The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1909-05-07
A FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE
Old Drury Lane Has 0utIived
Many ViCiSSitudeS.
A PHENlX AMONG THEATERS,

on the night Of Feb. "a, 1909, as the
house Of commons was engaged upon
a rather important debate, sundry Of
the members observed through the
windows a faint red glow which even
tualIy became so alarming in its in
tensity as to interfere with the order
ly course Of the discussion. 1t was
not long before the news ran round
the benches that Drury Lane theater
WAS aight, and so great was the gen.
eraI concern ut what was considered
almost n national disaster that mo-
tion was made to adjourn the sitting.
sheridan. however, as Moore tells us
I'm his life Of the great orator, imme-
diately expressed the hope-with an
air Of detachment that did him the
greatest credit, considering his posi-
tlon as principal shareholder In the
theater-that whatever might be the
extent OF the present calamity 1t would
noe interfere with the public business
of the country" That his courage was
not daunted by so serious a personal
disaster was proved by the fact that
he reopened a week later at the Ly-
ceum.
yhe destruction OF "The Lane"-the
third building since its foundation in
lG63-was one of seven familiar dis
as ers TO London theaters in twenty
yelrs; but, whatever else happened,
Drury Lane must be rebuilt. Nor was
the decision on the part OF the pro-
pretors unbusinessike in the least
degree, for Horace WalpOle, under the
date Of 1851, tells us how on the day
appointed for the naturalization bill
"the house Of commons adjourned to
attend at Drury Lane, where 'Othello'
was acted by Mr. Debanal and his
family.
Drury Lane has passed through many
viCissitudCs in the course Of its exist
enre. The first building was very un-
fayorably described by Pepys, who
writes OF the discomfort caused by
rain that found its way through the
roof and drenchcd the occupants OF
the pit and also the bad acoustic quail
tiles of. the place. Fire put an end to
these incOnVenicnces In 1872. The sec
ond theater, which was designed by
Wren and opened in 1914, had a much
longer life, but was on two occasions
the scene Of attempts upon the royal
family In 171G Freeman tried TO shoot
the Prince of Wales, who afterward
became King George H., and in 1900
George III. was the victim Of a similar
unsuccessful attack at the hands Of a
luuatic It was this same building
which, rs Walpole relates in one Of his
Htcrs, was the scene OF lively dis
tuIbance in 1744, when an attempt
was made to Introduce pantOmime for
the first time. So great has been the
change of popular sentiment on this
point since that far off date that today
winter in London without pantomime
at Drury Lane is almost incredible.
The third building, which was open
ed i'm 1894, came TO an untimely end,
as we have seen, in 1909, and the inau-
guratiOn OF its successor three years
later was marked by an event of con-
siderable literary Importance. The
managers Of the theater, being desir-
Gus Of giving their new venture a good
ser rdofl. invited the public to submit to
competition suitable prOlogues, the
prize poem TO have the honor Of being
publicly reclted from the stage upon
the day of opening. A host of writer's.
including many OF the best known
names in contemporary literature, re-
spcnded TO the invitation, and this
fact fortunately suggested TO two
brothers, James and Horace Smith,
who were beginning to acquire a rcpu-
tatOn I'm the world Of letters, the no.
tlon Of publishing anonymously n col
lee ion Of prologues parodying the
styles Of various living writer's Of re
pu,e. AS IT was necessary that the
little volume should be issued in time
for the opening Of the theater. the au-
thcrs were compelled to complete their
task in six weeks, but it is doubtful
whether the quality Of the work suf-
ferhd much on this account. Indeed, I'm
the preface TO the eighteenth edition,
published in 1898 it is suggested that
the parodies gained rather than lost in
effectiveness by being struck of, as II
were, at white heat.
The success OF THE Rejected Ad-
dresses was immediate and lasting.
The two brothers found that they had
leaDcd into fame at bound, and the
famous authors whom they had so sue
cessfully held up to kindly ridicule
EXPRESSED their astonishmcnt ut the
accuracy with which their peculiari-
ties OF style and expression had been
reproduced. 1t was a notable achieve
melt. Byron, whose prologue won
the prize and was delivered I'm due
course on the Drury Lane stage, writ
ing TO Murray, expressed his apprecia-
tiOn OF the little volume that had made
such a stir I'm the world and I'm "A sec.
ono letter told him that he liked IL
'hCtter and better" Jeffrey I'm lSi3