The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-19
THE WEEKS PLAY BILLS

! tention to the arrangement of details
and scenic effects and the latter con-
tingent is said to exceed by far that
| of any farce comedy organization of
| the season. Their appearance here
| Wednesday night will be welcomed by
| admirers of farce comedy. Manager
Joe w. Spears has engaged Maize
| Trumbull as a star feature, forming
what he calls his farce comedy trum-
virate, Sullivan and Mack and Maize
Trumbull. with these names for head
liners and supported by such people
as Delmore and Wilson, Joe Ward,
Bobby Bryant, Joe J. Conlan, Eddie
Brown, Will H. Spencer and a beauty
chorus, it certainly assures an enjoy
able entertainment. The sale of seats
will open tomorrow morning. Prices:
Orchestra, 81; balcony. rs and so cents,
and gallery, 25 cents.
Those who have seen Joseph Jeffer-
son in rip Van Wrinkle" and The
Rivals" need only to be reminded of
the engagement of the famous actor
here next Saturday, matinee and night.
The sale of seats will open Thursday
morning. Orchestra, 81; balcony, $1.50
and 81, and gallery, so cents.
Joseph jefferson has had an interest
ing and eventful career on the stage
for over sixty years. Many happy in
cidents connected with the stage and
off crowd his memory and perhaps the
pleasantest and most fragrant of these
are associated with his great and Won
derful success, rip Van Wrinkle"
Two anecdotes from his "autobiogra-
ply" will suffice to show the general
nature of the incidents that he loves
best to recall. He says:
"While acting once in BOSTON 7 re-
ceived a note from the publisher CT
1.-THE Atlantic Monthly to know if l
would call at the publishing house to
meet Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe. 1t
seems the lady had been at the theater
where l had acted the night before,
and in note to the publisher had
expressed desire to see me. We had
a long, and, to me, a very pleasant chat.
In speaking of her visit TO the theater
she was struck by the scene in when
Rip meets with his daughter, and that
1t reminded her of the situation be-
tween Lear and Cordelia. l told her
that the scene was undoubtedly model
ed on the one from Shakespeare, and
perhaps the white hair and beard float
ing about the head of the old Knicker-
booker had some share in this likeness.
She said she was sure that l could play
Lear. l was sorry to differ with the
4
that l could not.
Shortly after this met another lady
of equal intelligence, who seemed much
interested in Rip Van Wrinkle Among
the many questions she asked me, was
how / could act the character so often
and not tire of it. l told her that l
had always been strangely interested In
the part, and fearing that ! might
eventually grow weary of it, I had of
late years so arranged my seasons that
/ played only a few months and took
long spells of rest between them, but
that my great stimulus, of course, was
public approval, and the knowledge
that it must cease if 1 tagged in my
interest or neglected to give my entire
attention to the work while it was
progressing.
Another question, please. Why
don't you have a dog in the play?"
| replied that 1 disliked realism in
art, and realism alive, with a tail TO
wag at the wrong time. would be abom-
Unable.
But don't you think that the public
would like to see Schneider"
The public could not pay him a high
er compliment, for it shows how great
an interest they take in an animal that
has never been exhibited. No, no.
hold the mirror up to nature If you
IKE, out dOnt mold nature-a reflection
of the thing, but not the thing itself.
How badly would a drunken man give
an exhibition of intoXication on the
stage! Who shall act a mailman but
one who is perfectly sane? We must
not be natural but appear to be so.
one question more, and have done
Why do you not refuse the cup that
Gretchen offers you at the end of the
play?'
To which 1 replied Should Rip re-
fuse the cup the drama would become
at once temperance play. This sub
Ject has both it's adherents and its op-
ponents, and has, moreover, of late be-
come political flavor. l would as soon
expect to hear of Cinderella striking
for high wages, or of a speech on Wom-
ans Rights from Old Mother Hubbard
as to listen to a temperance lecture
from Rip Van Wrinkle: il would take
all the poetry and fairy tale element
completely out of it. / would prefer
the impression on the audience as the
curtain falls should be suggestive, so
that they might terminate it in a man
ner most agreeable to themselves. Let
us not suppose in the end that Rim and
his wife get ill., send for the doctor
take pills. and die, but that they sit
like Darby and Joan by the fireside
and eventually go up the chimney in
the smoke. If Rip Van Wrinkle had
been treated in a realistic manner IL
never would have lived so long"