Evening star., 1917-04-15

p.ln
6:15 and at $50: pm. Sunday the
vaudeville performance viii start at
$3.50 pm and be continuous.
Nat Wills WaiscOat. Nat Wills
"veskit" is becoming historic, at least
in a theatrical sense.
THAT fool vest began to wear but
tons and medals and various gaudy
trinkets of one sort or another in Jo-
hannesburg. South Africa, just before
the Boer war was started" Wills ex-
plains. "Oom Paul Kruger-ono OF the
best men who ever lived-began it at
the time he was president of the Trans
vaal Republic. One night after the
show Mr.. Kruger made me present
of 4 string of gold coins of his then
realm. I was the first tramp comedian
to play that country. l was novelty.
Frankly, the people liked me.
We'll. 1t occurred to somebody else
to follow kruger's example. in jest,
and this somebody pinned some sort of
josh medal on my vest. Others fol-
lowed and today that bemedaled vest
OF mine has become almost trade
mark. 1t went with me to Africa with
out mark on it, nothing but ragged
ness. Today l get badges and medals
in almost every mail. The medal-spat-
tered vest, however. is mark of my
South African journey"
A Neutrality-suspicious. Drama.-Up
to October 10 last, when David Belasco
revived THE Music Master" at the
knickerbocker Theater, in New York.
with David Warfield in the title role,
three million persons had paid between
s2,500.000 and 100000 to see War
fields performance of Herr Anton Won
Barwig. This remarkable play. which
is still standing them up more than
twelve years after it's original presen-
tation. has broken practically every
record of the American stage in point
of attendance and box office receipts.
The first performance on any stage
was given at Young's Pier Theater, in
Atlantic City, early in September, 1904.
Nobody realized what a bonanza the
with no fanfare of trumpets, no pre-
tentionS at all
The opening in New York took place
Monday night. September 26. 1904, at
the old Belasco Theater. now the Re-
public. Here the play remained until
the middle of the following January,
when 1t was transferred to the Bijou
Theater. Its first season ended in June
but after the hot weather was over
The Music Master" returned to the
September, 1905, until June. 1906. 1t
again returned there in September
1906, remaining there four weeks more
before going or tour.
Thus Mr.. Warfield gave 64s perform
ances of The Music Master before
the end of its first New York engage
ment-a season of thirty eight weeks
at the Belasco and Bijou theaters, an
other season of thirty-nine weeks at
the Bijou Theater, and then four more
weeks al the Bijou Theater. The sta
tistics of the first two years in New
York were: First year, attendance,
350.000 persons; gross receipts, S377,-
1TS.40. Second year. attendance, $780,
600 persons; gross receipts, S356275.
The Music Master" broke all pre-
vious records during the following
year, 1906-07, and its mark never has
been equaled since. In forty-t three
weeks 10000 persons in twenty or
more cities saw the play, and the gross
receipts reached the astounding total
of S726.013.
This record-smashing season began
with the four weeks previously men
toned at the Bijou Theater Then it
played In Boston for five weeks, where
the gross receipts for each week were
S16.443.50, $16.227.75. S1S,676.50. S20,s64
and S16.649. so. Next came five weeks
in Philadelphia, with about the same
results.
Then "The Music Master" went back
to New York and Warfeld played four
weeks in the month of February, 1907,
at the Academy of Music. These were
the most prosperous TOUR weeks OF his
whole career. Gross receipts for the
first week were $21,S57.25; for the sec
ond, $22,249.75; for the third, S25,149.25.
and for the fourth. $29,71l25. These
four weeks had swelled the Relasco-
Warfield Golfers by almost 100000 No
actor has ever drawn so much money
through the box office in the same time
At the end of 1907 the play was
shelved temporarily. Mr.. Warfield
then went out in THE Grand Army
Al1y hut LNAI, no a
peared in "a revival of The Music
Master" at the present Belasco Theater
(then the StuyvesanD, where he re-
mained ten weeks and drew over Co.
600 persons and $66.995 to the box Of
fce- That was his last engagement in
The Music Master" in New York until
last autumn, when the present revival
began. '"The Music Master" has been
twenty weeks in New York. and has
averaged $4,000 per week during all
this time.