46
o
! ,-9
6 .
3
BY A. H. BALLARD.
NEW YORK, Nov. 3. (Special Cor
respondent of the Sunday Oregon
Ian.) The theatrical atmosphere
In New York Lb scarcely becoming
deodorized, but it surely is becoming
somewhat Frohmanlzed which is to say
that it is becoming purer and more
artistic.
The surcharged and overwhelming cata
clysms or musical comedy, the riotous
rivers of gaudy flauntings, the never
ending stream of screeds about irregular
tx relations, the torrents of problem
plays, the era of overstrained cleverness,
the highly-colored and highly-scented
epoch of false emotion, which has tickled
und then nauseated the public palate. Is
Mowly giving place to a general effort to
l'roduce plays of genuine merit, sweet na
ture, honest feeling, true beauty, dramatic
ionstruction and real action..
I believe that the example of Charles
Frohman, in this community and else
where, has had more to do with this
suspicious ' movement than any other
f;ictor you could name.
He has 15 companies this year in Eng
land, and I don't know how many stars
and organizations in this country. In a
former letter. John Drew, who Is playing
here to packed houses in Pinero's ex
cellent play. "His House In Order," at
t .!e Empire Theater, and Hattie Williams,
who Is now singing the stellar role In
tile dearest musical bouffe on Broadway,
"The Little Cherub." were described.
They are under Charles Frohman's direc
tion, and also Willie Collier, whom you
have seen already the present season.
I send now a dozen or so of Mr. Froh
man's other stars, whom you will se at
:ie time and another this year as they
g'3t around to you on their respective
toura. Bach has his or her unusual at
tainments. , Each represents the Froh
man cult and the Frohman" cult is a
tiling to be understood and to be serious
ly reckoned with theatrically now in
Knglish-speaking countries. Mr. Froh
nun occupies a similar place In the thea
tilcal world to that of Tiffany & Com
pany in the local New York commercial
world. Newspaper men all know here
that they are priviledgcd to mention the
name of Tiffany & Company whenever
tl-.ey have occasion to do so. for illustra
tion purposes In the writing of an article.
Tlkere will be no objection from the busi
ness office on tne score tnat you are
giving the firm some free advertising.
Just so with the name of Frohman. The
ir. embers of the theatrical profession, and
all the people connected with the theater
in any capacity, may speak of Charles
Vcohisau as often as they desire, on the
7,
stage, anywhere they choose, without con
sideration whether they are advertising
the man or not. He is considered the
standard of art so unquestionably suc
cessfulthat he has become a household
word to even his business associates and
the rivals who run theaters alongside of
his enterprises. Thus in James Forbes"
clever and laughable, "The Chorus
Lady," the star alludes to Frohman In
her lines in the play. If an allusion to a
typical manager is needed, the author
would naturally use the name of Froh
man (and It would refer to Charles Froh
man assuredly) as this very same Froh
man is the best known and the most uni
versally acknowledged good manager of
today. '
Frohman's Energy and Influence.
The point of importance is that his
energie.s and his influence are all for
the good of the stage at the present
time. I do not mean to say that he is
an unalloyed saint personally and that
he can do no wrong, or that he makes
no mistakes, etc. I mean to say that
he wields the largest power as a man
ager in this land, and that the pre
dominating effect of his labors is in the
direction of bettering the stage, bet
tering the opportunities of actors and
actresses, and bettering the quality of
the plays that will be seen on the
American stage. That Is quite
enough honor for one man, and I
am sure that Mr. Frohman is
on the road to acquiring more and
more honor of a similar kind as vthe
seasons arrive, and as he -is able to
carry out his absolutely amazing ac
tivities. The scope of his work and
undertakings is more diversified and
larger than anyone outside the pale of
theatrical circles would imagine, and
Its magnitude and variety almost stag
ger the most experienced man in the
mere contemplatiqn of the programme
that Mr. Frohman lays out for himself
and his people from year to year.
Frohman crops out In so many places
and in so imporUat m&asar that
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND.. NOVEMBER. 11,. 1900,
OIF
VU'lMl
Charles Frohman's
Influence on the Theaters
of the Two
Great English Speaking,
Nations.
9"T
-1
:--f:'..-s,?.
25
wmm-
oro
7Vj2T
N5
V.
K
'mm
V !f o
V SSiESTOQFJ TO
.-v.
ft-W
3
the best way to keep track of him
is to watch his theatrical openings.
His star. William Gillette, started in
with the American run of Gillette's
play, "Clarice," at the Garrlck The
ater here. The play had a good re-
j ception In England, and the first act
Is pronounced by nearly everybody an
j" Idyllic comedy of the very best sort,
j giving the actor and also Miss Marie
1 Duro, the leading woman, chances to
do their finest and most brilliant work.
Gillette himself never appeared to bet
ter advantage. His repressed finesse,
his simplicity of method, his sweetness
and truth in art, were as a breath of
fresh air in a desert. It is a tender
love story, wrought out marvelouly
well.. It Is called a poem, and It Im
mensely delighted the typical first
night crowd. It ends naturally and
consistently. But after that first cur
tain Mr. Gillette has tacked on a long
melodrama, into which has been poured
a lot of farce, and the concensus of
opinion here is that after the first act.
the till wags the dog. Doubtless
later on you will see "Clarice" and you
can Judge fur yourself whether this is
true. I think that It Is.
Cominc Productions.
William H. Crane, another of Mr. Froh
man's big guns, did not keep up an in
creasing interest in Alfred Sutro's seri
ous drama, "The Price of Money," at
4 -w M
the Garrick Theater, and it was with
drawn. Crane is on the road with the
English company headed by Miss Ellis
Jeffrys, playing "She Stoops to Conquer,"
hitting San Francisco Thanksgiving week
and reaching Portland a little later. That
English company will tell everybody how
to pronounce the English language, and
Miss Jeffrys is the best ever fine art
personified, .positively bewitching with
her English finish. Everybody is looking
forward to the return of Maude Adams
to Broadway In Barrie's inimitable "Pe
ter Pan," Frohman's greatest success of
last season.. That will come soon, and
later in the year the charming woman
may make a tour with It, including the
West.
Among the other stars who are prepar
ing for Frohman openings in the near
future are: Clara Bloodgood, who is re
hearsing Fitch's "The Truth," and Fay
Davis, who will be seen in Clyde Fitch's
dramatization of Edith Wharton's "The
House of Mirth."
The Frohman stars on the road, most
of whom will visit Portland du,ring the
year, are Ethel Barrymore, in "Allce-Slt-by-the-Flre";
Joseph Wheelock. . in
George Ade's "Just Out of College"; Otis
Skinner, in Lavedan's brilliant play, "The
Duel." and Francis Wilson in "The
Mountain Climber." I don't believe that
any other theatrical firm of single ener-
tConcluded on Page 48.)