The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-05
TIE SHOW GIRL MUST OBEY.
LIFE rs NOT TO BE ONLY AUTOS
AND LOVELY HATS FOR HER.

Now II is the show girl who Is causing a
crisis in theatrical affairs. There are trusts
and anti-trusts. syndicates and independ-
ents, that battle hercely together for SUI
premacy. Their struggle is an old one.
h is the attempt to control the show girl
that Is the latest phase Of the managers
business.
She may be called without exaggeration
tho comedy foundation on which musical
comedy rests. The musical plays created
the show girl. But without her they could
not exist to-day. Her Importance seems
really great when one realizes that the
phrase show girl only became a part Of
the theatres slang a year or moro ago.
Then the phrase was coined 10 describe the
handsome young women who stand In the
front rows Of the chorus In all musical plays
and stun the spectators with their opulent
loveliness.
They are midway between the chorus
and the principals. Sometimes they have q
few lines to speak, but this importance Is
rarely given to them. They are meant
TO serve a merely spectacular purpose
with the addition Of certain charms Of
manner that are a part Of the successful
show girls outfit. She must look happy
and she must move with spirit and abandon.
She must really seem to be having as good
a time as she pretends to. But above all
she must possess lavish physical pulchritude
and display 1t as freely as the exigencies
Of modern stage costume demand.
II will be seen that the show girl Is q
person ofimportanoe. She is practically in
dispensable to musical performances, and the
demand for the right kind OF girlsstill con-
tinues greater than the supply. The chorus
can easily be recruited from season to
season. The ordinary chorus girl, with a
salary ranging from SIS to $40 q week,
usually comes along in sufficient numbers
to ALI up the ranks without trouble.
But the dazzling show girl lie a different
person. She IL 80 different that her salary
ranges from SIS to 800 q week Ten girls
were engaged at this latter figure by
manager OF musical plays who is especially
proud OF the looks Of the women who take
part in his plays. His salary list was in
creased $500 q week by the engagement
Of these ten girls who had not a word to
speak. Like most show girls they merely
rushed onto the stage a second or two ahead
OF the chorus whenever it entered. They
had the stage for q minute or two all to
themselves that the spectators might take
in their charms. Then the other women
appeared and served as a background for
the ten beauties. who sang the same music
as the women standing behind them and
went through the same gestures, although
the latter. being chorus and not show
girls. received only one-fourth as much
a. their colleagues.
These ten made the success OF this per-
Torrance and were the talk Of New York.
Other plays have Jared nearly as well merely
on account Of the looks Of the group of
women who served a. it's show girls. Every
musical performance nowadays must have
its group OF them, and the first night au-
dienoe invariably gazes with an especially
critical eye at this contingent among the
The presence Of certain names on the
programme will insure some degree Of
loneliness. But It Ii the pleasure Of looking
them over "a bunch that appeals to the
The first appearance Of the group. The
members are studied cautiously through
the opera glasses by all but those fortunate
enough to be seated In the first or second
row. And on this judgment. depends much
possible that one might succeed with
supply Of show girls far beneath the aver
age. But many q burlesque otherwise
weak has been helped to success by its
snow KITS.
Although 1t Is possible to establish q
reputation a. a show girl, 1t will be seen
that from the very nature OF the duties
one cannot remain a show girl very long.
A veteran show girl would, for instance,
be an intolerable anomaly. She must be
ever young and fresh and ever beautiful.
So the show girl can count on no more than
Ave or six years at the utmost. She is at
present too recent an institution TO make
any predictions possible.
L.. 49, AL h. 49, 49,,
heard Of. She was then only the pretty
chorus girl who had not been put into a
special class OF her own. So the popular
show girls now have been before their
admirers only q very short time: Yet
mirers. Marie Toilette. Patsy Harris. Susie
Drake, Vivian Blackburn. Daisy Green,
Elsie Ferguson, Bonnie Maginn. Frankie
Bailey. Carita Vidal, Gerty Saye-they
arc some OF the show girls familiar to New
The show girl came into existence with
the great popularity Of musical fame and
sxtravagansa., Naturally enough. the
nor had she come into existence until sThe
toms Of her in .The Belle OF New York.
but abe had not already arrived at that
time She began -, to exhibit WhS herself ILL.,, e..
shows, and three years ago she had be-
come q recent but fied feature Of all musical
buriesque.
George Iederer was always a triumphant
provider OF such beauties for all his pro-
auctions, and last year he outdid himself
BY the remarkable collection that no
gathered for The Wild Rose In the
Rogers Brothers farcee. Klaw a Erlanger
put forward the best that they could hnd,
while Florence Ziegfeld, the husband OF
Anna Held. never hesitated to pay almost
Q leading woman's salary TO some Of the
women he wanted In his companies. Ger
tain women were attractive enough to
have managers competing for their salaries.
They are naturally able to make almost
their own terms. The highest figure ever
paid 10 show girls was go. The minimum
Il urually from SIS to SIS
When the managers created the show
girls they probably had no idea that they
would prove I'd be an unmanag eable feat
ure Of their business after a while. They
came into existence as the result OF an
Inspiration Of George Lederer one day at
rehearsal. He had succeeded In getting
into his chorus half q dozen uncommonly
pretty women. He had distributed them
10 what he considered the best advantage,
when a maneuvre Of the chorus brought
the six together at the front OF the stage.
From the effect made by the six together
the show girl Of to-day came into being