The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-27
NOTE AND COMMENT.

Burlesque of the kind in the popular
price houses devoted to that sort OF en-
tertainment is all very well in its way,
but unless the performers in this line OF
stage work possess some little ambition
they are certain to fall into rut from
which there seems TO be little chance OF
extrication. There was little woman at
the Empire last week, who six years ago,
gave great promise of becoming a high
class and high-salaried performer AT the
age of sixteen Katharine Rowe Palmer at
tracted more than the usual amount OF at
tenuon from newspaper writer's whose
routine duties keep them in close touch
with theatrical affairs-that is TO say, she
attracted more attention than falls TO the
lot OF the average performer in burlesque
show. She was pretty of face, had q fair
ly good voice, possessed natural ability as
coincidence and was the most graceful
dancer on the burlesque circuit. Those VINO
were competent judges declared that she
was too good for burlesque-and she was
Truly Shattuck and Adelna Roatino were
contemporaries of hers, and both were
ambitiouS-so ambitious that they were not
content until they had graduated from the
burlesque stage for good and ALL Miss
Shattuck is now winning distinction and
good big salary in musical comedy and
Miss Roatino, who recently filled an en-
gagement at the Grand, is doing very well
with refined singing speciality in vaude-
vile. II seems that little Miss Palmer
who had more talent to start with than
either of the other young women. has not
had the ambition 10 avoid the dreadful
"burlesQue rut, and as a result she came
back to Indianapolis last week to disap-
point all of her old admirers by playing
vulgar part in a vulgar travesty, content
ing herself with the laughter which she
caused through a series OF coarse antics
and jOkes-laughter that came for the most
part, from the boisterous gallerytes
There little in her performance to re-
call the once dainty Kittie Palmer, and it
was saddening to realize that her talent
had been thrown away-and that she didn't
care.
James O'Neill, the veteran actor who is
to play of the leading parts in the
forthcoming all-star production of 1.-THE
Two Orphans in New York. is taking
much interest in rehearsing the good old
melodrama, in which he has not appeared
since he was young heroic actor. Acting
in this old-time play once more has brought
to his mind many memories of other days
and he has been relating number of good
"reminiscences II remember a good-nature6
actor had with company when L
was first appearing in The Two Or
phans. he told New York interviewer,
who was the most terribly particular man
L ever met. He would insist on putting his
stockings on one hook, his slippers in
certain place, the chairs in this corner
and that, and so on, until it really made
you have a fiendish desire to turn every
thing topsy-turvy. One night we devised
a plan whereby we thought we could
brighten our particular chum. 1t so hap
pened that at one side of the room was
rat hole, and on the corresponding side was
another. We rugged up property rat, tied
a string to il, which string we passed into
the next dressing room and attached the
rat to one of our friends stockings. The
martyr in question had quick change.
He came into his room without a shadow of
suspicion. took down one stocking and was
just about to grasp the other when he per-
ceived IL silently and gradually going away
from him. He was so absolutely taken back
that he sat there looking at the phenome-
non until the call boy shouted. Then he
made a dash for the stage and afterward-
well, afterward he came up TO me and told
me all about it, and asked me seriously ii
| really thought ii was a rat, or had he
been drinking. | asked him if he had found
the stocking on his return and he said ne
had. Wen. then, said l. you must draw
your own conclusions!
The infrequency with which Charles
Frohman submits to interviewers lends in
terest to the opinions that he expressed last
week in a talk with a representative of the
J London Telegraph.
I'VE in America are in a sense still in
rather a childlike STAGE he said What
we ask for is "a simple. straightforward
story. But if it is to do any good, it must
have heart-it must strike genuinely
human note. Lay the action where you
will, il matters not one jot whether ii takes
place in the green lanes of old England or
the blue mountains of Oregon, provided the
fable makes q powerful appeal TO the emo
tions. The kind of piece I am always
ready TO acquire is the one which a young
fellow takes his best girl to see in order to
make her think that he is just the same
sort of dashing. big-hearted order of fellow
as the hero, while his sweetheart devoutiy
hopes that she herself is exactly modelled
on the lines of the beautiful and self
sacrificing heroine. If you can appeal
successfully 10 these two unsophsticated
natures you can depend on liling your the
alter for weeks and months to come. Here
I'd like to say that for any problem play