The San Francisco call., 1908-03-15

MI you know, turns comedy 10
tragedy, only an added beam of
= light converts the twinkle of
The eye 10 an angry flash; sorrows
steps. though heavy. press close behind
the light feet of mirth. and there are
many more SMILES which 1 can't think
of just at this minute to prove-what
everybody knows-that happiness and
pain are as near akin as twin sisters.
The point being that an interview with
Mary Mannering Cor. as she is regis
tered at the St Francis. Mary Manner
ing Hackett) is altogether TOO bewil-
dering in its rapid transitions from
grave to gay and in the variety and
quantity of her expressions when she
feels at home with you.
She does not pose nor strut, like an
actress usually does under the circum-
stances. In fact, she viii not be In
ferviewed at all You may talk to her,
converse with her, exchange ideas with
her, but you can not really interview
her. She viii not deliver carefully pre-
pared sentiments for publication from
= pedestal, at the foot Of which an
artist and an interviewer sit, and she
VIII not be an oracle Neither will she
be logical But how frankly and de-
lightfully she Will talk if you will let
her have her wsyi And what she says,
when printed, will drive, in fact has
driven, her managers TO desperation, if
not to drink They told me so them
TO say her play is bad she does so
without any fuss at all Either a play
is good or it is bad" she says. We'll.
this ones bad" That settles the mat
ter From humdrum questions not
worth discussing to- serious life prob
lens are extremes which meet in her
chat and even a tragedy in her own
life is tossed up for an instant or two
in her Kaleidoscope conversation
To illustrate her charmingly unfet-
tered spirit: She was telling of her
former play. Janice Meredith" about
which She and critics usually agreed
on the basis Of the plays utter worth
Iessness. 1T was TO be my first ap-
pearance in g western city of some i'm
portance." she said. and L was inter-
viewed by a reporter on an afternoon
paper. The result was printed the day
the play opened. Well, the reporter
quoted me correctly to the effect that
didn't like the piece. He said L said 1t
was horrid. You should have seen the
kilograms I received from managers
and friends and others interested in
my successH,I was called more differ
ent kinds of fool than even a critic
could be- Ny. how l was toasted But
it didn't seem TO make any difference
with the business we did in the town
People came to see the show, and
though they We're good enough to de-
clare they enjoyed their evenings en-
tertainment, they for the most part,
agreed with me that the play wasn't
worth my talents nor their time. So.
no harm was done after all"
To invade the home life of q person
is scarcely the business of an inter
viewer. but here's what Mary Manner
ing had to say about matrimony and
stage life.
1 asked. first:
DO you expect ever again to ap-
pear with James K. Hackett, your hus-
band?"
Well you see"
Of course, I understand that two
stars separated can double the income
Of one double STAR" / interrupted,
but do you not agree that it is too
bad for the stage to be robbed of the
coappearance of two stage leaders who
might make such an effective combina-
tion in a single productiong"
Commerce." she said, slowly and
thoughtfully. 'is not entirely to blame
for the separation of stars, even
though they are married. 1t is true,
of course, that when two persons, like
myself and Mr.. Hackett. head two diff
ferent companies, we can make more
money than we could together; but
that isn't the only side to the question.
A woman on the stage, as off, should
not leave her husband Conversely, a
man on the stage or Off should never