Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-05-08
MISS CAMPBELL TELLS WHY
SHE LIKES MUSICAL COMEDY
Declares It Permits of a Nat
uraIness Not Possible in
Other Work.

Inc aIlurlng feature Oh ihuSlCdl
comedy for Miss George Campbell,
who is singing leading parts with
the Orpheum Musical Comedy Com
pany, at the Orpheum Theatre, Is that
she can be natural. Naturalness is
one of her greatest assets, says the
little star, and she is perfectly happy
when not compelled to act out"
Miss Campbell confided to me be-
tween cues during the matinee per-
Torrance of THE Man Who Owns
Broadway" yesterday, that her
greatest ambition is to play parts
like Maude Adams in the legitimate.
Her inspiration, so to speak, is the
actress who helped make famous Sir
James Barrie's THE Little Minis
ter" and Peter Pan"
II am just crazy about Maude
Adams" declared Miss Campbell Il
think that she is simply divine"
Her intense enthusiasm told only
too plainly that her inspiration"
was always uppermost in her mind.
Whenever she mentioned Maude
Adams's name her eyes seemed to
dance with delight and she ampha-
sized the argument by clasping her
hands and clenching them until they
turned white.
My efforts to learn more about her
desires to follow in the footsteps Of
Maude Adams were suddenly halted
here when Miss Campbell hurriedly
excused herself to take curtain"
as she expressed it. That the cur
tain had been taken" very satstac
torily was evident when she returned
by the smile of pleasure that
wreathed her face.
Turning again to the questions of
musical comedy and its charms the
little star said another reason for
her preference to this character of
work over opera was that it permit
ted of comedy in the lines of the
women, where in opera no such OPP
portunity was afforded.
Il love comedy" declared Miss
Campbell, land | know the audience
likes comedy Therefore, it is much
easier to please them.
I'm opera an actress is never given
comedy part and that makes it
very tiresome."
When | ventured to ask Miss
Campbell how long she had been in
musical comedy and opera she looked
at me for a moment and then eX-
how old / am, are you?" Lest no
time in setting her at rest on that
point, for / had made the mistake of
daring to ask an actress her age in
my earlier days in newspaper work,
and with almost disastrous results to
the interview.
After this bridge had been
crossed" Miss Campbell said that she
has been in musical comedy and
opera for over ten years and for the
past seven summers she has played
in musical comedy stock. Last year
was the first winter season that she
had played in stock.
This is the third time that the little
star of the Orpheum Musical Comedy
Stock Company has played in New
ark. She made her initial bow be-
fore local theatregoers at Proctor's
Park Place Theatre last spring, when
she sang the principal female role in
1.-THE Mikado," and also appeared in
Era Diavolo" During the same sum-
mer she again played here with the
comic opera company at Olympic
Park, where she made an instan-
famous hit, which she has repeated
at the Orpheum.
Miss CampbeIl's first appearance on
the professional stage was in the
the Beast" in which she was a dane
ing girl. Her second season was in
the legitimate with Otis Skinner.
Since then the better part of her
work has been in the musical comedy
field.
Born of theatrical family Miss
Campbell said that there was moth
ing left for her to do but follow i'll
the footsteps of father and mother,
as it seemed only natural to her to
go on the stage. The thoughts of
ever entering another profession
were absolutely foreign to her and
she could do nothing but answer the
call of the footl'gh
That her ability as an actress is
partly inherited is probably only
natural as her fathers sister was
Jolly" May Irwin, who is known
from coast to coast and in the coun-
tries across the sea.
Newark audiences hold a warm spot
in the heart of MSS Campbell, for