The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24
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Ghahciai situation surrounding Tho pro
duciioN ~ = nov rioco NJ a FIRST olHs- Nhea
tsr, raid y theatrical tnnha GET, IVY wal
N contrast, the theatrical profession " nov
,alkins ~ Tho splurgo nude during u" pas,
srason by iva rich young men who are hoN
able Io ngur' up Approximately the coe'
~ leinE an angel for a nov show,
zach ~ N ~ young men dropped IN
tho ncishhorhooi II $50 gOO In real money
BIZ, both are In tho ring attn, and as they arr
showing no apparent signs ot contracting
friPid tNdnl oStfcmitiep, they stand W
lotn considerably more nest scason. ~
each " tho q, Whatawad4 has u Hir
or ton millions IN reserve. the financial
los-ca 20 far are about IA important "a tho
biggcst dent you could make with q hammer
on the Washington Monument,
'One ~ these young mon Ia from Butte,
Mon. and he became Interested In theetri-
calls because he is engaged to marry a girl
who was formerly in tho chorus Of q comic
opera. He has produced three comic operas
in succession for the purpose OF giving TINS
young lady a chance to shine in the centre
Of the e.age, and he IL now arranging Tor
n fourth production, to go out next season.
by which time, he declares, he and the
young lady will be married,
THE girl in the case has visited the young
mans mother and sister, who approve
the match and are quite willing that he
should continue to spend money to advance
her career on the sta ge.
The OF her young mar halls from q
New England town. and invested his money
in heat ricals solely because he believed
large profits would ensue. He was not
interested in advancing the artistic career
Of any actress. and has made his specula-
ton in the show business just as he would
invest in real estate, a factory or any oth h
commercial enterprise.
His losses, while heavy, nave been due
to errors Of Judgment in selecting plays,
but he believes he has how acquired suf-
fcient experience to get back a considerable
sum next season.
-The old proverb about the woman In
the case applies with special force to n
theatrical venture; and nine times out Of
ten where a mans judgment is influenced
by the personal equation in The shape of a
pretty girl the venture fails.
THAT seems to have been the hoodoo
that has pursued the Butte man during
the last year. He has spent money lavishly
in every direction to secure success, but
inst cad of picking out a good piece Of theat-
rical property and then engag ing a good
all around cast of players for 1t, he has first
placed the ex-chorns girl in the centre Of
the stage and tried to surround her with
nleaSiDQ ART lists " no would not n yaTahad0w
her.
His first comic opera, produced In Chi
ca go last summer, ran eight or ten weeks
and cost him about SIS 900. Some of tho
newspaper critics said the young lady in
the case gave promise Of talent, and this
determined the millionaire to try again.
Casting his elaborate production into
the discard, he went right ahead on a moro
lavish scale han ever to produce a second
comic opera, which he produced in Boston.
He leased outright one of the leading
Boston theatres for a couple of months,
and put on another $40, coo failure. One
reason for this failure. l think, was that the
manager OF the theatre, having secured
the rent in advance, went of yachting and
never came nearth he theatre during the time
the piece was running there.
He drew down S20,00O as his bit for the
rental period and natura lily he didn't worry
much more whet her the piece succeeded
or not. Meanwhile the Butte chap did all
be could in a. losing game, and after drop
ping $40, 900 closed the show.
His third speculation was the most
disastrous Of all, but he accomplished his
chief aim, which was to make the young
lady in the case a nine days celebrity in
the profession. Giving his third opera a
magnificent mounting, with a great COM
pany of principals and elaborate costumes,
he had the girl cast for the central figure
in the story, and a lever librettist arranged
that she should make her initial entree on
a white horse.
The girl. by the way, has very pretty
red hair, and this spectacle Of a red haired
girl on a W hite horse caught on. The show,
however, did not catch on, and though It
subsequent ly finished out the season on the
road, it is said that 1t cost the hacker ap-
proximately SIS 900 to keep it going.
III shows what some comic opera
productions cost. Although it il nearly
a record breaking case in the way Of losing
money to advance the professional reputa-
ton of a mere girl, it is almost equalled
by his own announcement that he intends
to keep on producing operas, His exhibit
ton OF nerve in continuing the game in
spite of unprecedented losses may be due
to his Western training and the fact that
he Is a member of the copper crowd of
Montana and likes nothing better than a
swift game of poker. without any limit.
The New England millionaire, whose
plunge has been watched with interest this
season, lacks the picturesque qualities of
the Westerner, but he too seems TO show
some of the same staying qualities in sitting
In a losing game. No one has yet been able !
to explain how he became Interested in
theatricals, but the most likely story ia
that, having made tho acquaintance Of
many visiting managers who came to his
home town in Massachusetts,, he fell in
with several of them on a visit to New |
York and was taken round to see some
Of the shows.
"A couple Of friends who knew of a sup
posedly good thing in the way Of a new
comic opera that could be purchased, talked
figures to hin one night until he consented
to invest in the enterprise. Before he
paid over a dollar Of his money he had the
producing firm Incorporated as a stock
company, with himself in control, and his
name on the door Of their Offices.
H didn't let any one else handle his
money. He accepted advice, it is true,
but he was on deck all the time to see where |
the money went. OF course, being an inex-
rerenced man, he paid out far more money |
than was necessary.
Either one Of the two with
whom he allied himself could have saved
him probably $4,000 on the production
alone, but he plunged to the limit. II
cost $4,000 to raise the curtain on his first
venture, a comic opera, and then many !
thousands more were spent in engaging
hbrettists to rewrite the show, having stage
managers prepare new dances, &c.