davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

who started her stage career in Nat
Goodwin's repertoire company under
studying Edna Goodrich. believes that
the part and the play have much to
do with the success an actress achieves.
Some capable actresses strive very
hard. but fall short because they never
get the opportunity they need, while
others reach stardom almost III d ight.
Actresses, knowing that they are not
suited for the parts. often go into fail
urc after failure. Usually they are IN
huenced by the management and then
they say to themselves:
"Well, they're putting lot of money
into this show. might as we'll go
into it and take my chances.
Thus they have weeks and weeks Of
rehcarsals and not so many weeks Of
performances.
81 know my possibilities as an ac-
tress. am not untrue TO myself"
Miss Lord says. wisely.
Some day, she does not know exactly
when, Miss Lord plans to buy her own
play and produce it. She does not N
tend to choose it without advice. but
it Will be chosen only il she feels that
it has q part in il which suits her
precisely. 1t is her ambition to play
such a part. as she feels that she has
not really had one yet, and then she
viii leave the stage
But all this may not happen until
am hobbling around on crutches,' she
said smilingly
We hone so
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

seemingly unpleasant occurrences TO
his own advantage by his own adapta.
bility and plability'
Every time he goes on the stage to
act Mr. Shea feels ne is going to give
the very best performance Of his ca
rcer.
81 always strive to improve on nv
performances, whether it be with the
aid OF light effect, a facial expression
or some interesting business. Whenever
= man comes to me with suggestions for
bettering my act which seem clever and
worth trying am glad to listen to
him Although | have played The
Bells probably three thousand times ]
do not think that my performance is
beyond suggestion. Only the other
evening man came to me and said
that the excerpt 7 give would be much
more effective if cut out certain
phrases and substituted others instead
thought he was right, and did so.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
News and Stage Door Chat for the Playgoer
Everybody in ''hrene'
Is as Irish as Can Be,
Boasts Its Composer

heroine and prima donna, Edith Day,
who is half Irish. Montgomery is a
Boston born lrlshman, and over in
Dublin. you know, they say that the
most Irish of all Irishmen arc the
Irish of Boston. Then there's Joe
Mccarthy, who wrote tho lyrics for
the piece. Hes an Irishman two gen
erations removed from County Clare.
walter Rcgan, the leading man, is
is John b. Litel, the villain. Cava-
naugh and Burckly are also good Cclts,
and as to the girls. principals and
chorus. believe every last mothers
daughter Of them has an Irish name.
The Vanderbilt stage doorkeeper is
an Irishman; so is the wardrobe mis-
trcss-l mean she's an lrishwoman.
And to cap what you might call the
Celtic climax. the Vanderbilt Theatcr
is owned by the most Irish of Irish
men, Joseph Moran, who intrusts its
management TO that other most Irish
OF Irishmen, Lyle Andrews"
How does fellow go about it to
write tho music for lyric? 2" There
were ominous signs that the good ship
would soon pull in her gang plank, but
young Terney was as cool as If little
thing like running over TO supervise
big production in the historic Gaiety
Thoater was an everyday event
II don't know how other fellows do.
was the reply, "but for myself ! can
only describe the initial process as null
ing. Some songs require more of this
mulling than others. Some songs fairly
compose their own music. They have
an inherent swing and melody in the
words themselves and in the colocation
OF these words. While have a song in
the process Of mulling | am very care
full not to let any premature harmonies
or melodies crystalline in my memory,
as frequently find them fatal when it
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Brandon lyman, a True
Romanticist, Loves to
Play in Romantic Drama

was an Irish boy, and a young Ch,esk'
rite, who is now your dramatic eo',o''
was kind enough to notice me IN NE
review
The Lyceum Stock Company proved
TO be fine experience. Some OF u"
best actors of the day we're me'npe,'
and learned great deal from "a'on
ing their work. Il was just the f,s,
atmosphere for susceptible w..
While in ii | decided to write p's:.
In fact. | thought had great seeie.f
that ! had discovered the charaV'',
Robert Emmett. Later ! awakened :.
the FAC; ;hat The Irish idcalist nae "
sp.red Pincro, Boucicault, ana on nv.
mach older and wiser than /. is
haps this is the very secret OF the ~.
cess Of my Robert Emmet, las: ss
were sophisticated and wrote from VI.
angle of the theater; my heart ~ss ~,
inkweN. can remember the Surpr's.
Of a friend of mine when ] tolo h,""
had disposed of tho play. Well ~
said. YOU don't know the bhsns"
language: you don't know the techn.su.
o. the drama; YOU arc TOO lncnpe
ricnced in life 70 know character ..
,ion, but YOU did have enough se"S' "
sell it,
II Guess ii is often matter Of lu.s
and fate. and my fate next hrougn'y ynn an
10 Ibsen and i.nally to his 'tyoH- ~.
see, Ibscn. having completed ms .''', :,
once more went 20 the romafiVrS ne
.Nyolf' In his earlier play. a po's ~
house,' he has Norah say. 'beio'e
an human being and ags1n'
don't know what religion IS. In +,
lie say: .Nrly so far as YOU 'hl,'h
e-aers w.n Won know happiness si.s .s
Look 10 TIC peaks OF the stars Tor '"'
grea, silence -,
Prem lsbcn went 10 'Joseph a. q
His brethren. That certainty 3,s hsu ~
romantic atmosphere. No ono cou'u ,;.b
N ore ideaistic than young Joseph. q
IS coat Of many colors: lie VIZ, s,rc
dreamer and was touched ~ mo."" a.
sordiG. In the revival of 'ir'lo!,
Little Billee / was III the afueu'~ ~
romantic. The Melody Of outh 'oo" ~.
back 10 Ireland. In it had woven ~.
story Of Dublin coquette ana So'"'
divinity student.
'Pendonnis' took me into an tns"ss =.
atmosphere and perhaps ! was nv ef
much at homo IN the phiianaesi::ss. n
Arthur Pcndcnnis. lett his ana .S,r.
the heart for an i'll titled play an
cess. In il played the part u t..n
actor who. as young man. nAo io.,
successful Lear and then hsn ~. 1t
his grip on everything. In ms sr,, cum
tered old age he recovcrs hrs c,''
in the romance Of his daughte''
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Just Free-for- All,
Friendly Chat Among
Theater Parisien Folk

lherc Is measure of realism about
the production Of "Le Poilu" at the
Theatre Parlsien. The cast is picked
from the foremost theaters in Paris.
Most of the men fought in the war
One Of them was a prisoner in Ger
many for two years. They are all re-
lhctant to talk about Ia gucrrc. :"
Their medals they try to conceal from
the inquring.
when interviewed as he finished re-
rcarsal of this weeks play Gone does
not wish 10 talk about those things.
They arc for ones children. The war
checked the production Of plays in
France, Of course, because the writer's
and actors were soldiers, but the public
has lost mono Of it's enthusiasm for
rlaygolng. The theatcr has really
helped TO keep alive the scintillating
spirit Of the Partisan public during
those years of darkness. For that they
love IT more than ever. But they will
have none Of the war They do not
want to be reminded Of what they have
gone through when they spend an eve
ming in the theatcr
"ln France we look for a great crea-
awe peri0d IN the dramn when we
have had time to readjust ourselves.
Such suffering as we have had must be
followed by the creative impulse.
There arc no signs yet-bnt we src
waiting"
M. Barre played at Rejane's Theatcr
in Paris for seven years and at the
Imperial Theatcr Petrograd When
WAT broke out hc enlisted. although
over thc age limit. and fought for
thrty-six months. His period Of sol.
aicring ended when Lr was wounded.
Lucicn Weber who ia atagc director
0l The PnrIsIon troupc Or nlnYcrs hnd
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

charge of the first American ambulance
tram IN the French army. 1t is he who
plays the part Of le poilu in the play of
that name at the Theatre Parisien He
was born IN Alsacc and. when quite a
little chap, his father, brother and he
moved into frsncc TO get away from
the German influence. 1t was he who
started the Parisian magazine, "Fc-
nina and he owns the theater Of the
same name that is run in conjunction
with the paper. One of his innova-
tions was the training of an all-chll-
dren cast to put on pantomimcs in
lasslCs-thc plays Of Molierc, Beau
marchais and others of the same kind.
1t Was carefully explained by each
member Of the cast that no one "etoic"
was any brightnr than the other. In
short, II is an all-star stock company
Playing some OF the feminine roles is
the charming little brown-eyed god
daughter of Sarah Bcrnhardt
II WAS born TO the stage she cx-
planned in hesitating but correct Eng
lish. My father now plays IN the
Bcrnhardt Thontcr IN Paris. and nay
uncle, Breton Caubct wae a great
tenor singer in the opera. Sarah Bcrn-
hardt became Interested in me- when
"aS Vu'tc 1t llttlc lnlnE. ana nave
played many ingcnuc parts with hcr.
It was wonderful opportunity to be
able to work under kcr. am in
pictures. too, and was tho ing6nuc in
Mothers of France ! want to stay
here now. believe there ia n grcntcr
dramatic field in America than in
France. should really like to 20 into
musical comedy, for | sing and dnncc. t"
Lucicnne Debrennes a vivacious
brunette, whose Frcnch was too tu-
multuous TO be followed easily, gave a
brief and snappy interview which,
translated literally, was ns follows:
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Clarence Sings a Paean
OF Praise for Finland;
Swears in Finnish. Too

a red-roofed peasants house now and
then sticking out Of tho snow
Call that raving if you want to, but
it's a wonderful country. We lived on
my stcpfather's country estate and
mixed freely with the natives. This
rather scandalizcd our immediate
friends. but | found the Finnish peas
ants very lkable. though little stoiid
stolid.
II learned enough Swedish in three
months to get around easily, and spent
many day in Niborg, whore Emma
Goldman and Bcrhman landed They
could easily find a much worse place
20 stay
During the summer months there
would be outdoor parties accompanied
by AMATEUR thoatricals. | took part
in many Of these, always given in Swcd-
ish. Of course. We gave pillars of
Society," several Swedish plays and a
number of oneact playlcts of tinnsh h
and Russian composition. The Fin
nlsh plays were so good ! am now try
ing 10 secure some for use in this
country
However. the Firms ~ actors were
little inclincd to take things too
seriously because Of years OF Russian
oppression. recall one day how my
fathers brother acted after the Rus
SLAMS decreed that Russian textbooks
should he used in all the schools He
sworc terrible Swedish oath and. tax
irg out dagger dramatically pinned
q Russian book to the schooiroom desk.
Since the war. however, Finland
has become republic dominated
largely by socialist and Red elements.
ne story IS told that the composer
S'bciius vas seized by thc Reds and
wan about TO be shot when it was
found he was Il musician. The leader
Of the Reds, happening TO be sond
Of the trombone, spared ms lifc.
II guess Finland is II little bi, gone
70 the dogs now, for they've just got
prohibition, TOO. | suppose if I went
bacI I'd do nothing bat mourn about
the good old dag And those Ger
taluly were
n you have seen and heard Clar-
"ncc Yon VIII have noted, perhaps. ~
times Il peculiar twang 10 his voice and
an odd note uow and then in his pro-
him rs / lrft Of the odd ejaculation
~iih winch nc had opened our inter
view. iIc laughed.
~ hcucvrr ect cxciied.' he eaId
II uncousc iousiy dcV"lop "A Finnish
S Ncdttb Dccnu'. and wncu ! swear
+ lnni1h S~cdish comes more naturally
tnan English"
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Rachel Barton Butler,
Author of Prize Plav
Is Experienced Writer

If the amateurs betraylng toucnes
arc missing from "Mamma's Affair"
the Harvard prize play which opened
at the Little Thcater last week, it is
because its author is by no means
novice at play writing. In Washington.
Rachel Barton Butler was termed a
sophomore, much to her amusement.
In New York she was hailed as a play
wright who showed dexterity in her
first contact with the stage. As a mat
ter OF fact, she was trained for the
theater. acted for two seasons and has
been writing plays for the last ten
years. She started out with the one
act play in Cincinnati, found 1t un-
satisfying and turned to the four-act
variety. For the last five years she has
turned out a play each year. SO that
while her viewpoint is fresh, she has
4 technical knowledge OF the stage.
Oddly enough, "Mammas Affair"
came within an ace OF losing the Har-
ward prize. "Mom' was its rival, writ
ten by one Edward Oliver Martin"
were the work of Miss Butler. Win
throp Amcs and Professor George p.
Baker chose :"Mamma's Affair as the
winner. Morosco had not read all
the plays submitted at the time Of
their decision When he came round
10 "Mom" he tclep phoned to the rthel'
two judges and said that a mistake
had been made The best play. Il. de-
clarcd, was by edward Oliver Mar
tin.' Professor Baker, the only per
son in the secret. told him it was all
right and that they We're both done
by Miss Butler. She had been play
ing of one against the other. SO
"Mom.' which treats of the unseliish
aspects of mother love. viii in all prob
ability be produced before long. Mr..
Morosco has bought it.
Discussing the Freudian aspects OF
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

Alfred Lunt, creator Of Clarence,
>cemed bit tired the other night
when he reached for his cosmetic jar
sad prepared TO remove his war paint.
First he and then his Japanese assist
ant, he said, had been ill-and then he
ncrvously dropped a cuff link into the
grease-pant pot. He also dropped an
exclamation, ono sounding like the
bread course at Henri's.
81 beg your pardon" | SAID. but
would you mind repeating that ?'
Don't I look Ike 'Red'?' lie re
pied. reaching for the grease pot
We'll, yes, until you remove some
oi that stuff from your face"
DO YOU know what I'd Ike to do 90
ne continued, rubbing on the remover
number Of pleasant midnight di-
versions within the romantic and hnan-
cal means Of Broadway star We're
,ucgestcd. but he brushed them ASIDE
witt, II Hrt Of his towel
Don't toll the Department OF Labor v
nc confded, rubbing up a good greasy
iather. but I'd like 20 have gone with
Emma Goldman and Alexander Bcrk-
nar''.
To Finland That's IL"
Now, don't say, Finland? ny Cod,
Tar and fish, Why. I'd rather spend
ne winter IN Finland than at Palm
Rcach.v
Clearly this vas a case for invest
cation; 50 he continued:
You see, my parents were regular
Americans, Of New England descent
and all that. "ven If we do live near
Victor Eergcr's district out in Wis-
eonsir. But my stepfatncr is n native
Of Finland, and when ! was seventeen
we all went back 90 Finland for three
ycars.
"Athough then ruled by Russia, Fin
and vas the sor, Of idyllic place you
read about bot seldom find. Instead
- being wild, frozen country, w.th
hsf the people living Ike EsGuimaux.
found I. in many ways the equsl Of
ms country. don't believe / ever
~aw II more wonderful hotel than that
4, lfelsingfors, with splcudid music
and great esplanadc lined with trees
DYc Rocking 'he ocean.
The country is wildly beautiful in
\ melancholy way. Like Minnesota and
Wisconsin. where The immigrant Finne
and sswedes all 70, it IN dotted with
lakcr. and ~ hills with pines, Nrs
and birrb"s. gccrn 10 recall especially
5e eytnlrRs, witb a skY ~ opaI and
the sound of melancholy folksongs
foafirF a"roza INT Iakcs. r. thc win-
f"r rou Iuat traYcj around the country
on tpp Vi the fenccs on aAis. finding
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Thomas E. Shea, Veteran
of Stage, Says He Is
Still Learning to Act

Thomas +. Shea il still learning to
act and is very willing to learn. He
said so in his dressing room at the
Palace Theatcr the other day. Yet Mr..
Shea is anything but a newcomer to the
stage. He has played in many notable
successes and is regarded as one of the
country's most experienced tragedians.
On the Keith circuit now he is giving
excerpts from three of his most popu-
and Or. Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde"
Somehow it seemed strange that this
man did not talk religion. He was
garbed in the traditional red robe and
hat Of the cardinal, and wore the ring
Of his rank. Flowing white locks and
trim Van Dyke completed the picture
Of the great Cardinal Richelieu. But he
talked Of audiences and Of acting
There is a noticeable difference be-
tween vaudeville audiences and audi
cnces in legitimate houses, Nh Shea, who
has played many times before both,
finds.
"Speed seems to be the essential re-
quiremcnt Of the vaudeville patrons.
They seem nervous, they want things
TO keep moving and are restless when
the act drags. On the other hand, the
audience in a legitimate thcater is more
patient. An actor must take his audi
cnce into account and speed up his per
formancc when he feels that it is nee
cssary.
"pcryonally never have to see an
audience. | can feel it. Ii am not
producing elects can tell it in
staMtly. But can shut my eyes and
know that the people out front are
giving me their undivided attention.
If they keep perfectly still, if there
is no unnecessary coughing, if it is
possible to even hear the actor sigh.
then am satisfied. Applause, Of
course. comes later, but it is hollow
and means little if undivided atten-
tion and respect does not come first"
The Palace audience met all Of the
actors requirements OF what an au
dcncc should do. The lowest tone Of
his we'll modulatcd voice, the slightest
sigh. could be heard easily in every
part Of the large theatcr.
Mr.. Shea has not been very active
in THINGS dramatic in New York lately.
He has been leading a very domestic
life. he said, and when his wife opened
tho door to bring in some clothes Mr.
Shea's wisdom was evident.
"But ] never stop studying, on or off
the stage" the actor said.
What methods do you use to study
acting?" MIR. Shea was asked.
"Observation mainly" he replied.
"but there arc ways to improve ones
ability without even thinking Of the
stage 1t is the same as in everything
else. The greater range Of knowledge,
the deeper power Of analysis, cannot
help but enhance ones performance,
whether he be a doctor, an engineer or
an actor. Anything which develops
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

Perhaps it is because he is Irish;
perhaps it is certain dash that he
has on the stage: at any rate we
seem 10 associate romance with Bran
don lyman. now appearing as Bris
quct in The Purple Mask at the
Booth.
"Romantic?'' he echoed. Nv ell, ad-
NIT to it, bat it is so much easier to be
a thing than to talk about it. Now,
there, don't smile; it is an absolute
truth. All right, just fall in love and
tell your friends about it, or try TO
Justify it to the relatives Of the loved
one you wiz see That what | say is
true
Romantic drama. as take it, is
the drama We do not understand. 1t is
the drama Of dreams versus the drama
of reality. [. is the drama of youth.
the drama Of inspiration. Aftes all,
heaven is simply the fulfllment OF the
romantic drama, for what is it but the
Prepayment romantic dream?
The romantic drama is the drama
that took this war out OF the sordid
struggle and gave to il the wonderful
idea and ideal to make the world SAFE
Toy democracy. 1t was the self deter
mination OF all little peoples TO live
lhcir lives in love and liberty such as
We know at home. II was this ro-
mantlc touch to the tragic drama that
made our enemies stop, slammed. 20
roll back the stone OF oppression from
the scpuichrc Of tyranny. Indeed. l.
the settlement OF it had had Il ten
dcncy INTO The scrdld and greedy We
would have failed. but with these
beauties in view i. should be simple
10 the utmost.
"Wfa. about the romance Of the m
dividual ~ we asked Mr. lyman. Take.
ior example, your own work and life,
1t seems 20 have had more than the
average amount of color"
GU arc persistent" replied Mr..
lyman. Il guess III have TO submit.
was born in Ireland that IS ro-
mantle enough Wnen | was very
young we moved to this country. and
settling III New York. took up our resi-
dence on Washington Heights. At that
period of my life baseball was the
most romantic thing ! could think
about. No. | was not an intellectual
chlld-can't even say was unusually
intelligent.
MY initial professional experience
was in the Lyceum Stock Company.
Romantic drama was then in vogue;
the public wanted plays like The Pris-
oncr Of Zenda' and When Knighthood
Was in Flower 7 first appeared with
this organization IN 'MayAower.' a
play from the pen Of Louis n. Parker.
who, strangely enough. wrote Joseph
and His Brethren In 'Mayhower'
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

comes to perfecting the score | can
only compare it to ones making an er-
ror in adding up column of figures.
which, If made once, one is likely TO re
peat over and over again. At least |
do if make an error in adding
THE hardest thing in the world is to
rid ones mind OF a persistent tune. and
when a composer gets persistent tune
into his head with the knowledge that
it is not the tune he wants at all, we'll,
he's in an awful fix until he can get rid
Of it. With myself, my most successful
compositions have always been those
which seemed to write themselves, and
which were the result Of long continued
and almost unconscious mulhng, if you
know what mean"
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

reasoning or analytical power is valu-
able
Sometimes study religions. Then
may study science. But | never stop
studying and when resume my stage
work find it much easier to grasp
things, everything is much more facilc
and | am sure have added to my
ability as AN actor
Incidents which occur in the audi
encc and which arc likely to mar a
performance should be turned TO the
advantage Of the actor, MIR. Shea be
lieves
AN actor should be able to turn all
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

the Folies Bergeres. He has learned
to speak quite passable English in two
months time.
Another OF the war heroes in the
cast is Robert Casadesus. who is artis-
tic director OF the troupe He was
previously artistic director of La
Scala. Paris. He has done something
OF everything on the stage played
comedy and tragedy. sung in opera and
put on a vaudeville act. He was at
Ncrdun for a Year and. when his
health gave out, he played in the army
thcatcrs.
New-York tribune., 1920-01-25

Mammals Affair."" Miss Butler said she
had always been interested in tho
mother and daughter theme and hoped
some day to develop it pathologically.
She had tried to make the play as
humorous as possible, she said, so that
it would miss being tragedy. In
real life this subject too often bor-
dcred on the revolving and morbid she
thought, and it had to be subtly treat
cd on the stage
"Tne condition of affairs | have pic