The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-09-30

and Mr. woods accepted it imme-
diately.
The parallel that suggests itself n.
this point as giving an insight into
the manner in which great stage sue
ccsses nave come before the public -
the case or within the Law" 1t viii
be remembered that William A. Brady
was the original owner of the play.
and after disappointing production
in Chicago. gave it up, 1t seems al
most too much to believe that the
game man could thus, by mere turns
ct the delicate wheels OF chance. be
allowed to lose two fortunes which
were practically In his hands, It was
All Moods. decision to open ris rev
Eltinge theater with the play that
finally gave the piece to the public
under the joint management OF Mr..
Woods. the SelwynS and the Shuberts.
AS soon as MIR. Woods had secured
the dramatic rights to the Potash and
Perlmutter stories. he set about
streBuausiy towards getting them
ready for ,the staee. Lee ARTHUR.
seron Hoffman and Ann Ca ldwell
o.Day submitted manuscripts, all Of
which were found unsatisfactory.
one day Mr. Woods and Archie
Selwyn were riding up to New Haven
to see a performance Of within the
Law" On the way Mr.. Woods s;ig-
gested that they stop' off and bid good
bye to Charles Klein who was bout TO
sail for Europe II during this
visit that Mr. Woods asked Mr. Klein
10 write Potash and Perimutter"
MIR, Klein would not hear OF II, He
sa no possibilities in Mr. Glass ma
terial. Mr. Woods eager to enlist ths
services Of the distinguished MAY
wright. pleaded with him. and finally
asked him to name his own terms Mr.
definitely. asked for the extraordinary
advance Of $4,000. To his astonFshment.
Mr.. Woods agreed. and Mr.. Klein
worthwith began to work on the play.
II was this version by Charles Klein.
which was eventually used. A scene
was written by George V. Hobart, hut
Il was found ir1practicable and clint
mated. Valuable suggestions wer o
made in the course of rehearsals by
Hugh Ford. who did the staging, and
by Mr. Glass himself. hut the body Of
the play was Mr.. Kiein's.
Almost Immediately on recent Of
the manuscript Mr., Woods put the
play into rehearssls with Barney
Bernard as Potash" and Alexander
Carr as 'Perlmutter Mr. Woods had
long previous began negotiations with
these two PLAYERS. He had approached
Mr. Bernard shortly after obtaining the
seeing Bernard at a benefit perform
ance at the Grand Opera House. in a
vaudeville act called Cohen From
bridgeport, - Mr. Bernard saw as ttr-
tie in the part as other managers had
seen in the play and negotiations were
carried on after Bernard had gone to
the coast Demands estimate OF the
role may be ascertained from his In
sistence on ten weeks guarantee.
The matter was finally settled while
! Bernard was playing in Denver with
Winter Garden company. OF which
Louise Dresser was also member.
Miss Dresser. 1t will be recalled played
an important part in the first and sec
oud Potash ana Ferlmutter comedies.
Archie Selwyn saw the hnal dress
rehearsal Of the piece. At the end OF
the performance. Mr. Woods offered him
a IS per cent interest in the play
for $1,000. Mr. Selwyn declared he
wouldn't, take it for forty cents. Had
he accepted his share of the profits
would have amounted to s222.ooo'
There was eonsiderab BILE difficulty IN
securing a theater, Mr.. Woods wants
a Broadway house and had set his
heart on the Cohan theater, then under
the management of Cohan and Harris
and klaw and Erianger. Sam Harris
fatty refused to let Mr. Woods have
it Finally, however, Mr.. Woods per-
Snaded Mr.. Harris TO take chance.
Mr.. Erlanger later declared that dur
ing the run of Potash and Perlmut-
ter the Cohan theater made more
money than any playhouse in the
United States.
Potash and Perlmutter" opened in
Atlantic City on August 4. 1913. and at
the Conan theater. New York, on Sat-
urday night, August ls, 1918. 1t was
an instantaneous and overwhelming
success. Few plays have secured the
reviews that were accorded the piece
In the New York press on the Monday
following the opening. 1t played at
the Cohan theater until September 2.
1914 The following year seven COM
panies toured the country. One of
them. following the Ziegfeld Follies