El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-27

I wardly sent from Berlin TO work de-
] struction at Gibraltar of course turns
out in the end to be a really admirable
/ character say of course but to
! many it may have been a real surprise
/ If the playwrights don't stop having
| everything reversed in the last IS min
Utes of their productions pretty soon,
however. they viii permanently get
over fOOling their audiences.
Two pieces of theatrical news Of some
! Importance have broken" this week.
Speaking at a meeting of the Drama
l league in the Harris theater, Otto II.
Kahn, who was prominent among the
hackers of the New theater movement,
announced that Granville Barker, the
London producer. of whom ! have
spoken before this winter, viii come
to New York every season. Mr.. Kahn
would not amplify his statement, or
say whether a special theater had been
secured for Mr. Bankers repertOry
plays But it is evident the New thea
ter crowd is heart and soul behind Mr..
Barker and this means financial as
sistance Of the best sort.
With the usual whoop and hurrah,
the third production Of the Winter Gar
den season has started on its way. 1t
is called Maid in America" and we are
informed that all the costumes. Of
which Melville Ellis is the designer,
are typicaly American. Saints alive,
are we that bad2
There is a 10000 volt assemblage Of
stars for the new production-Nora
Bayes, Mile, Dazzle, Maud Lambert
Blossom Seeley, Yancsi Dolly, Belle
Ashlyn. Yvette, Minerva COverdale,
Ruby Helder Nine Marguerite Beriza,
ROsalind May. Harry Fox. Charles J.
Ross. Bert Clarke Joe Jackson, Hal
Forde Harry Carroll, Lew Brice, John
Sparks, Sam Adams, James Clemens,
Pernikoff, Carl Dellorto, Harold Robe,
W. H. Davis, VIII Stanton, Eleanor
Brown. olga Hempstone, Lois Whitney,
Elaine French. Jane Elliott and others.
Theodore KOslOff, espec:a-iy engaged
for the present production, staged two
ballets. known as Ballet Russo" and
The Ballet of Color and Motion" In
each of these, Mile. Dazzle was the
premiere danseuse.
Harold Atteridge is credited as au-
thor of the song cues while Sigmund
ROmberg and Harry Carroll are brazen-
" announced as responsible for music
rewritten from old scores" Refresh
ing bit of frankness, isn't it,
J. c. Huffman staged the entire pro-
ductiOn, while Jack Mason arranged
the dances, except those put on by kos
loft
Not content with lampooning every
thing and everybody outside the thea
ter, the management turns its AZ cent?
meter guns on themselves. A back
stage scene, called the "Melo-Drama
Theater" is shown and in a clever skit, !
a theatrical producer tells his brother
lldildB CTS LOW 70 dNOlQ natures ana
then. sets about engaging cast for a
new review.
%,%
The Grand opera house, once Jay
Goulds magnificent home of the drama |
has been turned over to burlesque. Thus
ends another cycle in the history of
famous New York instructor.
Where is the Grand opera house? |
Many persons who have lived in New
York ten or 20 years and attended the I
theater quite freely will ask this Ques-
ton. For of late the Grand opera |
house has been neighbOrhoOd affair." (
patrOnized by the jewellers nearby, like /
many new playhouse in more modern !
parts af the great metropolis. It has (
been, too largely the home of the Irish !
drama of the lighter sort.
Eighth avenue and Twenty-third /
street was corner IN the center of !
New York wealth and fashion As years /
ago. 1t was in 1869 that Morris Pike /
built the Grand opera house. But be-
fore he could open the doors to the
public the prOhibitive money rates /
which followed the war drove him to
the wall and the property passed into
the hands of the skyrocket financier,
Jay Gould.
He not only made the playhouse a
notable home for the drama, but he and
his associate, Jim" Fisk, had their
offices in the building. Those who
visit the GrandNopera house today are
sometimes moved to remark the elOb-
orately carved wooden CoOrs bearing
the Inscription &c. R" This stands
for Erie. Railroad" the line Could
wrecked
Gould had a private entrance from
the Twenty street side and until
about 1900 the Gould family retained
their private box. too.
1t is hard to name a player Of any
note in America today, unless we in
clude the very young. who has never
STEPPED on the boards of the Grand opera
house The Gilbert and Sullivan school
Of comic opera occupied the theater
for several years and filled the Golfers
OF the managers. One brilliant star
of this period was Josie Mansfield.
whose fate was tragically interviewer
with FisIs
IN 1872 Augustin DAILY began his
connection with the theater Three
years later the policy of the Grand
opera changed. 1t became house
where the successes of Broadway
stopped for week or two at the end
D1 their runs, playing to crowded
houses at popular prices This policy
was continued up to the present final
shift.
At the same time the featuring of
irish stars in Irish plays should be