Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-18

| bered among those, however. as the fol-
! lowing little story will serve to demon
Strate.
He had been rehearsing Wireless in
New York for two weeks and everything
was moving smoothly. The company was
thoroughly competent with one exception.
The young man he had assigned to play
a heroic naval lieutenant did not seem to
grasp the requirements of the role. All
hands We're patient with the young man,
but he grew steadily worse. SO Mr..
Thompson and mis- general stage director.
Ninchell Smith. were on the lookout for
a player of experience.
Tuesday evening the two managers went
to Wallacks TheateT to see the opening
of Arnold DAILY and his company in a
new comedy. His Wife's Father" There
they saw Edwin Arden playing one of the
leading roles.
Just our man." said Thompson to
Smith. Strange l hadn't thought of him.
l must see the manager of the company
and perhaps L can get him released"
The manager said: IF the piece doesn't
go, III be glad to get rid of some of the
big salaries. Better wait few days and
see how the play turns out
AT noon the next day the manager of
the company called Mr.. Thompson to the
phone and said:
Make a deal with Arden if you care to.
for don't think the play will last long"
Thanks. old man." replied Thompson.
I've had Arden rehearsing with the
''iNACSo tOIilpduS SINCE early ITlS
morning. I got up early. read the criti-
cisms in the papers and sent for Arden"
THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS
REFC SED.-The impossibility of obtain
ing an absolutely accurate estimate of the
worth of drama before production was
never better illustrated than in the case of
The Great Question: which begins a
weeks enga cement at the Columbia Thea
ter tomorrow night. Frederick Paulding.
the author. naturally thought that he
had valuable piece of property, and in
! looking around for a prospective pro-
Queer. ran across Joseph Brooks. who
is always looking for good things in the
theatrical line. Mr.. Brooks took the man
uScript and after Severa! weeks returned
1t with the statement that he was very
much pleased with the first and second
acts. but that the third and fourth acts
were absolutely lacking in merit: until
they were rewritten, he said, he could
give the play no further consideration.
Undaunted by this rebuff, Mr.. Pauding
took the play to Daniel Frohman. who had
1t read. perused it himself. and returned
1t with a note that he considered the third
and fourth acts exceptionally strong but
that the first and second acts made the
piece dramatic impossibility. klaw a.
Eranger We're the next to receive the
manuscript. Shortly afterward they made
a proposition for the exclusive rights to
the piece in this country and Europe Be
fore negotiations had prOgre SSed to the
point of an agreement. A. l.. Wilbur of
Boston secured an option on the play
with permission to try it for a week at
the Star Theater in Buffalo. There the
play first produced without name and
with the identity of the author withheld.
1t was a pronounced success from the
first. A contest was inaugural ed with a
prize of $50 to the person who should
suggest the most appropriate name for
it. OF the four thousand titles submitted
none of them appealed to the manage
ment until a young southern girl. a friend
of Miss Bonsteles in congratulating her
after witnessing the performance, said.
II believe you have a very great success
in your play, for you certainly have lit
| upon a subject that is the great question
in my country" And SO the play was
named.