Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-12-24

-NHi
at the Grand Opera House. This Araa
on November 10, 1879. if memory
serves correctly. The innrmities Of
years sat heavily on his shoulders.
but had not quenched the dramatic
fire that had thrilled American audit
cnces for many years. Unable To stand
or to appear In costume, he read lIan-
let, seated on the stagc and one Is
told that II was one of tho truly great
performances In the history of the
house. II was his farewell TO the
stage and 20 tho American peuple--hls
swan-song TO the footlights, and he
passed on soon after, leaving "A mem
ory that is still treasured by those
who saw him or came within range OF
his wonderful powers.
Madame historic came here from
her native Italy and if her portrayal
of Lady Macbeth is not still rcmcm-
bered by her auditors IL is perhaps
because her strange tongue made diff
iicult a full comprehension of her
splendid art.
Mary Anderson came almost fresh
from her old Kentucky home: Young.
sweet, beautiful. ana with more assiir-
nnce Than developed talent. and much
gronter comcliness than usually falls
to the lot of "A woman. She cnn,p later
when she had partially fulnlled the
earlier predictions OF edniring. e,,.
thusiastic friends. Sha was almost
comet-like In her rise I'm the puhlic'r
esteem. and in her return. broken IN.
bealth. To the privacy of home life.
] a 10
fows into the dramatic footight.
The Winscme Iotta's Romance.
There was also the charming Lolita
--Carlotta Crabtree. Not TO have seen
her roguish dance nor TO have heard
her merry laugh Is 10 have missed
mitch that made for fun She came
here on one OF her visits with the
scion of wealthy Philadelphia family
IN her train. who accompanied her
around the country. and even over
seas, striving to win her hand. but
failed. Still, through :all tho more
than three decades Hiace he passed
ION, she sent or came with blossoms 10
his grave at Laurel TnEl on the anni4
versary Of his demise. .
No one who saw Adelaide Nelson.
though sho has been dead almost
forty wears, will forget the refined
type of beauty oc this talented young
lEnglish woman. In such roles as Juliet
or Rosalind she was indeed n delight.
and the charm of her acting held
the audiences here as elsewhere as
If under tho exercise of some mari-
cal spell.
Many, also. still remember Ada
Gray. who never failed To send her
audiences homo weeping and sobhlng.
and there, too, was Kate ClaNtou
whose Two Orphans have unloo. cd
more Copious floods OF tears than any
other woplan Of the entire stage. In
addition TO passing through the sad
tribSlations of Louise nightly TO,
years. she emerged from two or three
fires as almost the only person or oh.
jcct To escape. Charlotte Cushman also
charmed several Grand Opera House
. audiences with her mnsterly por.
irayals OF tho great characters of his
tory. She was star par excellence.
Madam Modjeska was here soor
after she adopted the stage i'm this
country. Her performances were never
stale or unintercsting. She had n de.
lighuul manner, most attractive
= voice and read her lines with "A slight
accent that bespoke the fact that sh,
had boen born, reared and schoolco
abroad, in Poland. them dominated
ly Russia, which country later ban.
lshcd her. Mile. Rhea was an ocCa.
sional visitor 30 the Grand onsra
> House as was Lucille Western. I.illS
lAangtry also could he included in the
group Of early players. She came from
> England in the mids. of the great
furore she had created by reason OF
her remarkable beauty, and an al
. ieged affair with the Prince of Wales
later King Edward VII. She never
however. grew TO the estate of m
actor. She was always richly gowned
the forerunner of our later modist,
! shows.
Davenport and Nat Goodwin.
IL. l.. Davenport the great PLAYER
, came in New Way to Pay OIL,
, Debts and Nat Goodwin came agail
and again with one or the other u
MS numerous wives in the leading Oh
posite role. notably the beautiful Max
Inc Elliott, in When We Were Twenty
. one.
Lucille Western and Clara AIorri
{ were leaders Of the earlier "sob-sis
tefS OF the stage, and came here il
= the heighth of their careers, and al
c most never failed to fill the big play
: house. One can but wonder how the
s atre-goers of that period found diver
= zion in so much emotional acting
Many of the stars of that day mad
r and sustained their reputation O
: their ability TO produce 20 or 3
= weeping intervals in the course of al
evening. They seemed to be able 4
e open wide the tear ducts of the eve
= OF men and women alike. Probabl
e there is not one of these emotiona
4 .ladies on the stage today. whor
u ohere were two scores fifty years age
$ People have ceased paying for IN
: privilege OF spending an evening il
e wiping their leaking eyes
e All who remember the opera. hons
o In its PALMER days recall Dion Bou
"a cicault, who was regarded as one q
+ the most finished all-round actor
b OF 40 years ago. He usually wrote hi
e plays, and they were excellently con
If structed, usually with Irish setting,
e and with sparkling Celtic humo
8 Wheneyer he came to town there wa
+ sure to be a big turn out Two of hi
: favorlte pieces were Colleen Bawn an
Ie Arrah Ma Pogue, which. measured b
lie present-day tastes. would possibl
d not draw corporals guard no,
n Boucicault wooed and wed many wivc
? in the course of his long career.
The annual visit of Augustine Dalv