The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1909-04-30
A FAMOUS PLAYHOUSE
Old Orury Lane Has Outlived
Many Vicissitudes.
A PHENlX AMONG TnEATERS.

On the night of Feb. "a. 1909, as the
house of commons was engaged upor
rather important debate, sundry o.
the members observed through the
windows a faint red glow which even
tually 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 theateI
was alight, and SO great was the gen
eral concern at what was considered
almost a national disaster that q mo-
ton was made to adjourn the sitting
Sheridan, however, as Moore tells us
in 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-
ton as principal shareholder in the
thea ter-that whatever might be the
extent of the present calamity it would
not interfere with the public business
of the country" That his courage was
not daunted by so serious personal
disaster was proved by the fact that
he reopened a week later at the Ly.
ceum.
The destruction Of ''The Lane'-the
third building since it's foundation in
1663-was one of seven familiar dis
asters to London theaters In twenty
years; but, whatever else happened
Drury Lane must be rebuilt. Nor was
the decision on the part Of the pro-
prierors unbusinesslike in the least
degree, for Horace Walpole, under the
date Of 1851. tells us how on the day
appointed for the naturalization bill
1.-The house Of commons adjourned to
attend at Drury Lane, where 'Othello'
was acted by a Mr.. Debanal and his
family.
Drury Lane has passed through many
vicissitudes in the course Of its exist
ence. The first building was very un-
favorably described by Pepys, who
writes Of the discomfort caused by
rain that found its way through the
roof and drenched the occupants of
the pit and also the bad acoustic quail
tiles Of the place. Fire put an end to
these Inconvenience in 1872. The Sec
ond theater. which was designed by
Wren and opened in 1874, had a much
longer life, but was on two occasions
the scene of attempts upon the royal
family. In 1716 Freeman tried to shoot
the Prince OF Wales, who afterward
became King George H., and in 1906
George III. was the victim of similar
unsuccessful attack at the hands Of a
lunatic. 1t was this same building
which, as Walpole relates In one of his
letters, was the scene Of a lively dis
turbance in 1T44, 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 OF date that today
winter in London without pantomime
at Drury Lane IS almost Incredible.
The third building, which was open
ed in 1894, came to an untimely end,
as we haye 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 4heater, being desir-
Gus Of giving their new venture good
sendoff invited the public to submit to
competition suitable prologues, the
prize poem to have the honor Of being
publicly recited from the stage upon
the day Of opening. A host of writer's,
including many OF the best known
names In contemporary literature, re-
sponded to the invitation, and this
fact fortunately suggested to two
brothers, James and Horace Smith,
who were beginning to acquire a repu-
tn ton in the world Of letters, the no.
ton Of publishing anonymously a col
lection OF prologues parodying the
styles Of various living writer's Of re-
pute. As it was necessary that the
little volume should be issued in time
Tor the opening of the theater, the au-
thors were compelled to complete their
task In six weeks, but f. is doubtful
whether the quality of the work suf
fered much on this account Indeed, in
the preface to the eighteenth edition,
published in 1888, it is suggested that
the parodies gained rather than lost In
effectiveness by being struck off, as it
were, at white heat:
The success of 1.-The Rejected Ad-
dresses was Immediate and lasting.
The two brothers found that they had
leaped into fame at a bound, and the
famous authors whom they had so sue
cessfully held up to kindly ridicule
expressed their establishment at the
accuracy with which their peculiari-
ties of style and expression had been
reproduced. 1t was a notable achieve
ment. Byron, whose prologue won
the prize and was delivered in due
course on the Drury Lane stage, writ
ing to Murray, expressed his apprecia-
ton of the little volume that had made
such a stir in the world and in a sec
ond letter told him that he liked it
''better and better" jeffrey in 1S43
wrote that he took "The Rejected Ad-
dresses" to be the very best imita-
90 Df oIeN
that ever were made. But perhaps the
comment which pleased the authors
the most was that of a Lincolnshire
clergyman Quoted in the preface of
1889 to the effect that he did not see
why they should have been rejected.
Indeed, he thought some of them very
good. The reverend gentleman dis
played "a plentiful lack of humor in
this announcement, but there will be
few even today to quarrel with his
Cdgment-London Globe.