The Washington times., 1907-01-20

York. or that there is absolutely no
danger. Washington is not "a good
enough theater town Tor that There
would bee very little morty in ticket
speculation in a town where the thea
ter is merely an interludc between a
dinner and a dance, oF reception. The
Standing Room Only sign has never
been printed for " Washington theatrrs.
Shows that do a capacity business in
Other towns are received here with
very mild interest.
L. the case of THE Music Master. Do
there undoubtedly was some specuia-
ton. II was one OF those sure-thiHg
CANDLES that always appeal 10 the inn
pecunious-a case of small investment
with the prospects of Immediate re-
turns-a good canoe Of anywhere from.
p To loo ger cert profit. and no pos
sibiiity of loss. For the -u=cuIator knew
that II he cared 20 return the seats u
the box Office. they Wo,dG he bought
hack at par up a. within h4lt an hour
of the performance.
But there seems no reason 20 believe
that the management Of the theater was
in any way a party u the speculation.
I know that personal friends OF mine
bearing commissions from personal
friends OF theirs. stood on the line the
day the sale opened for an astounding
length of time. only 10 ma when they
had worked their way up 10 the box
Office that they could not buy more
than SIX seats-which was, of course,
annoying. but was accepted with good
grace as an EFFORT ON the part OF the
management 10 protect the public
OF course. seats have sold al double
the box Office prices But that is "a
matter which the theater management
could not possibly control They had
no means OF forcing the occupation OF
the seats by the original purchaser All
through the week advertisements APP
peared in the daily papers Of two or
chestra- seats for The Music Master
on such and such night four, perhaps.
on such and such-a- night. and So on
Naturally the advertisers counted on
selling these seats at an advance on the
box ofice prices; otherwise. they would
not have gone To the expense OF adveT-
Using. They could simply have returned
them 20 the box oniee and gotten their
money back.
A few seats have been offered for
sale outside the theater IN the even
ing. one man the other night wanted
s. for two seats He didn't get it, A
few minutes later he was Offering them
for s., which was not such "a tremend-
Gus advance on the box ONCE price. and
the chances are that he eventually lost
money on them through attempting TO
make too much. All of which does not
indicate any cOnnlvance on the part Of
the box office
Aside from the sincere pleasure that
one last week found in The Music
Master" as q dramatic work. a visit
10 the Belasco TheaJer was like renew
ing old friendships. Tor three members
OF the company supporting Mr.. War
field have long been counted among
Washington's own.
William Boag. who is the stage man
ager and who also plays "a small part
Is a Washingtouian whose visits here
have been but few, but have. neverthe-
less served 10 bring 10 mind the fact
that the Capital is generously repre-
scented i'm the more important attrac-
lions OF the day.
AntoinetJe Walker, the charming lit
tie maid OF the Houston street board
ing house. was the lngeuue OF the Bel
lows Stock Company when il made its
home in the now BelascO Theater, sew
ersl years ago. Miss Walker lived here
fer "a year and has many close personal
friends In Washington as the result OF
that visit. She was exceedingly clever
then in the constantly changing roper
toire of the Bellows company. and in
1.-THE Music Master her delightfully."-
youthful appearance aud finished por-
trayal of the little maid were especially
pleasing TONY" Walker Is always
welcome.
Another member OF the company who
claims a hold on Washington is Alfred
Hudson who also has been Identified
with local stock companies, and who
plays the secretary OF the Amalgamated
Musical Association in The Music
Master" Mr.. Hudson is well remem-
bered here for his character work His
son, By the way, Alfred Hudson, jr., is
with Otis Skinner in "The Duel"
Marie Bates. whose clever work as
Mrs. Houston, the boarding house
keeper, has added another notable char
acter 10 her list Of Representations. is
frequently referred 70 as the mother of
Blanche Bates. Considerable confusion
has resulted in these announcements.
and IL is interesting 70 know that Miss
Bates and Mrs. Bates are sincere ad-
mirers OF each others arr, but though
playing under the same management,
have never met
Until a few years ago the American
stage knew but Two families Of this
name. one in the East, another in the
West, The former was Mr.. and Mrs.
Mark Bates, the latter now playing
under the name of Marie Bates. and in
the West the name was solely repre-
scented by Mr.. and Mrs. +. NJ Bates,
parents OF Blanche Bates.
Until she became Belasco star.
Blanche Bates was regarded as a IVES
tern actress. although she had filled
engagements from time 10 time in the
East Marie Bates long ago became
famous for her character work. and as
early as Nell Burgess production of
The County Fair had established her
self as a character actress.
BY a queer coincidence Blanche Bates
drifted 10 the management which had so
long directed Marie Bates stage for
tunes. and today the two BelascO
players who are SO repeatedly and
closely related By unknowing newspa-
naF writer's are gfff UUaFUu4iUT-1