The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-17
MAKING STARS OUT OF STUFF
VAN ATHEATRIClL BLOOuER
~ THE ~ aWERTIuE.
nut Great lnds, IdsaI Names Are What the
NaRaGers want. Isreauss the siork
company sSstrm HAS AbOai Fallen
to Pieces Before the New innueaee.


stars are in preparation 20 spring fully
armed with dra matte talent. irre~istibly
attractive personalities and "a ilure proof
plays from the brains IL the omniscieni
theatre mana gers who discerned theii
latent genius and said -O such s'un
stars are made II - only after the
company has closed and the manager
finds himself a few thousands of dollars
ont % pocket that he IL likely to say
that such stars are stuff-. ar words "a
that discouraged eject.
There are 10 course stars that discover
themselves and cost their managers
nothing They are expensive only 70
themselves or their hackers. One of
them wanted job last week in roOf
garden show and tea rfullv said her one
brief fling as a star had cost her saS 600
/ ont 10 this kind their managers loee
nothing They may in fact be quite
profitable There are printing and book
! ing charges and percenta ges ~ various
kinds
No. the mana gers never quarrel with
these stars They never could have
} uinrrell.d With this star when with a
tear in her voice she said that her hIs-
| band had heen compelled tn take n job
a. an automobile demonstration. since
that was all he could do and he had no
aut omohile- 80 his own since she had
been a star
a manager never made a star Daniel
Fruhman said the other day to THH SrN
reporter who asked him how IL was that
the star crop promised TO bn larger than
aver this year There never was time
when the mere placing 81 a mans or a
woman's name IN three sheet made
him ar her = star. II il the public that
makes the star The only star that ever
survived a SEASON had some pull on the
public or unlimited hacking
I'm tell Won n little story 10 prove that
Last winter a young star landed in Clsve-
land the dav ~ the blizzard She had
never acted there before. II took two
horses 20 get her TO the theatre which
was only a block from her hotel That
week she played to 80 Ioo Now she has
often come in for criticism a. a star who
had no right To- that claim That week
in Cleveland az not larga than a number
Of other weeks. and in fact her receipts
often ran way above that | am merely
citing th2t a. an instanc. Of a star that
vas made by the public
Z The manager who in the face Of
criticism made that woman a star in fact
a. well a. in her popularity after she had
been on the stage only a few years did
a public service and was uncommonly
acute in telling what the public wanted.
which j. after all thu business ~ the
theatre manager
1T - often said that the public interest
IN personalities ia this country makes the
star essential II has done more than
that II has made the stock company
impossible | b.lirva ha' the NeW
Theatre will after a few years he com
peeled ~ facs this difficulty However
excellent ia ensemble performances may
he. its audiences are after a while going
to begin To ask for stars Then stars on
the road serve another purpo-. for their
managers
There ar. few theatres left now in this
city with anything like a definite policy.
yet the public knows appro ximately what
sort of shows to expect there la the
cities outside New York. however. there
~ a complete change every week IL
NAV IL musical comedy for seven DAYS.
to h. follow 10y a tragedy Now the
name Of a star ~ a certain guarantee Of
the name Of man or woman they know
u IN a distinguishing mark for the enter r
tainment n its Billie Burke they know
its not a musical fArce. or 10 its Ethel
Barrymore they know What TO expect
That is one great aid tO the theatrical
mana ger On the road
Then there 10 the vahIa Of abe star
to he play Everybody knows how hard
il - to get hold Of good PLAYS Who
az mh - nj - WI aF
Adams IL announced People jIst 20
for the sake OF seeing Maude Adams
Take Mid -Channel for instance. and ses
how much tA1t play gained from the
popularity Of Ethel barrymore Ia ~
4 gloomy. sordid drama. and | don't
think that the world 10 much attracted
nowadays by such works 40 the
character Of the piece which might he
a disadvantage 10 cOunteraCied by the
popularity Of the star That ~ one OF
ing to find tn" n ght sort Of stars that IL.
the kind that tho public will receive as
such. not tho~e that ray for the privilege
or fade way after a short time
How young star who had been but
two years in that position could attract
such large audiences IN towns she had
never appeared IN puzzled tho reporter
and he nsked how II was done
The people had heard q; her from New
York Mr. Frohman said They had
-..en her pictur's and their friends had
told them about her that in PARTICULAR
Of cour~c the advance. sale did not amount
io more than 5000. and II she had not
PLEASED the people who saw her the r,.-
,,nipis would hav. stuck around that
figure: but when she showed the ts.opl..
Of Cleveland that she was iust a. g,pod q.
they had heard she was they nock-d 10
the theatre blizzard or no blizzard
or course youth and beauty re- very
potent factors ~ the sIccrs- % n woman
star and on. reason for that ~ tho adj
vertizing Sh. gets for nothing II sh..
happens 10 be- rrally beautiful or take.
a picture that seems Ia be beautiful
The magazines ar delighted to print her
picture IA often NJ her manager can send
them " she u good looking. aud that AZ
once makes her well known from one
end of the country iO the other Then
ne people ARE always Interested ia youth
Managers ara not always likely 90 re-
memtsr that. On~' I asked a prominent
dramattsf IL write n play for INV stock
company NJ the old Lyc,rIm
II cant write a piece for those nidsil..
aged players 81 yours. he said. I'D rather
write for young people ! was quite in
dignant at the time but ! realized i'm "A
minute that what he said was tr,Ie NV
company and had i,>en getting old