Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-20
The Foreign Stage
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

LONDON, December g. 1908.
Whatever aspect London may pre-
sent to others. to the children
at Christmas time it Is place
of pure delight At first glance it would
appear to the uninitiated that most Of
the English managers were possessed of
soft hearts and had quite determined upon
giving the little ones the time of their
lives. Assured successes, some of them
playing to record receipts. are to be
ruthlessly torn from the boards of GER
tain theaters and sent into temporary
retirement to make way for shows that
will tickle the fancy Of the children.
Staid, serious-minded managers like
Beerbohm Tree and Charles Frohman be-
come children for the moment and plead
most pathetically for the approval and
applause Of boys in short trousers and
girls in shorter dresses.
But upon closer examination one will
find that there Is sound business basis
for these actions. The various panto-
mines which make their appearance In
extend up to Easter are gold mines. and
it is sound financial considerations that
have induced Frohman and Tree and their
class to. enter the field with plays prima-
Thus 1t is that we hear that Peter
Pan" is to make its temperance for a
season at the Duke of York's. beginning
course. be Peter. and Hilda Trevelyn
will play the part of Wendy. a part
she has made an enduring possession of
the heart OF every child who has seen the
play. Thus also Tree will produce
"Pinkie and the Fairies" at HIS Majestys.
with Ellen Terry in the chief role and
Stella Campbell. daughter Of Mrs Pat"
in the cast. And at the Court Theater
there will be a revival of Little Lord
Fauntleroy." These are but signs that
the youth of England are Unsuitable in
the matter Of entertainment. and that
they are no longer entirely satisfied with
pantomime. They form. too, a good and
promising sign Of higher taste in the
young for. after all. the pantomimes are,
as a rule, poor productions.
Yet that they are immensely popular
with the children no one can deny. Take
the great Drury Lane production. No less
than $50 performers have been engaged
in addition to the cast of principals.
all of whom command enormous salaries
In the handling of the big stage and the
theater back stage $50 people are needed,
and in front OF the house $50 more will
be busy. The run Of the pantomime ex-
tends from Boxing night to about Easter
and in those three months this house
and 1t is but an example Of the hundreds
throughout the country-manages to re-
Turn d IdnOSOIne pTOIIt On tne enormous
original outlay and the weekly salary
list. AS an index to the profits that are
to he obtained. it is only necessary to
mention that year ago the directors of
Drury Lane were contemplating engaging
Harry Lauder at salary Of $1,000
week, and the popular Scotch come
dian would have been only one Of the
big company.
But pantomime has its disadvantages
w nrHn fn 70 10
hundreds OF companies throughout the
country 1t is necessary to draw upon the
music halls and that class of houses. is
drained almost dry of talent at this time
Of the year. The natural consequence is
that the managers OF the halls find it i'm
possible to fill their seats. and a serious
period Of steady loss Is almost unavoid-
able. Many OF them would like to close
for the three months. but dare not do
With the return OF Easter the stars are
released from their pantomime engage
ments and come 1ocking back to the halls
In such numbers that the bills are often
overweighted with talent.
The opening Of the Waldorf Theater
under the management Of Henry r. Smith
has not proved as suspicious as 1t might
have. Although The Antelope" yields
many laughs. as a whole 1t is extremely
plot in THE Antelope to make an inter-
esting half hour. and out of 1t Ross has
attempted to make an evenings entertain
ment. This would not have proved so
disastrous from the viewpoint of the av-
erage playgoer were the plot relegated to
the background by the Interpolation OF
some excellent business" and songs. In
stead. however. the obviously Inadequate
plot has been pushed to the foreground
and results in a sense of dissatisfaction
in the minds Of the audience. OF the
music. which is by Dr. Hugo Felix. there
Is not much to say. In spots 1t was
pretty. exceptionally so in two numbers;
but 1t was lacking in variety.
Charles Frohman has decided to send
Julia Sanderson back to the United States
In Kitty Grey" In which G. P. Huntley
will make his bow early in January in
New York. Julia Sanderson will play the
name part, In which Evie Greene made
such hit when the play was originally
produced in London some years ago. The
present intention Is to open at the Broad
way Theater for a run, but 1t Is possible
that some other house may be substituted
before the opening.
Havana which has been running at
the Gaiety, will soon be withdrawn and a
return made in January to the old tradi-
lions of the house. The famous company
which became associated with the house
will be brought together again by George