The New York herald., 1921-05-08
Vaudeville Singing
Helped Grace LaRue

| Surprise was expressed at the versa
tiHty. the mature variety Of mood dis
played on the opening night of Dear
Me" at the Republic Theatre by Miss
Grace La Rue. hitherto consecrated to
statuesque soubretting in musical revues
but Il didn't surprise Miss La Rue. At
i the theatre the other day the co-star--
and wife--of Hale Hamilton told how
she had been quietly developing dra-
matte ability, almost unknown to Broad
way. by appearing In vaudeville--and
not acting, but singing
Few actresses can lay claim to having
ripened their histrionic talent with the
i help Of a piano. Fewer still point to
/ the variety hall as their thespian alma
mater. for most OF those on the legiti-
mate stage turn to the two-a-day only
| for pocket money with which to tide over
I TIL the regular autumn hunting season
for jobs. Yet such has been the expert
ence OF Miss La Rue. so help me Joe
Drum. for she freely gives to vaudeville
the credit for making her what she is
to-day.
II had been identified for years with
such musical productions as 'Hitchy-
Koo.'" she said, ''till / felt that / al
most had lost my own identity. I tried
to put some personality into my singing,
but the stage directors became fright
ened-l was simply TO stand around and
look pretty and not spoil a musical
show by trying to act. Well as the
years pass there comes a limit to your
ability TO stand around and look pretty.
Not even singing Bernhard could last
forever In such parts. In revues there's
no future. and the past Is short.
Always l had wanted to do some
! thing to
rather than spend my life singing about
the moon. So decided II was high time
| went into grand opera. left 'Hitchy-
Koo' and went abroad TO sharpen my
voice for a classical existence. But
after studying a while l concluded to
| give UP my operate ambitions when l
discovered how much plain pull has to
\ do with making your vocal cords ia
/ nous. / have known singers In the
choruses of grand opera companies, far
superior to those OF the principals. who
were not stars simply because they were
1 not politicians.
Then / went to London and obtained
| an engagement at the Empire, the music
4 hall which one must attend regularly II
one Is TO be considered smart from week
to week. They didn't know who I was
or what i had played in London, and
| while IL resulted in salary OF 5000
receiving In America. II was very for
tunate in another respect. for they didn't
try to be merely cute and sing like a
| nice phonograph. ] spent eight very
pleasant months there doing as pleased
| In my vocal selections and still making
a hit
I'm fact got on so well. even though
| was an unknown quantity in Europe
that was booked for Berlin and n
u - TAI a..
| In and handed me my walking .
/ might have been caught in the Jam
OF Americans leaving Europe but for
the fact that believe things happen In
| this world just as you will them TO be
| a prominent New York banker and his
family had booked their passage ten
tatvely on two boats. TO make sure they
got one. passage and weren't caught In
/ the undertow | came along just as they
sailed on one boat and left the other
i booking oren, and | heard OF II and OBJ
/ tnirod their stateroom.
/ with no immediate prospects
reached New York on a Wednesday, and
\ In a short time r. r. Albee had offered
4 to me an engagement on the Keith cir
cult TO open the following Monday. al
most before / had been acclimated In
my own country again and grown ac-
customed TO Manhattan pronunciation.
In vaudeville they let me do Just what
/ Ia wanted TO do. for had a chance to
put songs over dramatically, and the
two-a-day audiences seemed to thrive
| on the treatment.
1T may sound surprising TO say that
dramatic powers can be developed by
singing, but Parsons Price, the teacher
to whom Julia Marlowe recommended
me for voice culture trains every one to
speak properly by singing He will not
let you tell person TO open the door on
the stage unless you sing IT, It's done
on a monotone and IL helps immensely
every actress ought TO know how TO sing
before she can speak before the foot
lights My singing. coupled with the
dramatic scope / was allowed In vaude-
Vile and my early stock training put
mo on my fest 90 an actress"