Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-11-21
TT ~ 1 heatrical Chatter
 Gs.&sess AND .&.&&N Coming Amusements
&4%.& AND .&.&AN

l Grace George has been starring 1Our
 years. Her productions have been I Her Majesty" Under Southern Skies "Frou Frou'' and Pretty Peggy" all works by American dra- matists.
 ! Denman Thompson, who still appears i successfully as Joshua Whitcomb in ] ''The Old Homestead" has just passed /, his 10th birthday. The actor and his
 historic comedy are now filling a nota- ] ble engagement in Boston.
 ::
 Aubrey BOucfcault was severely cut
 in the course of the sword contest iii l Captain Charlie" last week in Johns. 1 town. This duel is said to be most
 realistic, and MT Boucicault has been hurt three times since the beginning of i his season.
 :l: l Carrie de Mar and Joseph Hart con- ! tinue to do an enormous business in ! Foxy Grandpa" So profitable is the
 piece proving in its second year that there is a possibility of postponing the
 production of its successor, "The Coun-
 try Club.'
 l III: ! which he interpo1ates in "Girls Will be i Girls'' and which is said to be surprls- ingly full of character. Tn this dance
 an old man is represented as 'winging''
 in a competition and the various stages | Of his increasing weariness are humor- | OTlsly evidenced
 Fl:
 The life of Edgar Allan Poe has
 been dramatized by George c. Hazel I ton. author of Mistress Nell" and the play. called ''The Raven," is to be pro-
 duced at once by Maurice Campbell with Frederick Lewis as the star. It will be presented fin New York as one of the holiday offerings.
 :II: "'Way Down East'' is shortly to begin another extended engagement in
 New York. William A. Brady and Jos eph R. Grimser's pastoral drama was originally presented on Broadway in 1896 at the Manhattan, where 1t ran
 236 nights. Subsequently it ran near ly 800 nights at the Academy of Music. II:
 Wilton Lackaye's business in ''The
 Pit'' during its first week on the road was enormous. Manager William A. Brady says of the production: "This is the greatest success I have ever ham, dled MT Lackaye is credited with
 doing better work than he did as Svengale, and the play promises to b.:
 another 'Henrietta.''' ...
 .- II:
 The management Of the Broad Street theater, Philadelphia. where Grace George is now presenting 'Pretty Peg gy," has insisted on printing descrip- ton of the famous riot scene at the head of the house program. It was contended that this scene was so unex- pected and startling that it might have too great an effect upon audiences If 1 they were not apprised in advance of l its nature.
 The filing of a judgment by Emma | West the widow Of the late William H. West, the minstrel manager. against George Thatcher, precipitated his peti- | tion in bankruptcy with debts amount ing to nearly $2,OO0. Mir Thatcher is a headliner in vaudeville but his book l ings have been few and far between. Years ago he was a leader. of minstrel sy, and was at the head of the Thatch- CT, Primrose and West minstrel com pany.
 , :II:
 During an engagement of the Will liam Owen company at the opera house in London, Ontario, the manager of the
 company one evening remarked to the house policeman-who. by the way, was Scotchman-that it was strange that the people did not turn out in
 greater numbers. The company was a good one, and the plays were standard. consisting of "The Lady of Lyons,'
 ''Richelieu'' and Shakespearean plays.
 q wonder why we're not getting better 1 houses" said the manager. II can tell you" said the policeman. ''The people
 in this city don't like Irish plays" :II: .. Joseph Fl. Slater, the author-actor, 1 tells a few experiences fin small towns
 with certain local owners of places of amusement, who are sometimes termed
 "Rube'' managers by facetious mem 1 bers Of travelling companies, This
 ''Rube'' manager affords the story tell
 CT many an opportunity for the exer-
 else of his speciality, and all those of l the profession who have travelled on | one night stands can relate a number | of amusing incidents in which this per ' sonage is the subject. At one time l Slater was playing the leading role in one of his own successful piecess "A 1 Soldiers Sweetheart" The tour took
 in a small town in Canada where the town hall was used either as an opera house, theater or skating rink. accord
 ing to the demand of the occasion. The l owner of this important building was a parsonage in heavy high-topped boots, into which the legs of his trousers were f11o ho1
 lively lighted by kerosene lamps, which also served indifferently well as foot lights. On this occasion one of them standing uncomfortably near a piece of infammable scenery, began to fare
 and smoke The local manager was
 watching the performance from one of the entrances. during a big scene be- tween Slater who was playing the sol
 dier lover. and the leading lady. He aud Slater noted the activity of the ] lamp at the same time. but the latter.