Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-17

tain sentence, a oar OF music, OF even d
bit of pantomime business" When the
fairy godmother says to poor, shaving little
Cinderella, And now, my dear. you shall
go to the palace" the stage manager pricks
He gives a signal. the stage is at once
darkened, and for the next few minutes
the scene shutters and ny men are Kept
busy. When a flood Of light Is turned on
there is the interior of q magnificent pail
ace instead Of the humble room In which
Cinderella sat at the fireplace. So. too, at
at word, the leader of the orchestra will
direct his men to play. All who are con-
hands-are given "cues," and when these
are forgotten or neglected serious conse-
quences are apt to follow.
Usually an entire year Is required In the
working out of the subject chosen in these
spectacles. All concerned in the gigantic
undertaking manager, producer, scene
painter, costumer, ballet master and other
heads Of departments-have raked and
cudgeled their brains for novelties whose
sight shall take the breath away Of patrons
who have grown accustomed to such wealth
achieve still greater triumphs no expense
Is spared by the management, and the cost
OF these big Drury Lane productions keeps
on increasing each year. In THE Sleeping
Beauty and the Beast" the scene which set
all London talking was the enchanted PAL
ace. with the prismatic fountain. The cost
OF this scene Is scheduled at $4,000. In
the realization Of the playwright's Ideas
there Is b WOFlU OF the WOSt uiHuto CdIS
and detail. All connected with the theater
that Is, to make the production-must
work In complete harmony and without the
slightest friction in order to bring about
the desired success. There are frequent
consultations and every one must be pro-
life with suggestions. Above all, every one
must have the complete knowledge of what
the others are doing, so that his own work
will blend into the perfect whole; care Is
taken to avoid single note of discord.
Especially does this hold true OF the painter
of the scenery, the designer OF the cos
tunes to be worn and the dancing master
who invents the various ballets, groupings
and professions. To put 1t plainly<the lat
ter two provide the picture the first the
frame. If either of the three works In d.
rect opposition to the others the whole ef-
feet will be completely lost.
The producer Is instructed with the task
of bringing out all that is good in the
libretto. He must be quick to grasp all the
opportunities afforded by its dramatic ac-
ton and humorous by-play, and here his
fertility of invention must be shown. He
gives the correct infection 10 words and
phrases and puts the proper construction
upon sentences, seldom relying on the
actors themselves He must have all his
people under perfect control. AS the days
pass by and the night for the production
grows correspondingly near the rehearsals
are increased ii severity, until sometimes
they are going on morning, afternoon ard
night. They are usually conducted under
disillusioning surroundings-on the bare
stage of the theater, with no scenery set
and the bricks of the back wall showing.
On the night before the first performance
for the public a full-dress rehearsal occurs,
and this is gone through with just as If an
audience and the newspaper critics were
sitting in judgment on the piece What
seems to be the last few trifling defects are
eradicated and at late hour the manager
and all under him dispense, the first to
think uneasily of the fortune that Is In
volved by the success or failure of his en-
terprise, and the latter to speculate upon
the reception of their individual efforts by
an exacting public:
Behind the scenes events sometimes
transpire which in their seriousness are
funnier than the most mirth-provoking oc-
currences on the stage. One such, in which
John c. Rice. who will be at the Columbia
next week in Are You Mason?" was the
principal. will never fail to draw a smile
from him. 1t happened in Providence,
when Sally Cohen, who in private life is
Mrs. Rice. and her husband were playing
"Our Honeymoon" at vaudeville house.
They had done their turn in the afternoon
and had left the theater. when a reassign-
ment of dressing rooms took place. BY the
change they were given star" room on
the 20. P" side. just off the stage, and into
which, with the door open person in the
wings could look easily. The stage hands
were instructed to remove the property of
Mr.. and Mrs. Rice to their new room, from
which that Of the former occupants was to
be taken to another location. Mr.. Rice re-
turned to the theater about half an hour
before his wife to arrange some minor mat
tiers with the property man, and, of course,
was Informed OF what had been done. He
then went to his new dressing room and
prepared to makeup" but expecting his
wife to arrive soon. he left the door slightly
open that she might find 1t easily. Not long
afterward Mrs. Rice arrived, but unfortu-
nately was not warned of the change In
rooms. She crossed the stage at the back
and was proceeding toward her former
dressing room when through the door
which Mr. Rice had left partly open she
discovered her spouse busting about. and
she also saw plainly at the back Of the
room the figure of a woman in the room
with him. Mad with jealous fury she rush
ed across the stage. grabbed the stage man.
ager and shrieked in his ear, II want that
woman called out of my room 1 won't
stand 1t! She is there with my husband,
and he's 'making-up.' Take her out! The
contemplate crea ture?' The stage man
ager forgot for the moment about the
change in the room. He tried to pacify her,
but the more he tried to patch the matter
up in his diplomatic way the madden be-
came Mrs. Rice. The pair then proceeded
across the stage, the manager wondering
what to do. the wife irate and threatening
and each instant the group of stage hands
gathering, TOT the expected fray grew
larger. Bravely the manager stepped into
the room where Mr.. Rice was "making-up."
and moment later he emerged holding in
his arms the object which had excited Mrs.
Rice's jealousy. There, take her," said
he, as he fairly threw into the arms of the
little woman the hated rival" 1t was the
dummy figure of a woman dressed in the
latest style used in one part Of the perform
ance and which the stage hands had for
gotten to remove from the dressing room
assigned to Mr.. and Mrs. Rice Mr. Rice
appeared In the doorway just in time to see
his wife fade from white fury to her own
pretty little self and join with Mrs. Rice
In her laugh as she remarked: well, 1
wouldn't have been jealous OF any but an
elegantly dressed woman. 1 know no other
ever could impress John"
* X *
Joseph Cawthorne. more popularity known
as Joe Cawthorne," or "Concertina joe"
or The Cawthorne who plays the con.
certina,' declares that he knows of one
joke on himself which may be FUNNY 10
others, but will never get smile from
him.
While playing a special engagement IN
Cincinnati last summer he discovered that
the street car conductors of that city were
most aggravating set of individuals. They
have habit there Of starting q car just
w hor