The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-02-09
SOME GOSSIP OF THE
THEATRICAL WORLD
ny PAUL COOK

dies that are being whipped into
Shape" preparatory to southern tours,
may be mentioned "The Seminary
Girl" with Knute Erickson as the
star, and "a Knight for Day." with
captivating Janet Priest featured.
Boyle Voolfolk, the man who claims
To have originated the tabloid" idea,
has been highly successful in giving
the public a, new form of entertain
ment. He plans to have some of his
companies out during the summer
months He will find the south In
receptive mood. Summer vaudeville
is apt to be rather slow at times and
as a steady diet is not so attractive
to the majority of theatre patrons as
the so-called "girl show"
Fairy plays are enjoying great pop
uiarity nowadays. In addition to the
revival of "Peter Pam 1.-THE Good
Little Devil" and "The Poor Little
Rich Girl" have recently been very
successful. while the new Children's
theatre in New York has been cater
ing to the wee folk with plays that
fascinate their elders also. Both "The
Good Little Devil" and "The Poor
Little Rich Girl" are unique forms of
stage entertainment and while they
NAV lack the subtilties that lurk in
the immortal "Peter Pan," they are
nevertheless noteworthy attempts to
conquer in a difficult field of play
writing. Both are admirably acted,
according to all reports.
David Warfield is said just now to
be the hero of the hour in the scenes
Of his early days on the Pacific coast.
Mr.. Warfield is playing in "The Re-
turn of Peter Grimm" and the recep~
tion accorded him in San Francisco
attests the popularity of native
son." Mr.. Warfield began his the
atrical career in the far west and his
beginning was SO extremely modest
that no one ever dreamed he would
some day occupy an enviable place on
the American stage. 1t is not every
Glow comedian" who wins to such
lofty heights. The play Mr. Warfield
is using now does not compare in
dramatic value with "The Music
Master" but David Belasco and David
Warfield have made a play convincing
whose chief character is none other
than ghost, if ghost can be called
a character.
The big business done in Birming-
ham by such theatrical stars as Eddie
Foy and Weber and Fields proves be-
yond doubt that southern theatre
goers are willing to patronize any
form of entertainment that promises
to be worth while. The Jefferson
theatre, when these celebrities came
to town, was filled to overflowing and
the only reason a great many more
seats were not sold was the fact that
they were not available. On one
occasion the late Wright Lorimer
played rather disastrous return en-
gagement in Birmingham with "The
Shepherd King" but MIR. Lorimer had
already exhausted the drawing power
of his play in Birmingham and while
it is true that he offered to the public
splendid dramatic spectacle, it was
not in every sense of the word sue
cess. Besides, there is no gainsaying
the fact that majority of the people
in this country who contribute most
literally to the support of theatres
want to be amused. The idea of hav-
ing their feelings "all wrought up"
does not appeal to the majority of
business men," who are presumably
tired in the evening, and even their
wives don't care as much as they used
to care for the tear compelling drama
Charlotte Walker recently played in
Birmingham in "The Trail of the
Lonesome Pine" a dramatization of
John Fox's novel, made for her use
by her husband, Eugene Walter. The
impression created here by Miss
Walker and her play was very favor
able. Without going too deeply into
an analysis, few local patrons of
theatres who are somewhat familiar
with the mountain folk of northern
Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, had
an idea that the dramatic present
ment. of '.The Trail of the Lonesome
Pine" was rather true to life. On this
account it is amusing to note how the
dramatic critic of the Louisville
Courier-Journal picked the play to
pieces. Being "on the ground" as it
were, the writer's views have weight.
He declares that all the characters in
the play as portrayed by the members
of Misc Hallrop'c cnf,1naoy ura Gin, ,,lxy