Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-09-23
BY John Clagett Proctor

BY John Clagett Proctor
The past two weeks, when the Ma
tional Theater was packed and damned,
were not the only times this playhouse
has had to put out the sold out" sign.
or when even standing room was not to
be had
Although this place of amusement is
the Oldest one in the city, it is not the
first. Nor is the building the original
one, though the site is the one upon
which the first National Theater was
erected in 1885 and opened December 7
of that year.
The Man of the World" was the first
play to be enacted, in which a Mr.. May
wood is said to have sustained the
character of Sir Pertinax Macsycho-
plant" And it was further reported
that Mr.. haywood gained great credit
upon that occasion for his fine acting
and elected much merited applause from
highly appreclative and intelligent
audience" The performance closed
with the musical farce, Turn Out"
To be sure, as one might suspect, there
was difference in prices a century ago
from what we are called upon to pay
today and SO, for the first tier of boxes
and the parquet the price was 81, for the
second and third tiers SO cents and for
the gallery Is cents. The doors were
opened at a quarter past s and the per-
Torrance commenced at o'clock, but
later the hours were changed to 5:45
and $50 so that the entertainment
might conclude at as near 10 o'clock as
possible
The Gallery Gods
In the opening of the National, an
innovation was made in the seating ar
rangementS of the new theater and
where the gallery gods had formerly
been seated on the first floor or pit, they
were put aloft in the gallery and the pit
was transformed into the parquet where
the seats thereafter we're patronized by
the best class of theatergoers.
All the more famous celebrities of the
stage of the early days appeared at this
theater, including the elder Booth who
appeared in Richard the Third" Shy
lark" The Iron Chest" King Lear"
and many other plays, and on Saturday
evening, February 6, 1886, a national
drama entitled "Pocahontas; or the
First Settlers of Virginia" was produced
here. 1t was written by George Wash
ington Parke Gusts, foster son of George
Washington, who built Arlington House
and died there on October 10, 1857.
The play was handsomely mounted,
new and appropriate dresses, scenery
and properties being provided. The
commissioner of the Indian Bureau is
recorded as having loaned a number OF
Indian dresses and a Mayor Hook also
loaned many Indian articles from his
wellknown collection so as to aid the
aboriginal effect. The play, We are told,
was we'll performed and the applause
was general and enthusiastic, and that
at the end of the piece the well-known
and highly respected author was loudly
called for and soon made his appear
ance. He was greatly affected by the
fiattering reception he met with and
stepped to the front of the stage and
expressed his grateful feelings to the
audience.
Early Plays
Other plays written by Col Gusts
and produced at the national include
a drama called "Montgomerie, or the
Orphan of Wreck" and THE Eighth
of January, or Hurrah for the Boys
of the West and he even demonstrated
his versatility by writing an opera
called THE Railroad" at the time of
the introduction of the iron horse"
in this country. In this play, Joseph
Jefferson, father of the 30" of our
generation, had as one of his parts a
song by Col. Gusts, the first verse
and chorus of which went:
"Of each wonderful plan
Fer inpented by man,
That Which nearest perfection ap-
pro1ches
Is the road made of iron;
Which horses neer tire on
And travelled by steam, In steam
coaches.
Chorus:
And we've no longer gee up and
gee no,
But fs. fs, fs, of tDe 90,
Nine miles to the hour
With thirty horsepower,
By daytime and nighttime,
Arrive at the right time,
Without rumble or tumble
Or chance of a tumble,
As in chaise, gig or whisky,
When horses are trisky
OH the merry railroad for me!
Oh! the merry rail, railroad for me-"
But, historically, Jenny Lind was ur.-
doubtadly the most celebrated person
to come to this theater. THE Swedish
Nightingale" as she was called, made
her first appearance here on Monday,
December 16, 1850, The building In