The Washington times., 1915-05-09
TWinkling Stars and a
Satellite or TzvO
BY GARDNER MACK.

BY GARD
The most important epoch in the his
tory of the American theater closed
with the sinking of the Lusitania. The
active life of Charles Frohman has been
the greatest constructive period in the
annals of the drama in this country,
and its effects have been felt through
out the world.
A ouiet. self-contained master OF all
that Is best and uplifting on the stage,
from the standpoint of the dramatist.
the actor and the general public alike.
his contribution to the betterment OF
humanity has been much greater than
we can estimate at this time.
Always striving to build peter than
his previous best: always giving the
literature the acting art and the pro-
ducer's genius the ireest hand dream-
er who tempered fancy to tact' ne was
practical business man VINO ADJUSTED
the calculation of the counting room
to cooperate with rather than antag-
onize the lInpractII al temper ol arlstlc
creation. " ~,
WORKING calmly and steadily with a
view far ahead of his time. he brought
his time up to his viewpoint: While
the Frohman epoch has been the most
ortant in the history of the stage
l., its practical development or the
high standard, it's most marked fea.
turs Is that what Frohman has bullt
no one can tear down, what ne mas
started no one can call back.
It Is simply a question now Whether
or not another will appear who can
bring the same balance OF purpose 10
the same perfection of accomplishment.
who will continue to proVlde the I'M
petus to the march of theatrical events
the Frohman achievements Impair ed.
Perhaps there will be-in fact there
must be if the theater Is to continue
its development, as 1t must.
Scarcely less remarkable person
atty, in many respects, was Charles
Klein. the playwright, who was also a
victim of the Lusitania disaster. Mr.
Klein was probably the most versatile
and prolific of the present. day play
wrtghts. Melodrama, comedy. farce
and comic opera librettos came alike
from his pen. 1t is difficult to imagine
the same man writing Eel CAPTAIN
and THE Lion and the Mouse Pot
ash and Perlmutter' and The Gam
blere." Yet Klein accomplished the
feat.
His plays commanded attention be-
cause they were written by him. They
were judged according to their merits
and most frequently received COM
mendation. Lately Mr.. Klein has been
writing plays directed against certain
social or political evils. The last of his
plays to be produced here was The
Money Makers" which was produced
by Emmett Corrgan and company al
the Belasco Theater early in the season
An Englishman b. birth, but ar
American by residence and training. Mr.
Klein's contributions to the drama
have been topical in the extreme, and
his place will be difficult to fill.
There is a distinct personality con-
nected with the Columbia Musical
Stock Company, before the eyes of the
audience every minute of the time the
company is performing, responsible for
much of the performance and participa.
ting In every moment of it-yet never
receiving the slightest attention from
the audiences that have been charmed
and entertained BY the things he has
created.
In the very center of the "trenchers. q
working all the time-and working, by
the way most of the time the people
who profit by his efforts are shopping
or sleeping or eating or attending to
the various duties by which they gain
their daily bread-is Frank G. Mande.
Vile. the musical director Of the com
pany.
The audiences Of the Columbia see In
Vaudeville a man with a shining head
who grips a gesture closely between the
thumb and forefinger of his left hanC
and hurlS IT at the singers, the while
he is manipulating the piano with his
right hand. Sometimes in the heat OF
an engagement. between tOnal forces
he Will take his gestures in both hands
and draw a cadenza out of the Choru!
that almost raises the roof of the thea
ter
Most Of the time he is directing Man
dsville's lips can be seen to move-ht
is singing to himself. Vaudeville know!
every part in the biggest list of ligh
nd oil IL, to
tence. He knows exactly how each par
should be sung and when a member
OF the company Is bit backward abou
doing 1t right Vaudeville will snt
That is' the most Interesting featur,
Of any production the company puts
on. 1t is only done and heard at a re
hearsal. so that the audience misse!
most Of 1t. But 1t Is really worth al
admission price. Vaudeville Is music
In all parts of him hut in his voice
He has one OF the most unmusical Sc
Of vocal cords In existence. But h,
knows what to do with them to approx
mate what he means when he endeav
ors to show his pupils what he wants
And they soon understand exactly Wha
he wants and do 1t.
That Is the big thing about Mande
willie: He has the faculty of impartnt
musical information developed to tn,
nth degree. 1t is said he can tax,
the rawest set Of chorus girls and mel
and within a few days so train then
that their work Will seem to have beer
the result of weeks of rehearsal He 4
the backbone of the Columbia Musi"a
Stock Company. An artist himself. h,
has that rare ability Of making othe
people artistic.
Members OF the "T-knew- Him When
affiliations throughout the countr,
want to take notice that Louis J
Fosse, commonly known as the Duke
general manager of the destinies of tn
Poll Theater in this city. has won tn
presidency of their national body.
The Duke was forced into the offC
unbeknownst to himself. it might h
stated, by sheer force Of his powerful
recollecting apparatus and Glady
Smith,
Passing by the opportunity Of forcfnj
himself into prominence through hi
having been the emnloyer Of both Jak
and Lee Shubert at tho beginning o
their theatcr careers; his having under
studied Frank pauio's il little Puck
Pnd PLAYED opn"sit" h;m in the piece
his knowledge of Randolph and Clarl
streets, Chi'aGo, tefora the basemen
cafes were abolished. the Duke base
his entire claim to fame on his havin
Kept GLADYS Smith on tho Stape'