The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-01
NELLIE "FLEW" The SHOW
FAIR STAR OF "BOLIVAR'S BUSY
DAY" WENT OFF ON A TANGENT.
Enraged Manager and Deserted Hus-
band Were Glum for Days Then
Chortled with Joy.

Miss Nellie O'Neill, Mrs. Billy Van off
the stage, caused more trouble to her man
ager, Eugene Wellington, and worry to her
husband last week than a week of bad
business or nonappreciative audience
would have caused Miss O'NeilI is a CO.
star with her husband in "Bolivar's Busy
Day." the farce-comedy that has just COM
pleted six performances at the Park Thea
ter and which will leave Indianapolis for
Louisville this morning to fill a week s
bill She has contributed to the fun Of
"Bolivar's Busy Day since it started out,
and, barring the little eccentricities common
to soubrettes, and especially star SOU
brettes, has given little or no cause for
alarm. But Miss O'Neill is a woman and
a soubrette, and combination of the two
circumstances has made her just little bit
erratic at times, and this feature of her
character caused the worry and forced
many of her Indianapolis admirers who
went to the show to see her, to miss what
they know would have been a clever turn.
Miss O'Neill started the trouble Thursday
morning, when she arrived in Indianapolis
with the company from Elwood and regis
tered at the Hotel English. On the wav
down on the train she seemed in good
band, Mr.. Van, the other members of the
cast, and did not force the manager to
carry her valise, one of the prerogatives of
soubrettes. She went to the hotel, but
something bothered her after she got there.
and she proceeded to amuse herself as best
she could. The result was that at 100
o'clock, when the company was to open at
the Park Theater, Miss O'NeiIl was not i'm
her dressing room, and all telephone calls.
messenger boys and personal visits to her
at the Hotel English failed to uncover her
whereabouts. She was not in town, and
Eugene Wellington was the maddeSt the
atrical man visible in indianapolis on that
day Mr.. Van was perturbed. He did not
believe Nellie would leave him in that
heartess way, and when he thought of
how she had divided honors with him i'm
1.-The Devils Daughter at the Pan-Ameri-
can Exposition in Buffalo. how she had
made good" with THE Female Drummer
Company and had proved such a success in
vaudeville that her name was printed in
elght-ineh letters he pondered on the un-
certainties of life, the troubles of matri-
mony and the peculiarities of soubrettes
As a husband he felt grieved that his wife
would desert him and as a fellow-actor he
felt sighted that she should throw the
burden OF getting the laughs on him
and likewise call for managerial criticism
by her heartlessness and faithlessness.
NELLIE WAS NOT THERE
When the curtain arose at the Park
Thursday afternoon the primrose of the
show was Miss Lillian Hollis and the CO.
median, Billy Van, was somewhat of a ira
gedian- Although he sang .'Hinky Dee" like
'Hinky Dee" should be sung, and pranced
around the stage as Patsy Bolivar and made
strangers laugh his humor went clear over
the heads of people who have seen him at
his best Miss Hollis, the understudy. while
she did exceptionally well in her hurriedIy
taken part, was not Nellie O'Neill An
utter absence or Somersaults and amusing
gyrations of the Nellie o Neill arms and the
absence of the Nellie o Neill plumpness was
regretted. An explanation was sought by
the theatrical reporters from the manager
who told them that Miss O'Neill was slight
~ indisposed and was in her room at the
hotel. but would recover soon and appear
that evening She did not appear that even
ing, nor the next afternoon nor Friday
night. but the reason was found for her
failure to appear. -.
Miss O'Neill was not sick She was in
P1ttsburg. Several reasons, none of them
furnished by the soubrette who was not
visible TO reporters, were given by her man.
ager. Tor her sudden trip to Pittsburp All
OF them were good. but the real reason was
that Miss O'Neill thought she liked Pitts
burg better than Indianapolis until she
had been I'm the town eighteen minutes and
was seized with longing TO come back to
Indianapolis and Billy Van :
Her movements from Thursday after
noon until Friday night at 1910 clock were
rapid. During Thursday afternoon she hur-
richly packed her baggage. paid her reck-
oning at the hotel. bought a ticket to Pitts
burg and left town BY the hrst train. All