The Washington herald., 1912-03-24
NOTES OF THE STAGE

little French woman was soon placed un-
der contract, and she is now here, as
she says, Ito stay"
"sumurun" has concluded its twelve
weeks engagement at the Casino, and
will play a limited tour before the Ger
man actors return TO Berlin. This word
less play, by Max Reinhardt. win con-
| tinue on tour next season. Gertrude
| Hoffman is said TO have made an offer
! to tour to the Coast in ''sumurun."
"The Greyhound" now in its second
month at wagenhals & Kemper's
Astor Theater, New York, is a stipend
Gus production scenically. There are
four realistic stage pictures showing
various parts Of the great ocean steam
ship Mauritania at sea These include
the hurricane deck. the promenade deck,
the smoking room, and the grand sa-
loon. To see THE Greyhound is said
to be as good as an ocean voyage.
New York theatergoers have capitu-
lated to wagenhals & Kemper's great
scenic play, The Greyhound" now rum
ming at their Astor Theater. The ad-
vance sale is said to be the largest in
the history OF the theater. even excelling
| the record made by Paid in Full" So
great Is the demand for seats that they
are selling ten weeks in advance.
New York leaders Of fashion are
thronging to the Astor Theater, where
wagenhals & Kemper's production Of
| the ocean-going play. THE Greyhound"
is q sensation. A line Of automobiles Is
in evidence at every performance, and
Lent seems TO have no effect upon the
| enormous business being done by this
unusual and out OF the ordinary play
OF character and incident.
Grace George and her company are
hard at work on the new play by Bayard
VeIIler called within the Law" which
| is TO be produced outside New York just
after Easter for fortnight. and then
| shelved until next season. There will be
| & large company, made up entirely Of
American players. inasmuch as the char
acters are all ito the manner born"
The demand for seats for Little wom-
en-" in Minneapolis last week was so far
in excess Of the supply that an extra
morning, and took place at 10 o'clock,
making three performances for that day
and ten for the week of six days.
Bought and Paid For" has passed its
225th performance at William A. Brady's
Playhouse, in New York, and there
seems to be no such thing as reckoning
| how many more times II will be played
! before Mr. Brady concludes that his
] company has earned a rest The thea
ter always is filled to the limit.
over Night" which is drawing large
houses at the Adelphi Theater, Philadel-
Phia, is to break into next mont. in that
city, and then will go to Washington for
week by special request of a high off,
| cial parsonage who has not seen the
comedy. but has heard much about 1t.
| and spoke to Mr.. Brady on the subject
when the manager was visiting the Ma
tIonsl Capital the other day. TIL shift
the route so you can see the piece" said
Mr.. Brady. The high dignitary thought
1t was n joke, but he will have a chance
to see over Night" just the same.
Jessie BonsteIle. to whose eight years
persistency is due Little women's"
! transference from the covers OF a book
to the stage, will manage two stock
companies this spring and summer. head
ing one of them herself and placing Nor
man Hackett at the top OF the other.
The organizations are to play in Roches-
ter, Buffalo. and Detroit, where Miss
Bonstelle has a most enviable reputation
and following.
Robert MantelI. whose far Western
tour with his Shakespeare repertoire has
been a series of ovations has reached
Minneapolis on his way home. At this
point he crosses the trail of the Sothern-
Marlowe alliance, and there is more
Shakespeare excitement at that particular
spot just now than has been noted any
where else in the United States in years.
"Bunty Pulls the Strings at the Com
edy Theater in New York, is chasing
along close after Bought and Paid For
| in the matter of number of city perform
ances. Its 125th repetition will occur next
week, and there is yet to be a night
when there were not more applications
for seats than there were seats.
One of Augustus Thomas cardinal prin-
| cipIes in rehearsing a company for the
performance of one of his plays is that
a good actor is a carefully fed actor.
Usually theatrical companies are re-
hearsed from at least 10 in the morning
until 5 in the afternoon. Most stage
| directors and managers object to any
intermission for luncheon because the
| company returns from a midday meal
| heavy and unresponsive. But Mr.. Thom-
as point of view is just the opposite.
! His contention is that for a company to
| go without luncheon three or four days,
| rehearEing all the while, may not make
much differeuce-for three or four days.
But on the opening night" says Mr..
| Thomas, "One of the most sensitive parts
of the human organism, the spot most
likely to be affected by bad nerves, is
the stomach. Many q play has failed or
an adequate first performance because
its company. after being denied the op-
portunity OF midday meals for weeks at
viduals with deranged stomachs; and
hence. deranged nervous systems" 1t
was during the hour taken on for lunch
| con for the rehearsal OF his newest COM
edy. when II Comes Home" that Mr..
| Thomas explained his pet theory for the
proper treatment Of actors. And" add
ed the playwright. 'as a supplement TO
this practice invariably I make IL a rule
to employ the morning for emphasis and
the afternoon for re-emphasis Because
in the morning tlbat Photographic plate,
which is the actors brain. is most SEN
str1zed, most receptive % points, whereas
In the afternoon II is less receptive, but
sufficiently alert for the restatement and
re-emphasis OF points laid down in the
morning.
Like. everybody associated with the
theater, Augustus Thomas has his super
stitIons. Mr.. Thomas does not call them
superstitions; he speaks az them as a
prudent regard for the bridges that bring
llaN+r ferI.k -