Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07
The Foreign Stage.
,ecial Correspondence of The Star.

fully at the Vaudeville Theater good
many times during the last few months.
During the last eight months, to be ex-
act, for ii is as long as that since the
Syracuse girl threw up her part in
The Belle, of Mayfair" and quilted the
Vaudeville in dudgeon in-consequence of
what might be referred to in the Ian
guage of diplomacy as 1.-The Camille
clifford incident"
Having thus lost it's nominal star, it
is quite surprising, from Miss Mays
standpoint. that The Belle of Mayfair"
then in it's first month at the Vaudeville
did not promptly collapse, but no such
dire fate overlook 1t. On the contrary,
packed houses such as the piece never
had before attracted resulted from the
mana Cements coup in engaging Phyllis
Dare to fill the role abandoned by Miss
May. and another boom was given to
business at the Vaudeville by the an
nouncement OF Camille Cliford's mar
riage to the heir to the earldom of
Aberdare.
Alas, then, for any vengeance which
the former Belle" may have anticipated
that a just Providence would take on
her behalf upon the defiant Messrs. GATH.
Nor did the triumphed career of The
Belle of Mayfair cease at Christmas
time. when Phyllis Dare left the cast to
take part in the annual pantomime at
Manchester. The services of Billie Burke
were speedily forthcoming, and with
this American girl as its heroine the
Hamilton-Stuart piece has run merrily
up to the present time. and not even
now can the end of the run be fore
Swallowed definitely
That it is not so very far off is evil
dent. however. for an announcement has
just been made as to the forthcoming
attraction at the Vaudeville. Decidedly
Interesting this attraction proves to be-
moreover. for not only is 1t new piece
by the author of Rosemary" but it deals
with colonial times in America the scene.
in fact. being laid in Boston, Mass, in
1T5J, or just after the famous tea party"
No name has yet been given to the play,
whose author, Louis N Parker. has not
tried his luck as a dramatist for many
months. He has. in fact, been too busy
writing pageants. most of the successful
ones given in this country recently hav-
ing been from his pen.
Did Hall Caine dream fondly of
permanent Game theater" In London?
One is not sure, but II is like enough, for
when The Bondman" was transferred
to the Adelphi, while ago, after it's
run at Drury Lane. announcement was
made that 1t would be followed by a
whole round of other plays by the same
author. The idea seemed to be- in fact
that pieces by the ManXman should con-
tinue to be played at the Adelphi until
the public taste for them was satiated,
and perhaps Hall Game privately be-
lieved such safety a contingency of the
remote future. If so. however. he has
had rude awakening. for though The
Bondman' did well enough after being
transferred to the Adelphi. it's successor,
The ProdigaI Son. did not attract, and
the further revivals that were promised
have been cancelled. They were to in
clude The Christian" The Manxman.'
The Eternal City" and The Scape-
goat
SO the permanent Game theater" is
not 10 be-not for the present. at least.
After all, however, the Manxman is in
no worse case than the Immortal Bard"
Is still no Shakespeare theater in Lon
don. despite many gallant attempts to
establish such an institution. Bernard
Shaw has come nearer than any other
dramatist-ancient or modern-to having
a London theater devoted to his works,
for, though other pieces than those of
the lrlShman are done at the court, it's
prosperity is due to him and II is rightly
associated with his name. Some of his
pieces have failed there, 1t is true, but
his successes have now kept the Sloane
Square Theater going for over two years.
AT present You Never Can Tell" per-
haps the most popular with Londoners
OF all the Shaw pieces, is on view, and
IT is to be followed by a revival of Man
and Superman."
One Of the best dramatic jokes ever
produced in London Is The Van Dyck,"
Il one-act adaptation from the French,
which Beerbohm Tree gave at His Maj
eSty'S a few nights ago 1t was origt-
nally done at the famous Grand Guig-
mol. In Paris, and Is certain to be seen
in America ere long. 1t plays for about
twenty-five minutes. and is all about an
evening visit which cosmopolitan
named Nottingham pays to the HAT of
little "bounder' named Peters. The
latter is an ardent collector. and his fiat
is full of objects of art, most of which.
we learn. have been obtained for a song
from poor folk who didn't know their
value Among them is what Peters has
purchased for a Van Dyck, but which
Nottingham recognizes forgery. 1t
is. however, the only fraud in the COL
lection.
AS the piece proceeds it becomes evil
dent to both Peters and the audience
that his guest is crazy. He tells a most
amazing story of murder and sudden
death, and to illustrate il makes a saw
age attack on the terrified collector.
Just at the critical moment however
the door opens ard d physician and sew
eral attendants burst in and overpower
Nottingham They explain that he has
just escaped from an asylum and that
they have tracked him there 1t is evf-
dent that the continued presence of his
late host still enrages Nottingham so
the physician asks Peters If he would
mind Withdrawing into the next room /?
Immediately he disappears, the demeanor
of the visitors and the supposed lunatic
is transformed They are simply a gang
of crooks, and, while Nottingham keeps
Peters from returning by now and then
pretending TO rave and call for his blood
the Hat is stripped of every single thing
1t COntaius-all except the spurious Van
Dyck When they have decamped and
Peters re-enters he is naturally para
lyzed as the sight OF the bare room,
stripped even of its carpet, meets his
eyes. Then, however, he brightens.
Thank goodness, he says. they've left
the Van Dyck, and the curtain falls.
The thing is little masterpiece by
reason of the 'cleverness with which the
author conceals his real purpose. The
f.rSt-night audience at His Majesty's al
ternated between roars of laughter and
thrills of horror, and could not make up
their minds until three minutes before
the end whether it was comedy or
tragedy.
Glacier ice is now delivered to some of the
lager consumers of Lyons and other cities