The Washington times., 1922-10-29

Nice sentiment, and homely.
too. though It must have dis
rupted the action Of the play con-
siderably, for with each gift the
brave donor also made a speech.
Now and anon the National altered
its policy of offering stars Of the
first water. by catering to lower
tastes with museum offerings
The Wonders Of the Age" for in
stance. brought Mr.. Porter. fhe
Kentucky giant, seven feet. nine
inches;" Major Stevens, forty
inches high" Miss Cannon, the
Juvenile prodigy. and others OBJ
scure in note but revelations in
physique and precocity.
The great actress. Ellen Tree,
made her Washington debut June
Is. 1888. as Rosalind in "As You
Like IT, followed by a repertoire
Of favorites, changed nightly. She
made profound impression.
Also the most astonishing juve-
nile actress Of the day." Miss Dav-'
export, played here in 1888 as
Richard III, Shylock. Sir Peter
Teazle and other difficult ,charac-
ters.~--
A smashing hit" with the gal.
lery gods was Mick Of the Woods;
or, Kentucky in 17Ss," in which
@. B. Parsons, favorably known In
America played the character Of
Roaring Ralph stackpole. ring.
tailed squaIler and rip-stayer
from Salt river"
OPERA NO GO.
Opera wasn't much Of a go.
II was tried but for various rea-
sons the performances were not
we'll attended. The great counter
attraction one season was the gal
lsry Of the House of Representa-.
tiyes where exciting discussions
were under way. Also the theater
was usually SO extremely cold that
many did not repeat their first
visits.
More unequivocal demonstra-
tions of applause had never been
given nor witnessed" wrote one
commentators, than was elected by
the appearance Of Mrs. Fitzwil-
liam Of Drury Lane in a wide Sc
lection of plays in one Of which
'yViddow Virgins" she played six
characters. This in 1910.
Time goes on. The seasons man.
age to hold their own. each replete
in it's presentation Of the foremost
attractions Of the stage; one week
q Keane or a Booth; the next may.
be Mr.. Mcconnell. "the tattooed
man." shipwrecked in the North
Pacific, where he underwent the
operation Of being tatooed. snd
was bound for nine successive
days in the most painful position
Audiences were less rep. sssive
ND to the fifties. II they liked
q play they demonstrated It. Also
they were decidedly mora poly
glot.
The old National Oft resounded
with disturbance, whether caused
by vociferous applause for the
actors or equally boisterous ap-
piause for such members of the
audience as chose to fight be-
tween the acts. In the thirties
the center of the third tier at the
National was reserved for dis
reputable women, the fittings be-
ing red curtains and gilt cornices.
Liquor was freely used and dis
turbances were frequent. An an
opymous wit, begging for theater
reform, In a communication to the
National Intelligencer, suggested.
among other things, that in case
of the slightest disturbance, par
ticularly in the upper tier, gen
eral rush be made from the pit,
box and gallery to the scene Of 1t,
and the performance suspended
for twenty minutes to allow the
actor to recover his cue and the
ladies their color" II was also
facetiously suggested that ad lib
tpansposition Of Shakespeare be
condoned to fit the highly ad.
vanced state of public taste and
morals.
FANNY ELLsLER.
'Unbounded applause" certainly
was no overworked term in char
acterizing the greeting accorded
Fanny Ellsier, who made her de-
but at the National in lS40 before
one Of the most crowded and bril.
liant audiencos ever v-itnessed