The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-26
Behind Scenes At The Little
 Iheater

tat7 noticed a crossword puzzle in ons Of the daily papers,
 'J-foso things sure do tease you, don't fhel?" aid the captain. q know most of l.e words but I can't think 'em wAen, want to-"
 lW ats an antillean island in four lefters, captain?" Mrs. Irons asked. 'ggaat o1e stumped me the other night."E
 s'Why, Cuba. You don't expect me to forget my geography. But what's a mark aimed at in three letters is what I'd like to know. I found out later it was tee and felt almost like a %olfer, I did. I ran across another one once in which the bird must a coT1bed all his bright lexicons for stQhpers. He had gods from the ma chtne' and was kind enough to say it was three words. Latin's alright, but wEos goin' to remember Latin now adpys? If l hadn't just been out watch ins,a show from behind the scenes at the II tile theater I'd hardly remem- befed t. I was a watching perform ausee . 2ollo's Wild Oat' from the wihss wien I caught a view through crack | the curtains O their chief, assistant thief, first and second helper elsetriciar David R. Solomon. He was sittin up on little perch surround eds by half dozen rheostats, switches, pIsA bu'tons, instructions and so fDEth. Il was up stuck up in one cor neg apou four feet off the stage level 2nsissseBy brightly lit up above. He had ons [ pair O faded dungarees about the cok~ e ied coffee, pair O old com taateblt coth shoes, and his nose and cvA glasses were made as distinct as a Gnesdraw,ng by an eyeshade he had on. IS looked as detached from this world ana sas ntent on his business as a sub marine commander sitting at his con- trdiS twenty thousand leagues under the sea, trying to dodge ash cans full O higf expi )sives and at the same time, his comp iments to Lieut. Von Tirpitz and woud the. lieutenant kindly dis pc tfh a Orpedo nor nor east, five de- grees gnd fifteen seconds-or something like that, He's got all sorts O funny names for his pet lights; floods, foots, and sall that kind O stuff. As techni- cai ps g flapper's vocabulary, and as sure the bird that knows just when to abuse tAe glim and put the stage in a lighs g. he proper color and intensity that ma es your eyes telegraph instant ly to yo r brain just the proper effect
 
 put ac. ,ss. Light! Cad what a nedsuu. to meddle with when you're elfestiae peoples emotions!
 This lere lighting expert, besides ben. that, is a lawyer, too, and au- th4s, 'er seen his name in the Cos a1falta and "Sat. Evenin' Post?" He's t'.s one. And even if he is such Q Jatk trades and is named Solomon, he ias wife. All O that shure must Aselt hlAl busy. She's the one who played I 'Liliom,' the little country girl friold of Julies. I forget her naIGa. l was down in the dressin' T. 1tss aud she was as busy as bru- Letta dget a skeeterin' about and i,u.pjn # make up. Where's the rag? | Gins ome juvenile yellow! Got any poVtarr There it is behind the spirit < In4 y heck, they're a regular fam fly srogAd there.
 First there's Buddy Szold, pape-in- chief him O the exuberant neckties and hats like that one worn by Q. high waylsan on an off day. I watched him make up Rollo and he looked as happy as a kid with a new box O war ter eolors. I'd be skeered to do that to some female. I might get so charmed with the creatin' more beauty around eyess like Goldie's that I'd turn into a Pygnalion and if I did that where I'd be? Not lost at see, but a sailor left on dry land.
 Then there's Mrs. Caldwell, she O the Muscat fame in 'Liliom' Sybil, they called. her. And she's 'props,' too. Re member when Hewston had to go and act 4he nutty kind, the cookies that busted out with nuts like Fujiama in iull bloom. Well, sir, Hewston didn't nave to go and look for them off stage. She qwas a waiting right there with .henf when his cue came. Hewston, once. had to go out and get some drinks, too. q I stumbled all around trying to get around the other side O the stage 10 see her have the drinks for him and It wksn't thing in the world but gin ger ale-but it was a waitin' for him. needed a red striped vest for his costume and down to the Tut wileE went Mrs. Caldwell and got one off 3he walters down there. Liliom useda flowery vest and she combed the whole district til she found one. And .sshe went all the way to Bessemer to get 1t.
 Tho chief stage-carpenter, scene shifter, and generalissimo O the cur tain@ is Mrs. Muscat's husband, Mir. Caldwell, or better still as they call him a+Rusty.' He's one O these here longAand lank individuals with a nose just .1ike mine and rusty is his color. If he had a beard they'd probably call him ls Barbarossa. His piece-de-desist- ances is a pair O dingy white oyeralls. I got awfully interested in peeping out O a crack in the curtain and watching the audience and just when I'd get in- terested the most he'd tap me on the shouIder and pull down the curtain.
 His alter ego is Hubbert Smith. When Rusty is pulling down the cur tainE he's all set and ready to leap out and adrag down the library scene and make nursery in the twinklin' O an eve. r He's another one O those rather tall sand wiry folks who rush about when they get started like a spring uncoiling. He could probably take a shaded light and 8 coupe O bed slats, if theyss have 'em any more these days, and e1ay a scene for a triangle play. ButtI hope he don't at the Little the ter. < I'm clean fed up on those things. There was a youngster up there, too, in Khaki clothes who was a helpin' Leon Lecinge, think was his name. Every time I saw him he had hand fullsso' chairs a moving them to their right places, or else his legs were get tin in my line % vision, when I was a standing on the stairs and peepin' un- der Nhe bottom of the curtain.
 Then the baby O that scenic family, and z to me, the terrible infant, is Freda Avant. Every time think O Miss Avant's name I get to thinking about lords, great ropes O blonde hair, and sHeddas and all that First I saw her picking out high lights on somebody's face with grease paint. The