The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-11-20

vanity Fair" was about the "doz-
enth" that had been made from that
g1tterfng novel and as the name of
Langdon Mitchell had never been
neard or before, it was generally pre-
sumed that he would meet the same
disastrous fate that nuo overtaken
the former intrepid playwrights and
near playwrights who had attempted
70 stage that masterpiece Of Eng
ilsn satire. OF course, the announce
ment. that the dramatization would
be produced by Mr. and Mrs. Fiske
mad some eject as it was granted
that there must have been some I'M
usual qualities in the manuscript, to
have enlisted their attention and
again there was considerable inter
ested curiosity as to Mrs. Fishes as
sumption of the role of Becky
Sharp" She had reached her posi-
ton Of prominence through her works
In emotional roles, the public of that
meagre fraction of it who saw it, hav-
ing forgotten her exquisite Gomez.
performance of Cyprienne in ''Di-
vorcons."
That ten years ago first-night f1n-
ally arrived, year or more after the
original announcement of the play,
and a brilliant one it proved to be.
Mrs. Fiske amazed everybody as
Becky" Maurice Barrymore gave
performance as "Rawdon,' the
guardsman, that soon won all New
York and Augustus Cook. was the
scheming. sneering, villionous Mar
quis OF Steyne to the last detail The
"production" of the play marked the
greatest strides in that direction in
the history of the stage Mechanical
difficulties hitherto unsurmountab be
had been overcome and in the stage
management results were obtained
! that absolutely revolutionized that de-
partment OF play production. The
expert and wonderfully effective han
ding of the great ensemble scene of
the Duchess of Richmond's ball was
| the first revelation of the possibili-
| ties of such scene. Up to that time
scenes requiring a large ensemble
| were invariably a great trial but that
in Becky Sharp" proved a sensa-
ton. It was the first sane and con-
vincing scene of the kind that play
goers had ever witnessed and it has
been model ever since. The play
| ran on for week after week, finishing
| out the season and reopening the
| next with Tyrone Power. replacing
: Augustus Cook, as the Marquis. AT
ter five years Mrs. Fiske revived the
play at what was then her own thea
| tire, the Manhattan. with John Mason
| George Arliss and Frank Mcintyre in
the cast. There was no intention
of playing it more than week or
two as it was not supposed that its
! old time popularity would be revived
] but it was and the production of
J the new play which was in rehearsal
! was postponed again and again until
practically the last week before the
| date Of production fixed by contract
| At different times Mrs. Fieke has
since appeared in it and when she
was selecting her repertoire for her
long tour of the country last summer
and this season, she selected Becky
as her principal play as It had never
been seen in a majority of the cities
on her route. Her selection is said
to have been eminently wise for the
public response has been gratifying
to the last degree.
| Mrs. Fiske will appear at the Opera
House on November 20.
| Feathers Make Whiskers.
When Cecil Yapp, who plays the
role of the cat in "The Blue Bird
now at The Majestic Theatre, came