Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-27
History of Perlmutter
and Potash Comedies

dIlu ! OtdSII NUlllCuACS
The great success of Business
Before Pleasure" the third of the
Potash and Perlmutter comedies.
which A. H. Woods will present at
the Orpheum for an engagement of
one night only, tomorrow, and the
remarkable vitality of ABE" Potash
and "Mawruss' Perlmutter, recalls
! the interesting and complicated his
tory of Montague Glass famous
characters in their journeys from
the pages of the Saturday Evening
| Post to actual embodiment on the
stage under the direction of A: II.
| Wood.
The popularity of Mr.. Glass
! stories attracted the attention of
host of New York producing man
ayers, with the result thatthe dra
matte rights were shortly obtained
! by William A. Brady and the Messrs.
| Shubert. Jules Eckert Goodman,
who collaborated with Montague
Glass aon Business Before Pleasure"
was engaged to make a play version
and submitted an act. The act was
read, various players bespoken and
the matter was pigeonholed.
Some time afterwards, George
Lederer appeared as the owner of
the dramatic rights of the stories.
Mr.. Lederer likewise failed to bring
! the matter to a consummation, as
did the Selwyns who took the mat
ter under consideration and decided
that two characters like ABE" Pot
ash and "Mawruss' Perlmutter could
never become popular on the Ameri-
can stage. The play rights were
again allowed to lapse.
At this juncture appeared Roi
| Cooper Megrue, who it will be re-
membered was co-author with Mr..
| Mr.. Glass of Potash and Perlmutter
in Society,"" the second comedy OF
the series. Just before Christmas in
1912, Mr.. Megrue, then a play agent,
came to Mr.. Woods with an offer of
the dramatic rights to the Saturday
| Evening Post stories, and Mr.. Woods
accepted it Immediately.
| The parallel that suggests itself at
this point as giving an insight into
| the manner in which great stage
! successes have come before the pub
lie is the case of within the Law"
1t will be remembered that William
A. Brady was the original owner of
the play, and after a disappointing
production in Chicago, gave it up. 1t
seems almost too much to believe
that the same man could thus, by
mere turns of the delicate wheels OF
chance, be allowed to lose two for
tunes which were practically in his
hands. 1t was A. H. Woods decision
to open his new Eltinge theater with
the play that finally gave the piece
! to the public under the joint man
/ agement of Mr.. Woods, the Selwyns
and the Shuberts.
/ AS soon as Mr.. Woods had secur-
ed the dramatic rights to the Potash
and Perlmutter stories, he set about
strenuously towards getting them
ready for the stage. Lee Arthur,
l Aaron Hoffman and Ann Caldwell
| O'Day submitted manuscripts, all OF
which were found unsatisfactory.
One day Mr.. Woods and Archie
Selwyn were diding up to New Hav-
en- to see u performance of within
the Law" On the way Mr.. Woods
suggested that they stop off and bid
\ goodbye to Charles Klein, who was
about to sail for Europe. 1t was dur
ing this visit that Mr.. Woods asked
Mr.. Klein to write Potash and
Perlmutter."
Mr.. Klein would not hear of it
He saw no possibilities in Mr.
( Glass material. Mr.. Woods, eager tc
enlist the services of the distin.
guished playwright, pleaded with
him, and finally asked him to name
his own terms. Mr. Klein, intending
| " StttiC lllC illdlICI uCllllIc1y, dShGI
for the extraordinary advance of So,
900. To his astonishment, Mr.. Woods
agreed, and Mr.. Klein forthwith be.
gan to work on the play.
1t was this version by Charlie:
/ Klein, which was eventually used.
scene was written by George V. Ho.
bart, but it was found impracticablt
and eliminated. Valuable suggestion.
were made in the course of rehear'
L
staging, and by Mr.. Glass himself
but the body, of the play was Mr.
; Klein's.
Almost Immediately on receipt o.
the manuscript, Mr.. Woods put the
| play into rehearsals with Barne!
| Bernard as Potash" and Alexander
I Carr as "Perlmutter." Mr.. Woods
5 had long previous begun negotiation
with these two players. He had ap
proaoched Mr.. Bernard shortly aft
er obtaining the dramatic right
from Mr.. Mergrue, after seeing
: Bernard at a benefit performance a
) the Grand opera house, in a vaude
, will act called Cohen From Bridge
. port" Mr.. Bernard saw as little IL
the part as other managers had seer
in the play and negotiations were
carried on after Bernard had gon'
to the coast. Bernard's estimate O.
| the role may be aScertalned IRON
his insistence on a ten weeks guar
antee. The matter was finally settled
while Bernard was playing in Den
yer with a Winter Garden company
of which Louise Dresser was also {
member. Miss Dresser, it will be re
called, played an important part II
the first and second Potash anC
Perlmutter comedies.
Archie Selwyn saw the final dress
rehearsal of the pice. At the end o.
the performance, Mr.. Woods, Offered
J him a rs per cent. interest in the
play for $1,000. Mr.. Selwyn declared
he wouldn't take it for 40 cents. Hat
he accepted his share of the profits
would have amounted to $222,000!
, There was considerable difficult.
in securing theater. Mr.. Wood!
wanted a Broadway house and hat
set his heart on the Cohan theater
| then under the management of Co
han and Harris, and Klaw & Erlang
er. Sam Harris fatty refused to le
Mr.. Woods have 1t. Finally. however
, Mr.. Woods persuaded Mr.. Harris tt
take a chance. Mr.. Erlanger later
declared that during the run oi
Potash and Perlmutter" the Cohar
theater made more money than any
playhouse in the United States.
\, Potash and Perlmutter" opened