New-York tribune., 1922-01-29

the actor Of the two. ard one Of the most
original and versatile that the town las ever
seen. TIC only player Of recent years VINO
reminds ,nc Of nm is Arnold Daly, wios~ moe:
is serious. whic that e Tory I'a;t was
humorous end, il tie Gaze Of inc fooli:h
Irish boy that he played in The Blaclbird,
pathetic.
liarrigan always playol Dan Mugan. to
prosperous contractor and proprietor Of Null
gan Alley; Hrs. Ncamans va his wifc Cor
della: Harry Fisher was tho German, I.ecf-
muller, and Annie ATacf. still living and ah'"
to give point, to some Of tic Youngsters, tt-
atlers wife Tony Hart was at different
times Muiisans son. Ms. hlup of color, and
tic old Irish woman IN "Squatter Sovereign
t.. Johnny Wild is best remembered a5 Cap
tain Primrose, OF thc Saidmore Guard, "A col
orcJ military organization, bat he, 100,
sun;cA Other chafactcra. Ills old partner of
tho variety stage, Billy Gray, Was the EeY
Palestine Ps,er, Tie colorel clergyman Of prca
atory habit, but ono Ct MS best jnterprcta-
tions was his last ono on any stage, that o.
the Stage dcorkccrcr OF tho Bowcry
Thcatcr.
The interest in the frs. nights at this thea
ter was in the familiar characters rather than
in the plays, and the ones tha. recall most
wildly in this respect arc "scuatter So.er-
eighty and "The Mulliran Guards Picn;c.'
In the first named the curtain rose on the in
terror of cabin in the region long since COY
cred with houses, but then known as "Snarts
Town" In TIE very center Of tins cabin sat
white cay ppcd, rosy checked irishwoman, and a
great welcoming shout Of Tony Hart" dis
closed her identity with no uncertain voco.
IN "Thc Picnic" there appeared suddenly on
the scene, but not at the rising Of the curtain,
Lemons the Bum" city vsgrant, who for 4
moment was not recognized.
Then somebody shouted "Its johnny
Wild" and a great roar os laughter and aip
l,lausc came from the friendly audience tllat
had never seen him in white face.
Sarah Bcrlihardts first appearance at
Booths Thcater was ali occasion Of sensational
interest, for tho French actress was one Of tho
most adroit press agents that crossed TIE
ocean 70 teach native actors and maragers
what they regarded IS their long suit. IN
point OF distinction the gathering ~"
most notable have ever seen in any theatcr.
including besides tho hundred, WHO had been
drawn by curiosity, tho dozens who were
intclligcntly Interested in tho stage ani The
still smallcr nun7bor who know tho jincren~c
between good acting and bad.
Aftcrward Mue. Berrharlt declared tia,
carly in her first scene she saw something lac
II wasc Of crested billors sweep over the su-
dcncc to an accompaniment thai sounded lil>r
tlc rus;ing leaves Of j forest. L. WAS at tl7
moment that TIE attentive students OF il'"
drama turned Tho FIRST Page Of the .sansla'cl
text through waich they wcrc fo]'oYinE 4
her.
Ars. Leslie Carter enjoyed first night or
hNstcrlca cxcitcrcn. when the appeared in
"Za2a.' nnd thc house literally rose at her a,
the close Of her cli;nactic zccnc
1t seems to me that .ir. Dclasco is the only
parsonage in thcatricals who commands any
special interest for his first nights thc reason
being that his patrons believe that he VIII pre-
sent player previously unknown. An
other feature OF these first n ~hts is thc srcech
this astuto manager makes when dragged. &c
luo;ant and protesting. to The footlights. Tho
speech seldom varies but tho manner In ''ach
it is delivered makes it Of exceptional value 10
students OF acting proving il docs t',at
strength Of lung is not essential in tac effective
use Of tho voice.
For moment Bcasco stands r1odcstly pull
ing bis gray :oNknot waiting for the applause
to subsidc As nearly cvcr, body in tic audi
cncc lno%s what he is going to say, death
like silence cnsucs. and every ear is
strained 10 ca;c.a The words anew. Then he
begins in q confidential whisper that is in
marked contrast TO some of the voices that
have just echoed across tho same stage:
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you in tl.e
name Of tic company ard Of this l;ttlo
LADY,. His uttcrancc IS remarkable for
although he does not consider it necessary 20
shout at the top of his lungs. every syllable
that falls from his lips can be distinctly heard
III the last of the gallery.