The Washington times., 1914-01-30

w Chicago II in Romance, s''tSesp the play i'
in which she is being seen in
the Belasco Theater this week, she no.
tIced that a certain woman came to the
theater day after day. sitting in a GER
tain section of the house and constantly
watched the actress in the part of Cav
allini, the Italian prima donna. After
the first five or six days the woman's
constant presence got on her nerves. -
as Miss Keane expresses It, and, after
several days more, she asked her man
ager to find out, if possible, why that
woman came day after day to see Miss
Keane in this part.
The secret was out after the man.
ager had made inquiries. Like every
body else who has seen Miss Keane In
teh part and heard the story of the
woman was surprised at the fiuency of
the actress Italian dialect. The first
time she heard Miss Keane she listened
carefully, expecting to hear her lapse
into English at some period in the play.
This did not happen, the first night.
or the second, or the third. Then the
woman made up her mind that 1t must
happen sometime, and for thirty-two
performances she Games TO the the
ater and listened to Miss Keane'
spoken lines, and not in all that time
did the actress once fail in the delivery
OF the lines OF the vivacious singer who
came to America and turned eyery-
bCdy head topsy-turvy.
l confess that l myself was among
those who listened attentively at Miss
keane's lines last Monday night. hon
ing, or rather expecting, that at some
juncture in the play she would forget
the Italian dialect aud lapse into Eng
Iish. But this didn't happen. and on
Wednesday / went to the matinee. and
the same thing happened. So on
Thursday, having an engagement to
lunch with Miss Keane, I made I'D MY
mind to ask her how she did II.
Her answer represents the KEYNOTE of
her wonderful success in this latest of
Edward Sheldons plays. She told me
that the dialect that she uses in
Romance is the result of months and
months Of constant practice.
How Miss Keans
Acquired Italian Dialect.
When the play was first submitted to
Miss Keane. it seemed to her almost an
impossible task to master the language
1t contained. But the part had such a
strong appeal that she determined to
master it at all hazards, and immedi-
ately made her plans to acquire an
Italian dialect. The Michign girl seized
every opportunity OF studying the
Americanized Italian, and she chose her
tutors from wherever she could find
them, even utilizing Italian organ
grinders when they presented them
selves. She spent hours eyerv day for
four months in Italian conversational
lessons. The result is that she has be-
come mistress of one of the finest dia-
lects on the American stage
Miss Keane's ideas regarding acting
and the drama. as she detailed them TO
me yesterday, are well worth repeating.
She declared that even If she had lived
in the days when acting was an out
cast art. and she a vagabond wandering
along the roadside, telling her tales, and
singing her songs where she could find
idle listeners, happy with a crust,
or a few coppers, thrown at her grudg-
ingly, she knows she would have felt
sorry for the lady in her castle, who
looked out upon her as she passed on her
merry way. For in my heart a song