The Washington times., 1903-10-18
Of Actors Often Re-
sponsibIe for Mistakes in
Selecting Plays Opportu-
nifty to Monopolize the Cen
ter Of the Stage Often Per-
suades Them to Take Up
Impossible Vehicles.

MISS -, you distracted the attcn-
ton Of the audience from me with your
new gown"
And that same evening the mandate
went forth that the lady was TO wear
the old dresses 70 the end OF her en-
gagement.
or the three successes brought forth
during the first month and a half OF
the present dramatic year. only one.
alas, was Of American make This was
Clyde Fitchs Her Own Way" which
is packing the Garrick ~ every perform
ance- Maxine Elliott can now regain
her full health From what she said TO
me last spring 1 fancy II was worry
as much as dieting that brought her to
the verge OF nervous prostration Just
previous TO her opening. For the plays
the thing after all. and no matter how
big a favorite the player il the public
! doesn't happen 70 like the piece they
viii stay away from the theater.
George Lawrence's Hit.
BY the bye. George Lawrence. who
has made such a hit in the Garriclc
play. as the cosby hair-dresser. Is
the same girl who last winter did so
neatly the little bit Of Betsy Scruggs.
a blushing bride, in "Greta Green" IN
fact although she was on the stage
only about seven minutes. she received
more praise for her work than did Miss
TyTee, the star.
Charles Cherry. the lover in Her
Own Way appears 10 have overcome
his hoodoo at last and TO be part and
parcel OF a huge success recall his
| first appearance in New York AT the
Madison Square Theater. in The House
That Jack Built" the Broadhurst farce
in which the skill with which certain
Of the actors paPered a room was equal
ed only by the industry with which the
management was obliged TO paper the
house in order TO have an audience for
them. And Cherry has been in more than
one failure since then 1t is, OF course. y
no fault OF his own He Is a good actor.
/ and a most presentable fellow. and It is
a pity ne has not more 10 do In the
Fitch play.
A Novel Villain.
Arthur Byron. the most novel villain
the stage has lately given US. viii soon
! leave Miss EIIiott's company to become
/ a star on his own account in another OF
/ Clyde F'itchs plays Major Andre"
This piece has been on the eve OF pro-
duction for a number OF years. having
been written in the latter COS for
E H SOthern. Brady had it for a
while Nor will this be Byron's first es-
say as a star. Last autumn he sailed
, forth on his own account. but did not
reach the metropolis. owing to the slim
WASTED play he elected to use. Petit
coats and Bayonets." But he came TO
New York himself as the foreign lover
of Mary Mannering in The Stubborn
ness Of Geraldine"
/ OF his early career. Mr. Byron wrote
me as follows. in June. 1894. not long
after his engagement for John Drew's
company, to play part IN Butter
flies"
II began my career as an actor IN
! Across the Continent. with my father,
Oliver d. Byron. season of 1sSe-1ss0. 1t
was at the Academy Of Music, Jersey
City, and 1 was a super-an Indian with
tights and bunch OF feathers in my
hair. l was greatly frightened when
got the first sight of the vast audi
torium filed with faces-an Of them ap-
parently gazing at me.
That season I played many parts OF
all kinds. and got valuable experience
Season 1S90-1Se1 created a heavy part
in a play called The Plunger.' and az
the end of that tour I originated a Ju-
venile role in a sensational meIodrama.
kidnapped, which was done in all che
large cities and at the Peoples in New
York for two weeks.
ACROSS the Continent"
Following quickly on that I organ.
lied a company and went for tour as
star in Across the Continent 1881
1892 was engaged by Sol. Smith RUSSELL
10 create the Juvenile part in Peaceful
Valley. and played with him in all his,
pieces for that season.
Three Little Maids and The Man
From Blankiey's" are. of course, the
other two in the trio of September sue
cesses 1 mentioned a little way back I
confess / was not so taken with the
DAILY musical comedy when I saw Il in
London summer before last over here
II pleased me much more. although the
company in the main was the same. In
The Man From BlankIey's' Mr. Haw-
trey has played his last trump card.
He has been holding this capital char
acter comedy up his sleeve for Amer
lean use during the past two years
pending the success of "a Message
From Mars"
Which reminds me that I crossed on
the steamer with Mr.. Hawtreys stage
manager who told me some interesting
facts about the production of the magic
effects in Mars ii seems that Mr..
Hawtrey first engaged a prestidigita-
teur OF some reputation. who promised
10 do all sorts OF big things in the real
izatiOn OF the tricks called for by the
prompt book But when it came TO a
tryout. they didn't work and Mr. Haw-
trey was in despair. He appealed TO
his stage manager.
Thought He Was Crazy.
Well" said the latter. in telling me
the story, Il began TO cOgitste and plan
and experiment. and my wife finally
thought l was crazy from the way in
which 1 tied strings to chairs in our
house, and shook the furniture about
generally But at last 1 evolved a
scheme that would work. and we went
ahead with the play. Still. our trou-
/ bles We're by no means over then. At
the very first performance in London
Mr. Hawtrey fell and sprained his
shoulder, and we had 10 close the house
/ for two nights"
Perhaps Checkers ought to go down
/ in this list OF September successes.
which would balance the authorship be-
tween the two countries. Still, the
| American Is NOT exactly counted in as q