The Washington herald., 1911-05-21
NEW STOCK COMPANY.

The new stock company which will be
gin a summer engagement at the Be
lasco Theater tomorrow evening il
Peter Pan," has selected "The Vaga
bonds as the name Of their organiza
ton. This name was suggested by thu
old English statute. in force In Shake
speare's time, which classed the grea
poet, and all his illustrious contempora
ries, who were also actors. as rogue:
and vagabonds." The days when the
actor was an outcast are long since gone
but THE .Vagabonds" confess a desire
to create new and pleasanter associa
toms for this old term, so long used az
one of reproach.
The announcement Of Peter Pan" a.
the initial attraction, suggests the policy
which The Vagabonds'' will pursue in
the selection of their plays. Their roper.
toire, it is said, will be composed ex-
clusively Of plays which. by popular sue.
cess and critical approval. are entitled
to a permanent place as the best ex-
amples of their respective types. The
offerings will not be confined to any one
type of play. Variety has been sought,
and romances, fantasies. melodramas
and light comedies will all have a share
in the repertoire.
The company has been organized pri-
marily with a view to the presentation
Of modern classics. The members OF
The Vagabonds'' are actors Of expert
ence and are capable Of finished. we'll
rounded performances.
Lionel Belmore Is the manager of the
company and will have full charge of
the productions. These will be made
upon an elaborate scale. For example,
the production Of Peter Pan is one OF
such magnitude and its royalties are so
large, that very few stock companies
have been willing to undertake It, George
Duffy has been engaged as the COM
pany's scenic artist and will be a most
important member of the organization.
Lionel Belmore is especially well fitted
for the exacting position of stage-direc-
tor. In later years he has devoted the
greater share of his time to stage direct
ing, and, in addition, Is an actor of tried
ability. For fifteen years he was a men,
Der of the company of Sir Henry Irving,
in the capacity of actor and stage
manager. OF late years he has been in
America. and has served as stage direc.
tor for Olga Nethersole, William Faver-
sham. and many others.
Many OF the company are already we'll
established Washington favorites. Fuller
Mellish has played three stock engage
nents in this city. He is one OF the
best character actors on the stage and
has long record Of successes to his
credit In the support OF such great actors
as Edwin Booth. Henry Irving. and Mary
Anderson. And more recently he has
been prominently identified with the COM
panies Of Viola Allen. Mrs. Fiske, and
Eleanor Robson.
Other Washington favorites are Mrs.
Hopkins. formerly Violet Vivian, who
played leading roles last summer at the
Belasco with the Ben Greet company;
Florence Huntington. a Washington girl,
VINO was last year a member of the
Columbia Stock Company: Gertrude Au-
garde, who has played in this city before
in stock. and Charles Hopkins. who will
be remembered for his excellent work
here last summer.
Other members of The Vagabonds"
are Mrs. Nelson Wheatcroft, Emmett c.
King, Stanhope Wheatcroft. Sam Hines,
and Vera Mellish. All have long records
OF good work. both in stock companies
and in the support of leading stars. with
the exception of Miss Mellish. who makes
her stage debut in Peter Pan" Fuller
Mellish's daughter and a granddaughter
Of the famous English actress. Rose lie
Clercq, she comes of one of the Oldest
and most prominent stage families in
England.
The members of the company have
been rehearsing daily at the Belasco
rheater during the past week and had
had a week of rehearsaIs before they left
New York Under these circumstances
smooth performance OF Peter Pan is
10 be expected. The production will en-
list the services OF large number of
extra people, and Juliette and Margaret
Shelby, two clever child actresses, have
been engaged for this OCCASION.