Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-02-28
Barrels Play Is
offered First
Time i'm Stock

Shs
its beginnings in a short story Mr.
Barrie wrote several years ago and
which he called 1.-THE Little White
Bird" It was in Kensington Gardens
London, that Mr.. Barrie first heard
about Peter and promptly put him into
his book. But Peter Pan is not neces-
sarily an English boy. He lives in
every real boys mind, everywhere; just
as Wendy has her home back Of every
girls eyes, everywhere. For have not
we all Of us lived underground in the
Never, Never Land and fought pirates
on the deck of their own ship? OF
course we have, and SO, when you see
the play, you remember it is all true;
and the only problem you have to face
is how you ever happened to forget it
for so many years.
The truthful fairy drama that Mr..
Barrie has made out of his Little
White Bird story is like this: One
night Mrs. Darling was telling her three
children-Wendy, John and Michael
the tale of Cinderella, her fairy god
mother, the pumpkin that became a
coach and the handsome prince. Just
then Peter Pan happened along and
stopped to listen outside Of the window.
He couldn't hear very well, and so he
raised the sash just little ways. After
that he could hear better.
Now Peter Pan, though he was cap
tain of a brave band Of lost boys, had
no one to tell him stories, so he was
very hungry for the one Mother Oar
ling was telling. But she, not knowing
Peter was listening, closed the sash
suddenly, shutting Peters shadow in
side. So every night afterward Peter
came back, hoping to hear the rest Of
the story and hunting for his shadow,
which had been found and put away
in a bureau drawer.
One night aF'ther and Mother Oar
ling went away to a reception. Mother
Darling was afraid to leave the chill
dren alone, especially as Mana had told
on Father Darling's not taking his med
icine and had been chained in the yard
for punishment. Mana was a large dog
and an excellent nurse.
This was the chance Peter had been
waiting for. He climbed in at the
window, and with the help of Tinker
Bell-Tinker Bell was a fairy whom
mortals saw only as a. Pickering green
light-found his shadow. He, was try
ing to fasten it on with some soap
when Wendy woke up. Then Peter
learned that Wendy knew the rest of
InS STORY anu he pGTSudu6u u5I 10 ny
with him to his home in the woods so
she could tell it to the lost boys. And
just because Wendy could not leave her
brothers behind John and Michael were
taken along.
In the meantime all of Peters band
were sitting on the roof of their house
which was really the ground-Waiting
for Peter to come back. While they
waited the pirates came and sent the
hOITc h1yrY~IyiT1cr down CfoirG fhr01Tcr fhaiYs
tree-trunk doors. The pirates were
commanded by James Hook, who had
lost one hand to a crocodile The croco-
ollie liked the hand so much that he
followed Hook everywhere to get the
rest of him. Fortunately for Hook,
however, the crocodile had swallowed a
clock that kept ticking, and so the
pirate was always warned Of his
enemy's approach.
The ticking Of the clock drove Hook
and his band back to their ship just
in time to escape Great Big Little
Panther and his Indians. And then
Peter came home, bringing Wendy and
John and Michael. Wendy was elected
mother and the boys built a wonderful
house for her in the woods, with Johns
tall hat for chimney and the sole Of
Curlys shoe for a knocker.
After Wendy had put the boys to
bed she began to think that her mother
might shut the window so she could
not fly back. In fact, Peter said it was
very likely. So she invited all the boys
to accompany her back home at once
and to share her own mother. But as
they were starting off bravely, all but
Peter, they were captured by Hook and
his pirates and carried off to the ship,
the boys to walk the plank and Wendy
to be mother to the band. Hook even
poisoned Peters medicine, but Tinker
Bell drank the poison, and would have
died had not people in the. audience
assured Peter that they believed in
fairies.
Peter followed his captured children,
fought with the pirates until the decks
ran red with make-believe blood and
all the crew had been driven overheard.
And then Wendy and the boys went
to Wendy's home and found Father
Darling living in the dog kennel as
punishment for claiming Mana and
Mother Darling very sad at the loss
of her children.
Peter was invited to stay, but he
chose rather to live in the tree tops
with Tinker Bell for company and let
Wendy visit him once a year to do his
spring housekeeping.
The last the audience sees of Peter
is when he stands in the door of his
house, waving good by to Wendy,
while all of the trees are alive with
fairy lights and the whole air is filled
with fairy voices.
This is the play of "Peter Pan"
Maude Adams played it at local the
alter a year ago last summer, so that
it is not entirely strange to Los An
geles audiences.
Manager Oliver Morosco deserves,
and doubtless will receive, much cred
it for having been willing to make this
production without raising his prices
At the best he can hope for a very
small profit on the venture, as the
royalty on Peter Pan" alone is $175O
a week, and expenditures for other
purposes are correspondingly large.
1t is probable, however, that in in
direct returns Mr.. Morosco will be the
gamer by his enterprise and generos-
ity. Doubtless Peter Pan" will at
tract many persons to the Burbank
who are not in the habit Of patronizing
that theater regularly and who, pre-
sumably, know little about the quality
of the Burbank company These pa
irons will see an excellent play, ex-
pensively and artistically mounted, and
capably acted.
AS an advertisement, then, Peter
Pan probably will pay. But in direct
returns Mr.. Morosco cannot count,
with any confidence, upon a profit; not
because the play will not attract capac-
ity audiences, probably for considera-
bly, longer than a single week but be-
cause Of the tremendous expense en-
tailed.
The advance sale of seats in progress
during the past week at the Burbank
box office has broken all house rec
ords. Early in the week it became evil
dent that the demand for m tipae coats