New-York tribune., 1921-03-06
Doris Keane Glad
To Be Home After
Triumph in London

turn 20 tne flayhouSe last Monday
night was the occasion Of one Of the
most enthusiastic ovations In the his
tory or the New York stage. Miss
Keane did not expect a welcome of
such proportions and was so over
whelmed by its extent that she was
unable to say more than IL thank you"
in . curtain speech.
~ want the playgoers to know how
grateful l am for their appreciation"
she declared in her dressing room at
the Playhouse the other night. II am
glad to be home again. 1t was in New
York that began my long career in
Romance just before the war. New!
York took S kindly to the the play play, and md my
the ardent and exotic Italian opera
singer, Cavallini. And decided to
tempt the fates In London, following
a tour of the larger American cities.
"My engagement in London opened
October s, 1915, at the Duke of York's
Theater. The American theatrical in
vasion was. at its height. American
don stage. But many of the plays
which had been successful in New York
fell by the wayside. They did not come
at the psychological time. They did
not entertain a nation at war. / re-
call the anxiety that felt about 'Ro-
nance during its first weeks. feared
that it might prove too serious and
sentimental for soldiers home on leave
and bent upon catching q breath of
cheerful relaxation.
"My fears we're groundless. Romance
began to exert strong appeal, par
ticularly for soldiers, and we moved
70 the Lyric Theater, where record
breaking run was established. l had
originally intended to stay but sea
son in London and then return home
to new activities. But the success Of
continued on and on. and it seemed
that I was never TO stop I went
through one season in the play, then
another, and soon we began to cele-
brate various milestones in our prog
ress-the 450th performance, the 500th
performance, and so on to the 1,000th
performance, which was recorded in
March, 1918. was on my way to the
1,060th performance wher the season
closed and went on vacation"
Miss Keane's success was all the
more striking because she played
throughout the war with its accom-
panying air raids. For a period she
gave performances on six afternoons
and two nights q week and then when
the raids had been controlled she re-
turned to her former schedule. To
than 1000 performances while the |
greatest war in history progressed |
from one stage to another, destroying |
governments and dynasties and wip- !
ing out whole peoples is an amazing
feat for play. But London playgoers
took care to show Miss Keane that
they loved Romance" as much for her
sake as for the drama itself.
II am proud to have contributed to
the happiness Of the soldiers and to
have been represented in posters in
the dugouts and farm houses where
troops were stationed. l have been
told that reproduc .ions of lvanowski's |
striking poster of me as Cavallini were
widely distributed in No Mans Land. |
TO me, that was a greater tribute than
] have ever or ever expect to receive.
! cherish it deeply"
More as a change and a diversion
than because Romance" had exhaust
ed its popularity, Miss Keane presented
in the spring Of 1918 "Roxanna," q
comedy by Avery Hopwood, which was
known in this country as "Nobody's |
Widow" with Blanche Bates in the |
stellar role. Here again Miss Keane
scored q great success, and "Roxanna"
continued for many months at the
Lyric.
Thus 1t was that Doris Keane played
in London all through the war with the
exception Of a few months at its be-
ginning, and achieved name for her
self In English theatrical history which
was unique. Her triumphs abroad,
however, we're domestic as we'll as ar
tistic. She became the bride in 1918
the role of her clergyman lover in
Romance" 1t was romance within
Romance. Mr.. Sidney had been en-
gagged to succeed Owen Mares in the
part Of the Rev. Thomas Armstrong
at the Lyric Theater, and 1t was not
long before the report came to Amer
1ca that the star and hex leading man
had been married.
Miss Keane was asked about her
plans. And she replied that she intends
to make a transcontinental tour in "Ro-
nance" Following an engagement In
New York she will play the leading
American cities and the principal
cities Of Canada. as far as Vancouver,
a. G. She has already presented Gro
share $l50,000.
u may return to London after my
tour in Romance" she declared. "But
an undecided now. Perhaps some
thing else will attract me to an in
definite stay in America. Perhaps
WILL mo another play with as strong
an appeal a. Mr.. Sheldon's love drama.
In the nine years since Romance was
first presented many chan1 have
come in the theater. New me eshods of
lighting and staging and writing have
bean introduced and all have advanced
the art Of the stage. However, 'Ro-
nance eeems to me as fresh as when
hSst played It. Its message is every
bit as enduring. And its revival at
this time comes when there is a re-
awakened interest in the New York
Of generations ago.
~ want to express my gratitude for
the kindness and interest which New
York has bestowed upon Romance
and me- Such tribute as was paid
on tho opening night at the Playhouse
1nAkes coming home the dearest event
In . players life. want to see the
new aspects Of New York's life. New
York is continuously changing and
must learn the city all over again"
Fred Stones Workmanship
Fred Stone, who is appearing in Tip
Top" at the Globe Theater, probably
has established one Of the most notable
craftsmanship records of its kind with