finds it impressive.
but wishes to SEQ it again performed in
the open. He first saw it in the quad
rangle of the old Charterhouse. He finds
the morality too modish, too effective"
In the theatre. Possibly the discrepancies
were always there, but not perceptible
sanIPy SI sne ,eems to ms to
have Just the peculiar quality of
drectness and clearness whereby it might
produce on this vulgar and complex age
exactly that strange, uncomfortable salu-
tary effect which a child's wisdom pro-
duces on a party of adults. 1t seems that
the costumes and several members Of the
company got on Mr.. Beerbohm's nerves.
We have the better company here at the
Garden Theatre.
Michael Morton will come over here
on behalf Of Beerbohm Tree to confer with
David Belasco on the production Of The
Darling Of the Gods at His Majestys.
II viii be Christmas before London sees
tho play. Many Of Mr.. Trees friends here
are filed with CONSERVATION at the very
thought OF his playing the part Of Kdro
It was first announced that Zdkkuri vas
Mr.. Trees selection-naturally He has
the physique, the mental aptitude, the tenn
pertinent for the role. Possibly in London
the Japanese Minister of War will not DO
admired as much as in New York. The
British theatrical public Is an eminently
moral one. When it pays it's money II
expects to see q wicked man downed every
time; above all, he must not be made SYM
pathetic. Zaktri Is the most sympathetic