New-York tribune., 1911-03-05
ABOUT ''EVERYNOMAN"
Henry w. Savage Discusses His
Latest Production.


dared 20 spend $4,000 out OF his own pocket
70 Give what he considers the most ade-
ousto nrescntation possible of modern
1,oraIitv play." He felt sure this piece
would be. TO use ilis own words. either
craze or a nat failure The man who mas
risked so much is Henry w. Savage ana
The play is "Everywoman." by Waiter
Browne. II is now being acted at the Her
aid Square Theatre.
MIR. Savage is said to be man VINO does
not like to put himself forward lie Is
ordinarily the most inaccessible or men
where newspaper reporting Is concerned
lie was persuaded however. to make an
exception TO his usual practice and give 10
the readers of The Tribune some indication
of the time. thought and care that have
heen put into the production of EVERY
woman
walter Browne brought his play to
yo, one night in February. 1910, Mt.
savage said. "He suggested that he read
q 10 me. I told him that ] couldn't spare
the time and asked him 20 leave the manu-
seript. He hesitated He fondled the
n,snuscript. could see that he didnt want
10 part with it, but he finally did and went
away. 1 read the play and was much I'M
pressed by it And l accepted II.
Mr.. Browne had worked on the play
or and on for ten years. HIS loea
was 10 present it in simple fashioh
anG at small expense. using three pam
interiors; cottage theatre stage ana
woman's apartment My idea was 10 give
it the benefit Of every resource of the mou-
erh stage and 10 bring 10 it that lavishnesS
of detail which is characteristic OF Ire IN
the great cities Of to-day And we began
20 work together on that basis. We de-
cided 10 have all the characters modern
except Nobody and Truth, for whom we
wished 20 preserve the medieval models
I had the greatest difficulty in finding some
ore TO play the name part. Everywoman
talked with twenty women in England
three in Berlin and 4 score or more here
wanted an actress who could speak blank
verse, who is beautiful who had dramauc
strength and the poetic quality. You may
he sure that she was very difficult 10 find
! finally selected Miss Laura Nelson Han.
The next part that gave me the most
trouble was Youth. ] tried forty people.
had each one pose before black screen;
each one was sketched for q costume just
az IL she were TO have the part 1t was two
months before ! decided upon Miss Patricia
Collnge once having determined upon the
types for NOBODY and Truth, which we
agreed should be impersonated by actors OF
the formal school, ! had no trouble in get
ting the players. ] knew or only one actor
in the country for Nobody-Mr. II. Cooper
CHne. whom / engaged. Mrs. Sarah Coweil
lie Moyne fortunately agreed to be Truth.
The selection Of an actor for Wealth
was a matter of considerable concern. !
wanted a man who when he spoke of a
house i'm Fifth avenue. yachts and a cot
tage at Newport would look If lie
had been accustomed to them. ! wanted a
connoisseur and gourmet Frederic de
Bellevnle was the best man / could find
I'm England or America. Actors for Time
and Age were difficult TO find. For Time,
the venerable call boy, 1 wanted man
who without word to say, could walk
across the stage with dignity and not Gre
ate a laugh.
"The people. 7 felt. must appeal to the
eve The young woman who plays Beauty
IS beautiful: Modesty is modest; Dimples
has dimples and Curls has curls Each one
was selected because Of a specific charac-
teristc.
Il wanted my production TO be realistic
in all points SO my acolytes in the church
scene in the fourth act are in reality what
they seem. Charity. the minister, who sings
so beautifully in the funeral procession OF
Youth. is impersonated by the bass solo
ist Of an Episcopal Church choir.
MY head waiter i'm the restaurant scene
knows his business. which Is not acting.
He hasn't word 10 say and he Is far
back on the stage. but MS tables are set as
they would be in a restaurant.
In the supper scene in Act III the knives
are gold plated Real grapefruit and
chicken are served This Is not so much
because Of it's effect on the audience, but
for its influence on the players
"The music Of the piece, Mr.. Savage
was that composed entirely by George
Whitefell Chadwick
Yes Mr.. Browne read his play TO Mr..
Chadwick and Mr. Chad wick became very
much interested. lie wanted TO write the
music as labor Of love, but ] could not
accept such a sacrifice. Mr.. Chadwick s
music was finished at Christmas time. II
wonderfully enhances the value OF the play
and does not interrupt the action. The
solos of Conscience, Passion and Charity
help the flight OF the imagination and
strengthen the authors meaning. Each lit
tie bar Of the incidental music Is &d-
mrablv suited to the action Of the piece
Your costumes-were they all made IN
this country
''Yes. I had one set made in Paris, but
changed my mind regarding the designs
and had new ones made here. Special
effort was required 10 make the costumes
indicative OF the characters. Greed was
dressed in a tiger skin. Vanity's decoration
was a bird Of paradise and Self was or-
namented by cas- heads Wealth's even
ing clothes were exaggerated i'm style. The
coattails were long and the cuffs and col
lar were OF velvet. Vice was dressed in
green"
Were there any features OF your stage
settings that were difficult 10 deyise?'
YES; the large mirror in which Flat
terys image appears This is a German
invention II is composed OF two pla,e
glass mirrors set parallel TO each other
and back 10 back F1attery stands in front
Of the rear mirror and by double refra
his image is seen by the audience In the
front mirror when Everywoman looks in
the glass As Flattery stands he talks
through the two plates. Hence his voice
sounds remote. While the action OF the
piece takes place the figures are repre-
duced in the mirror and seen from the
auditorium. IL was very difficult to adjust
this mirror so that the orchestra and parts
OF the audience were not reflected
In your Broadway scene did you aim
not 10 reproduce IN detail any particular
portion of the street,"
YES. We tried 10 give just an indication
OF the locality-the subway station the tall
buildings. etc. We did however. reproduce
t,e Little Church Around the Corner