Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-23
Plays and Their Names

u T.
wv Whats in a name?' he fur
nished question to which his
successors on the stage can give the
readiest answer. They all know that on
the stage a name is fraught with more
possibilities of great success or dire
failure than in almost anything else
The name selected for play is one of
the most important things in the the
atrical business.
1t generally is conceded that the late
Charles Hoyt had about as happy a
faculty for naming his plays as any
other writer for the stage has enjoyed.
Each of his many farce comedies be-
gan it's title with the letter "A" The
list proves this. Here are some of
them: "A Texas Steer" "A Temper
ance Town." "A Brass Monkey" "A
Bunch of Keys" "a Runaway Colt"
and "A Contented Woman"
George Ade started by beginning his
titles with the word the" He followed
with "The College Widow" "The
County Chairman" THE Bad Samar-
TAM" which although it was not as
great success as those named, was
not the worst failure the stage has
seen. Still Mr.. Ade failed with Peggy
from Paris" and Just Out of College"
1.-THE Coward which enjoyed only a
short life at McVicker's at the opening
of the summer season, was handi-
capped by it's name. AS one of the best
theatrical managers in the business
said about it, ITO begin with, nobody
is interested in a coward"
One of the best things ever said
about a title was Wilton Lackaye's re-
mark about his play, Lies Miserables."
Cant you get manager to produce
it?" somebody asked. produce it,"
sneered the actor. II can't get one of
them that can pronounce it,"
Clyde Fitch strikes at some of the
most fantastic titles in existence A
queer thing about one of them, "The
Girl Who Has Everything" which
Eleanor Robson played at Powers
theater in Chicago, last spring, is that
william A. Brady had already bought
for his wife. Grace George, a play
called THE Richest Girl in the World"
The similarity of the two titles was
striking.
In the theatrical business 1T is re-
garded as unlucky to change name,
although this rule, like all others, has
some brilliant exceptions. One of these
exceptions is we'll known to Chicago
theatergoers. THE Mayor of Kanka-
kee" was produced at the Chicago
opera mousse. He was NildiScu
to His Honor the Mayor" and moder-
ate prosperity followed. The piece
went into New York" as the argot of
the stage has it, and achieved tremen-
dous success. "Alice and the Eight
Princesses,'' the cumbersome title of
one of the latest of Glen MacDonough's
plays, was changed and no luck fol-
lowed. "Babes in the Wood" played
at the Garrick in Chicago and did
pretty well. 1t was rechristened "The
Babes and the Baron and failed in
New York.
Dion Boucicault selected Gaelic
words as the titles of his plays. Thus
we have 1.-The Shaughraun," Kerry
Cow" and the rest. These words are
the purest Gaelic.
The new La Sale theater, Chicago,
piece seems to be as we'll equipped with
a wordy title as any of them 1t is
called 1.-The Time, the Place, and the
Girl" Some other titles that are
pretty long are when We Were
Twenty-one," Nat C. Goodwin's sue
cess, and THE Genius and the Model"
which wasn't so much of a Goodwin
success.
Many playwrights who think of good
titles copyright them just for the sake
of having them handy in case of need.
Priority of copyright always governs.
and many men have sold good titles
to managers who felt that their offer
ings would not be successful unless
they were labeled with just the title
that they had to buy to get.