Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02
The Foreign Stage.
ecisl Correspondence o, The Star.

| Special Correspondence OF The Star.
| LONDON, January % 1903.
| Among playgoers here the main theme
OF talk is the hit scored at the Lyric The
/ alter by THE Squaw Man." or "A White
Man. as Lewis Waller renamed the Royle
piece before producing It. This actor
manager. in fact. must be beginning to
| regard the United States as his Eldorado.
| for the greatest success he ever has had
was m. Beaucaire," and 1t Is being
prophesied on every hand that "A White
Man" will beat even "Beaucaire's" record.
To do so, however, 1t will have to do some
| tall running, for the dramatization of Tar
kingdoms novel registered over three hun
dred performances when originally pro-
| duced at the Comedy; then was success
| fully transferred to the Imperial. Mrs.
! Langtry's otherwise Inflated theater. and
since has served as 'stop-gap" times
without number. Waller having come to
| own countrvmen before turning to Amer
| lea for another sure winner.
| OF course. both the American author of
THE Sauaw Man" and the American act
! ors who have scored 50 heavily at the
| Lyric are delighted with the success of
! the piece. The former says he will set
| tie down in London-for some months at
|
join him, and the latter are telling inter-
| viewers that English enthusiasm beats
| anything they ever have experienced.
| You are wonderful people" Manifee
tombstone, who plays Cash Hawkins at
the Lyric. declared to a reporter: we
| have seen nothing like your Saturday
night reception" While George Fawcett,
| whose Big Bill is the hit of the produc-
| ton. declares that the whole-hearted ap-
plause he gets nightly is mamma to his
of Th he In i've
to the folk on the other side-most of
them disgruntled managers whose offer
ings have failed here-who are forever
harping on British prejudice" against
warranted assertion ever made on this
| head was that which attributed the sue
cess of Mrs. Wigs of the Cabbage
Patch" to the alleged fact that 1t made
Americans ridiculous and thus gratified
British complacency. However, the &C.
static reception that has been accorded to
Royle's play should dispose of the pref
udice' theory for all time.
Meanwhile. among those who have rea-
| son for qualification over the success Of
THE Squaw Man. Is Fred Terry. Ellen
Terry's brother, who. with his wife, Julia
Nelson. is about to produce an Amer
| ican-nade play in London, and who finds
| the theatric tide setting in a favorable
| direction. Terry's next offering. which Is
| by b. C. Sutherland and B. NJ. Dix is
called Matt of Merrymount." 1t will be
| put on at the New Theater next month,
| and If it fulfills expectations will be the
| second big American success that this
player and his wife have had. The first
| was Sweet Nell Of Old Drury.'' by Paul
Kester, which was as Internationally
long in dying" as Charles II. who figured
in it. and made a pile of money for its
| producers and author.
Like 'The Bread of the Treshams," the
hugely successful piece which these two
American women dramatists wrote for
Martin Harvey, Matt Of Merrymount"
has not been seen in Its authors own
country. 1t was tried at Newcastle a
few months ago, at which time the Tyne
side critics spoke of it in the highest
terms and prophesied big success for
the play when it should be given in the
metropolis. According to a review !
saved at the time. the action of the story
takes pies in Massachusetts In 1885 the
hero being Matt Compton. chief OF
band of outlaws, and also the grandson
Of a rich old Englishman whose mind has
been poisoned against him by a canting
cousin. Believing that he has killed that
England and set up his tent In the plan
tations of Gamaliel rockingham. the
lord OF the manor. Here he suddenly
comes face to face with Frothinghams
daughter, a pretty and charming Puri-
tan, masauerading in boys attire. OF
course they fall in love, and equally of
course. there are many alarms and ex-
cursions before they reach the final goal
play also have Miss Elizabeth's Priso-
ner" to their credit-a piece In which
Grace Lane scored heavily on this side Of
the water. AT present the production of
Theater is set for March 5. and If it
takes. the American rights are likely to
be disposed of forthwith. Probably the
reason that The Breed of the fresh
America is that Martin Harvey is saving
it UP for his next visit to 1.-The states"
Still another musical comedy "girl:'
This time 1.-The Pierrot Girl" which is
the name that finally has been given to
the new piece by Leslie Stuart, author of
"Florodora" and 1.-The Belle of Mayfair"
and Cosmo Hamilton, who supplied the
book Of the latter play. The date OF Its
production will be settled by Charles
Frohman. who commissioned It, and who
is expected in this country shortly.
Henry de Vries. who made a sensation
on both sides of the Atlantic by playing
"A Case of Arson has found a new
vehicle for his talents. Unfortunately,
however, 1t is not anything like SO good
one as that in which he scored his first
success. Page o. as 1t is called, was
produced for the first time at the Gar
rick Theater this week Unlike "A case
of Arson which was a little master
piece of Characterization. Page 81" is
rather commonplace detective story,
set forth by SO many puppets. Unfortu-
nately, too, the characters, with one OK
ception, are all English-one is a lord, an
other colonel and SO on, and the actors
mastery of our common tongue" is not
sufficient to enable him to depict them
with complete naturalness. As for the
plot, 1t is concerned entirely with an
discriminating document which the guilty
lord of the piece hopes to get away from
this he employs several emissaries all of
whom, as well as the nobleman and the
sleuth, are played by de vries. He
works like a Trojan, but Is wholly sue
cessful in only one impersonation. that of