Evening star., 1948-06-06
By John cIosett Proctor

to advantage on the stage when
the calcium was pointed her way,
as many will undoubtedly agree.
Della Fox was also a headliner
in THE Wedding Day." she then
being at the zenith Of her career.
Her father was photographer in
st. Louis. and when she was 7 she
took the part of the midshipmite
in "Pinafore." Later she played in
MY Friend From India,' became
the prima donna of the Bennett
and Moulton Opera Company,
played in the Kings Jester" in
1890, then went with Emma Juch
Opera Company, with De Wolfe
Hopper in Castles In the Air" j"
Then came wang" "Panjandrum, u
THE Little Trooper" "Fleur de
Lys," and THE Wedding Day" in
which she took the part Of Rose
Marie. Polycop's Normandy bride.
The full cast of characters Of this
play included William Pruette, a
Washington man: Tom Greene,
whose widow, Mrs. Katie Wilson
Greene, died here about 20 years
ago; Samuel Slade. Leonard Savoy,
Eugene Desmond, Jefferson De An
gels, Charles w. Allison, Albert Nc
Guckin, Miss Lucille Saunders, Miss
Russell, Miss Meta Rosa and Miss
Fox.
Oldtime Players
The actors of today may be Just
as good as the actors of several
decades ago, but to the oldtimer
this does not, seem to be so, nor
do the plays of today-with few ex-
ceptions-class with those of years
gone by. Take, for instance, Rose
mary" q Charles Frohman produc-
ton, played here in 1896. with John
Drew and Maude Adams in the stel-
lar roles, and Ethel Barrymore TAX
ing the small part Of Priscilla.
How long ago was that?" Let's
see-just So years. Annie Adams,
Maudes mother. also took part In
this play, as did Victor Moore.
Many will also recall Maude Adams
in THE Little Minister" but this
occurred at the National Theater in
1899, and many similar pieces, that
tended toward the upbuilding OF
were then performed at
the Washington theaters.
De Angels, Francis Wilson and
Frank Daniels, three names which
will always form part Of American
stage history, almost Invariably put
on good shows and consequently
had a big following. De Angels
Jolly Musketeers" and "A Royal
Rogue" will, OF course. be remem-
bered. Francis Wilson's repertoire
included q number OF favorites, Of
which the writer saw at the, Ma
tional, HALF a King" "The Stroll
ers" and the "Toreador" and "Er-
mine" were at the Columbia Thea
ter in 1900, which was then under
the management Of Luckett &
Dwyer. With Mr.. Wilson at this
time in "Ermine" was Pauline Hall
and Lulu CHASER, who took the part
Of Javotte. Miss Hall could not
have been In the juvenile class at
that time, for her picture was COM
mon on cigarette cards number Of
years before this.
In 1895 "The Geisha" was played
at the Lafayette Square Opera
House, as was Sousa's Eel Captain"
In De Wolfe Hopper's opera COM
pany, which included his then wife,
Edna Wallace Hopper, and Nella
who later became Mrs.
Hopper.
'The Sporting Duchess" came to
this theater in 1897 with Rose Cog
an and Elita Proctor Otis. Within
this year were also played Spring
time" with Maurice Barrymore,
Virginia Harmed and Victor Moore;
Paul Jones" had in its cast Lizzie
and Joseph Sheehan;
One Round of Pleasure" with Wal
ter Jones, Max and Gus Rodgers
and Maude Raymond, and Bizet's
Carmen" with Lizzie Macnichol
and William Schuster. Also THE