Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-26
0HE Belasco Theater was the
scene of a strange contrast last
week. Upon the heels OF Tet-
razzini followed "a Certain

vHE Belasco Theater was the
scene Of strange contrast last
week Upon the heels Of Tet-
razzini followed "a Certain
Party" distinguished by an air
Of great uncertainty. The lovers OF song
reveled in the performance OF the great
soprano, whose personal moods. so ex-
pressive Of the Joy OF living, are second
in attraction only to her vocalization.
Indeed, there is no reason why she
should not in reality be as gay and
happy as the humble chorister must pre-
tsnd to be. "Merrily singing all the day"
should not be so difficult when nature
has made song q means of expression as
easy to her as speech is to ordinary
folk. And then there Is the cheering
realization that though her compensa-
ton for each appearance is at least
two dollars multiplied by a thousand,
her public finds no fault, and her man
aSer will, after handing her the pay
envelope, find enough remaining In the
treasury to compensate him for hts risk
and work Tetrazzinfs gown with the
submarine designs was not exactly con-
sdderate toward theater managers. 1t was
an insidieus reminder that the season for
playeoing cannot last indefinitely, and
that In a little while it viii be time to
70 fishing.
"a Certain Party was wonderful
revelation Of human endurance. There
10 no doubt in the world that the genial
ball player who appears in the cast has
wonderfully smart woman for wife.
Mabel IIite gets to work early in the
performance and never takes q minutes
vacation. She is peculiarly gifted enter
tainer, who rattles off the slang Of the
day and reproduces the gesture and pose
of sidewalk f1ipness, and yet manages
to hold certain poise which suggests
legitimate comedy. The vehicle hastily
flung together for her appearance did
no more than to overburden her with
responsibilities where she had a right
to look for occasional assistance. Her
mimicry of other players is vastly DIFF
ferent from and superior to the ordinary
experience-"I will next endeavor to give
you an imitation of-''and then comes
the blow! If any misfortune ever incapaci-
tates Eddie Foy, he should have no diff
ficulty about keeping the wolf from the
door. He has been for many seasons the
inspiration of limitations, and II each
member of the army Of next-endeavors
were to contribute something, the aggre-
gate would be fortune.
Miss Adelaide Thurston Is an actress of
exceptional personal beauty. but the play,
Miss Ananias'' Is another OF those crea-,
lions which should not be permitted to
wander out on the road without liberal
supply of assorted and revised metropolis
tan criticisms. It is q dire ordeal to see
a play Of less than average merit strug-
Cling along without the inspiring assur-
ance that its hilarity is SO intense that it
kept some Gotham reviewer awake for
nearly three consecutive hours. The thea
ter is dependent for its charm on the
most Intangible subt1eties Of suggestion
and the manager who does not provide
an initial upHft by distributing circulars
rsceunting a plays previous achieve
ments deprives the auditor Of something
that might help to disar1m reason and
thus enable him to enjoy himself. But
Miss Ananias was ruthlessly showed upon
the scene Impress noticed. OF course.
Miss Thurston is well and favorably
known In many, communities where sshe
has often appeared before cultured audi
ences. But this avails nothing. since she
has not yet run the gantlet OF the
thesauros on Broadway. Lacking the
moral support which philanthropy might
becomes necessary to aver frankly that
Miss Ananias' Is not a play Of absorb
Ing interest 1t is. mild. sunshiny and
spinsterly feminine. as II. Instead of be-
Ing written, it had been crocheted.
II the ladies Of the east in '-rhe Dollar
Princess" were Is efficient as the men.
the performance would be q record break
or in light opera But as the attraction
fills all the chairs In the theater, any
suggestion as to Improvement would be
without practical value; mere futile spec
ulation. The character studies In this
remarkably clever lyric entertainment
present two or three possibilities for stars
year hence. -.
PHI.ANDER JOHNSON.
EARLY HARDSHIPS.-Them many diff
ferent kinds of trunk mysteries and
scenes intr oduced in comedies and dramas
Of recent years, according to Sam Bern
ard are all bad limitations of the original,
a. enacted by him, many years ago, when
the various players as In the Oberam-
mergau productions were born for the
characters they portray and appeared
without grease paint to deceive you.
Many years ago Sam Bernard and his
brother Dick were looking for an engage
neut and their travels took them to Ho-
hoken, n. ]. A concert hall there. known
az Kronheim's Gardens, was conducted
by an irascible German. 1t contained q,
small stage. in front Of which was vast
area of tables. at which drinks were
served Brothers Sam and Dick made
their application to the proprietor and ar
ranged for a tidal performance. For
samples they presented a German act
and an Irish act" and to show their
great versatility each did a single turn,
at the finish of which the manager In
quired OF brother Sam how much he
wanted Twenty dollars answered the
embryo actor, unsmilingly. Sign the
book" said the manager. His system
was simplicity itself. He never signed
any contracts. When he engaged q per-
former he had him write his name In his
book and the agreed salary oppo-
site. Sam. as he was signing for both
himself and brother Dick. wrote in the
Aforesaid book Bernard Brothers,, and
as natural consequence wrote the
amount of $40 opposite the name. fgur-
ing that he wanted his brother to receive
just as much as he did.