Evening star., 1909-08-29
Only a Few of Them

Only Few of Them
7 HAVE had to take off my hat to only few men
such occasions, at that For there only a
few in the country to-day who successfully carry
musical comedy through its various stages OF in
cubation and launch it. completely hatched on its
f1edgling To put it broadly, should say
that there are fifteen men who possibly, stage
musical comedy thoroughly in every detail. There
not more than ten who certainly do it. When
you stop to consider that there are from fifty to
seventy-hve musical comedies produced in New
York and Chicago every season, you can easily fig
out the amount of work each one of these ten
must do
The Stage Manager supply is, indeed SO limited
that now and then musical comedy star conceives
that if he wishes to have his piece well put on the
stage he must do it himself. When this happens
there is sure to be something worth seeing.
Three or four years ago one of the best known
stars undertook to do without the services of Stage
Manager. It hilarious occasion for those not
too seriously concerned in the matter but for those
intimately connected with it there JOY per-
ceptibe. By the end of the first week the star had
taught the entire company to act like him. had tried
to rewrite the book three four times, had dis
charged the musical director and most of the chorus
and that he could scarcely tell which
act he rehearsing In attending to the details of
stage management he would forget his lines. and
in picking up his lines would forget the stage man
agement.
At the end of the second week he gave it up and
called in real Stage Manager who discharged most
of the remainder of the company, took the star into
the property room and talked seriously to him, put
the book back into somewhere near the condition it
had originally been, and brought the piece to
cessful opening in fortnight If the star had con-
tinued as Stage Manager, doubt II the play would
ever have been produced.
Richard Burnside on Vacation
there is indefatigable worker than
Richard H. Burnside last responsible for the
gigantic productions at the New York H1ppodrome
and for several years previous general Stage Manager
fort ShubertS
in connection with any one production as he did with
the Hippodrome show for he not only created every
detail of the complex pictures but he wrote the en-
tire entertainment from beginning to end Sporting
Days. THE Battle in the Clouds, and all, and
ceved and arranged the great ballet of the birds.
Yet declare, he said, recently, putting that
whole show on and handling the four hundred people
in it, wasn't circumstance to staging the average
musical comedy. | had no stars to combat no au-
thors to worry me, no anybody but myself 1t was
a vacation. I'd like to do nothing but such things as
that!'
Burnside's idea of vacation would strike some
people as odd. Working from fourteen to eighteen
hours day for three months does not somehow
the ideal way of resting. But work Burnsldes
joy. He is bundle of nerves, this thin, blue eyed
young person. Nervous energy fairly flashes from
him and affects everyone around him. From the
moment he takes charge of the rehearsals of musi
cal play until the curtain has fallen the last scene
of the opening performance he is absolutely treess
| have seen him, hot summer day, when he had
been rehearsing the company off their feet since
morning, insist their coming back in the evening
and keeping at it until away into the middle of the
night. The company would have been in open
mutiny but for the energy of Burnside. 1t in
fectious and nobody seemed to notice the fatigue
long as he himself showed sign of it.
He is as changeabe as he is nervous. l recall
piece of which he part author called "Fascinat-
ing Flora" The final to the first act was mock
grand opera effect. Hours and hours days and days.
had been spent getting it into shape Louis Har-
rison Adele Ritchie Frederic Bond Ada Lewis, and
others of the principals in it. and all the chorus
Gustave Kerker had written most elaborate music
for it. and the orchestration had all been made In
fact, it was the day before the piece to open.
All day the company had been rehearsing this