The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-15

them. before the strange face. burned
a candle, watching It until IL guttered.
II was the impromptu tribute OF the
woman who acted in Under Two
Flags" to the woman who wrote It.
New Role for Grsee ChiIders.
Little Grace childers. who IS Just
one lump of sweetness In the support
of Yorke aud Adams In playing the
Ponies" and scored the Individual hit
during the New York run of this at
traction at the Circle Theatre. looked
so good to Manager Nirdlinger that he
promptly engaged her to play the part
of Eileen oFlynn in The Mayor OF
Laughiand."
Patricia 0'Brien's Dress.
Because OF a superstitious belief that
1T is unlucky to discard anything that
has figured In a stage success, Rose
Stahi the Patricia O'Brien of James
Forbes's comedy, The Chorus Lady" IL
today wearing the same dress that she
used In the original sketch four years
ago. It has done duty not only in
America, but In England. Scotland and
ireland. The skirt. which is one OF
cheap satin, boasts of dozen patches.
while the tan coat which IL a part
OF the costume. has been refined eight
times. This costume has been copied
Tor OaZa4I DOLLS, 8fndL60E lIuit4bt0Ap VI
Patricia O'Bfien by society women. and
also by imitators of noted stage peo-
pie. such as Cecilia LOTUS. Elsie Janis.
Blanche Ring. Hattie Williams. and .
number Of others.
To Appear In Shakespeare.
Messrs Hazelton and North are
making the most serious, welI-consid-
cred and adroitly managed EFFORT TO
establish new Shakesperean star that,
has been made in a number OF years.
Henry Ludlowe, who has Just closed .
highly successful engagement. 0otn
financially and artisticaily, at the Hijou
Theatre in New York. where he pre-
scented the ..Merchsnt of Venice" and,
..gsichard III."rss an actor remarkably
well equipped In voice. figure and train
ing for o Shakesperean actor OF the
His voice in both plays was beyond
ALI expectaticns, and only proved that
New Workers are still as anxious to see
shakespeare properly presented as they
ever were. The audiences taxed the
loves reception was enthusiastic In tne
extreme.
w,.e words by N. O. Goodwin.
The public is indebted to Mr.. Charles
Darnton for having saved and puolsn-
ed in The New York World the Sot-
loving remarks, made to him by N. G.
Goodwin, relative to the conoiton OF
the contemporary stage;
Acting is a joke today, and the
stage nothing but big business en-
tarDrise, I understand that OTIS SKIN
ner has put himself on record as say
Ing that the old time actor wouldn't
be tolerated today. That's q strange
abatement for any one to make. Fer
hAa hA@m Kn0CKtH1
al New York's gate, and now that he
has got through at last he becomes i'm
pudent He has evidently forgotten
few actors who would be tolerated
today Il they were still on earth. Take
Garricl and Kean; ! guess they were
a couple of 'stiffsr And to come along
with a few more. has he forgotten
booth. Barrett, John MCCULLOUGH.
Charles Thorne. Charles Coghlan,
James w. Wallack. Jefferson, John p.
owens and a lot OF others? Does ne
imagine that they wouldn't be able to
adapt themselves to the times? I'd
like to take the portraits OF twenty
I'VE told timers and line 'em up with
the pictures OF an equal number OF
present day actors, and then let q
committee OF our Intelligent theatre
goers draw their own opinion. don't
think 1t would agree with Mr.. Skin
ner's.
Now I'm . fairly good comedian.
but I'm no more to be compared with
John r. Owens. for instance, than Mar
shall p. Wilder IL to be compared with
me. Where we once had actors we
now have personalities. The theatre
no longer deals in art. It's bust
ness house, run on strictly business
principles. It Is controlled by speeu-
lators. II an author in France or In
England happens to write a good play,
- a. - -. Il.
a 1--WE years option on his brain. It Is
not a matter of selection, it's a busi-
ness scheme to corner the market. The
actor has no opportunity to choose his
play. He Is obliged to take what the
speculator gives him. The so-called
manager regards him as a purely bust
ness proposition. The author, too, has
become a business man. The moment
he writes q successful play he begins
to think Of royalties. He goes to the
SPECTATOR and arranges terms for his
future work, and the specuiator Is
obliged to produce his work.
This is the authors carnival. What
docs he give in return for his pronte?
Well. Fitch writes plays for milliners.
He might write plays for men. IL II
were the fashion for men to wear ear
rinKs and corsets.
The Witching Hour is a great play
and Augustus Thomas IL our greatest
playwright. He is an author OF the
soil. George Broadhurst writes good
farce. but New York doesn't seem to
like the play he wrote for me. You
never can tell about Nav York. 1t isn't
blase, and II wants to be courteous
but sometimes 1t doesn't know how.
On the road they liked The Fastener
immensely But New York doesn't like
a rural play-at least. not above Four
teenth Street. Dennaan Thompson can
still pack the Academy OF Music with
The Old Homestead and I belieye
Warfield could do the same down fhere
with "A Grand Army Man. Now am
best in a frock coat and dress suit
but I have the fatal gift of variety, ana
whenever an author sets out to write
a play for me he seems to feel that he
must make me not one thing, but
little bit of everything. He gives me
a part that is a composite OF everv- |
thing I've ever played. Out on the
road as I said. they liked the play, and
the company gave a good performance
But the moment we got within 100 |