El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-03-18

x
Oreste Vessella, a former Atlantic
city orchestra director, wrote the music
of THE Road to AIandalay." which was
presented at the Park theater. 1t is q
1 comic opera in a somewhat out Of date
style, but with several very pleasing
airs which were well sung.
The story is of an American widOwer
I and his two daughters who 90 out to
some place near RangoOn, and there
nave various adventures which end by
supplying all with mates.
of course, the American is wealthy
| Ihey all have to be on the stage and
IN the novels. The situations are not
| over pulling and the atmosphere in
! duced is scarcely up to the rOllicking
song of Ruyyard kipling from which
the author Of the book, W. H. Post,
drew his title. The lyrics are the best
part and they are credited to William
McKenna.
Leola Lucey displayed a full, sweet
soprano and Frank Pollock a first rate
/ tenor, Marie HOrgan also proved her
SELF capital singer. The chorus as a
ing.
Miss Gretchen Eastman played Yvotte
very prettily. Miss Victoria Gauran and
Stanley c. Ridges had Il waltz with
some accompaniment in the second act
, which proved effective Miss Hazel
klrke was in good voice. Much Of the
fun was supplied by Herbert COrthell.
There are six parsons daughters in
the cast of VERY Good Eddie" at the
Princess theater. and every last fathers
daughter of them in the chorus. too.
The presence there of these parsOn-
| age-bred young ladies is due entirely
to the persistent effort of Miss Eliza
Deth Marbury to give tone and d1Stinc-
ton to what she chooses to. call the en-
semoles Of the musical productions in
! which she is interested.
personnel
the ensemble. or the chorus. to use the
/ more familiar term, should not only be
characterized by youth and good looks,
but that il should argue gentle man
/ ners, refinement and good breeding.
! Miss Marbury has determined to make
I the Princess theater choruses worthy
rivals of those of the Gaiety theater
in London. from the ranks of which it
! has become quite the proper and con-
ventional thing for the British peer to
select his peerless.
IT is said that Gus Edwards recruited
the Gaiety theater chorus out Of the
Taking her cue no doubt from the re-
| spectacle precedent Miss Marbury has
proceeded tOf rob the parsonage OF this
I country to the same worthy end when
the subject was mentioned to Miss Mar
bury the other day and some astoniSh-
ment expressed that six clergymen's
daughters should be so employed, Miss
Marbury bristled.
Six clergymen's daughter in Very
Good Eddie| Why nOt?" she ex-
claimed somewhat Indignantly Why
shouldn't a clergymans daughter ap-
pear in Very Good Eddie or any other
clean. decent musical play2 Minister'S
are as a class VIGOROUSLY poor and un-
derpaid, their daughters more frequent
ly than those OF any other professional
men. are forced to 90 out and earn
| their livelihood j remember the time
/ when school teaching was considered
the only employment genteel enough
for the clergyman's daughter to en-
gage in.
I don't say that by the mere chance
Of her being a clergyman's daughter
she has any more than a theoretical SUI
periOrtty over any other mans daugh-
ter One Of the most charming and well
bred girls in this same Very Good Ed
( die company is the daughter of A
! humble mechanic in a Newark button
factory. But this girl represents the
rule, that in my efforts to make the
ensembles OF the MarbUry- ComstOck
productions distinctive for the refine
ment and good breeding of their per-
sonnet I do not seek new recruits out
of the homes of mechanics, however
honest and worthy
There are no circumstances under
which birth and breeding or the lack
of them show up SO clearly as when
a long row of girls comes dancing down
derbred actress may, If she be artist
enough. completely conceal her origin.
so long as she individualizes herself
in role. But let her once put herself
in the chorus, where she stands. in re-
latiOn to the audience, in precisely the
same position occupied by a dozen or
score of other girls. and every defect
and popularity not only Of face and
figure, but Of mind and soul. stand
glaringly out
Indeed, I have for this very reason
rejected more than one chorus applicant
because OF the impression she conveyed
of an over exquisiteness of refinement
or a too starting type of beauty. One
girl of this sort is sufficient to COM
pletely throw out of balance the aver
age mean OF beauty and refinement to
achieve which the manager has pos
sibly labored for months"
How about legs? Don't they count
any more7-
Except for the purpose of which they
were anatomically designed. no." shot
back Miss Marbury. "Artistically, legs
went out years ago"
x X Z
Miss Olive Wyndham playing Priu-
cess Adris Of Adlon in William Elliot's
production OF THE Greatest Nation" at
the Booth theater. is a western girl who
has been a successful artist bv virtue
Of a peculiarly fascinating personal
charm. as well as on account Of her
technical abilities as an artist
Some years ago, shortly previous to
her first notable engagement with viii
liam Hodge in THE Man From Home"
one Of the most successful comedies
that had played for n long time. Miss
Wnydham was a great favorite in the
younger social set in Chicago.
Strangely enough, though she has
been in New York for several years as
the result Of her professional work, she
nevertheless retains her love for her
western home. and is n staunch de-
fender of the west and its ideals. Says
she:
why the west is so frequently held
up before the people Of New York, the
whole Atlantic coast and Euripe, too.
for that matter, as the place Of breezy,
.heavy-foOted, more or less crudeman-
Inered people, 7 have never been able 10
understand. The gentle Lincoln was a
lwesterner. and there are too many of
our intellectual and artistic life TO