The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, November 15, 1914, SECTION FOUR, Page 3, Image 51

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    FINANCIAL TRIUMPHS OF NEW YORK THIS YEAR
DECLARED TO BE ONLY ARTISTIC, NOT FINANCIAL
Season- so Tar Has Been "Frost," but Better Things Are Hoped for With Election Out of Way-William Elliott Attracts Commendation and Admira
1101X111 Experience" Andreas Dippel Produces First Opera Comique With Excellent Talent-"The Highway of Life" Dramatization ,
i
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5' ', ' V,' ' " ' 4 '.y-" Cyf- A ' w1 A
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every bit of it. I had merely to trans
fer it to manuscript form."
Extraordinary as it is for a novice
to write a play that scores an over
whelming: success from the beginning',
there is another feature of "The Poor
Little- Rich Girl" that is little less than
remarkable, especially to those famil
iar with stage construction and tech
nique. But few plays are presented to
the public in the form in which they
first leave the author's hands. As re
hearsals progress, changes become ap
parent and necessary. Even the most
practical dramatist is likely to make
some alteration some change that oc
curs to him or is suggested by the pro
ducer or stage director. But Miss Gates
turned out a finished product.
"The Poor Little Rich Girl" is on the
stage exactly as she wrote it without
one change. And she had absolutely
no practical acquaintance with the
stage no back-of-the-curtain famili
arity to guide her. But Miss Gates
called for help in one instance. It was
to connection with a name for her play.
To a friend she said:
"I've written a play and don't know
what to call it. I can t think of a good
name for it." . .
"What's the play about?" her friend
Inquired.
"Oh, a poor little rich girl." said Miss
Gates.- ,
"There's your title." suggested the
rriend, and so the play was named
. .
The barber had some extra time and
k ?,.r,rote a play- The CP couW find
"t"8 crime and so he wrote a play.
..v- nu.d Bna me DaKer. too dis
covered when their work was through
they needed something else to do and
V?. C?, w'rote a Tlay- The bell-boy
j found his duties light and so he wrote
TxTer Say' however, you can
2 i Hoboken a. man's who's blind
and deaf and has a feeble mindwho
never wrote a nlav rwu ri...
New Tork Telegraph.
.'
. After the Rio Theater at Moline Il
had used the film of Emma Dunn in
recently, the manager re-
RX.lfa Wrlre readln "Ship 'Mother- to
Family. Davenport" The telegraph
operator tipped off a friend of his. who
is an undertaker.
BY LLOTD T. LONERGAN.
NEW TORK, Nov. 14. (Special.)
No.w that election Is over, mana
gers are hoping that the theatri
cal attendance will improve. It. is an
open secret that even the "startling
successes" which are told about in the
papers and on the billboards, are only
triumphs in an artistic sense.
Only the other night the writer hap
pened to drop, into a theater which
nouses the play that all reviewers hail
as "the hit of the season." There was
a fairly good house, but part of it was
paper, and the treasurer had a number
of tickets that he would gladly have
exchanged for ?2 bills. ...
Perhaps the election excitement was
at fauVt, although there have been no
signs that the populance was greatly
worked up over the campaign of the
various candidates for Governor and
the state and Congressional offices.
Anyway, the next month will tell
whether or not the season is to be
what is technically called "a frost."
The old plays are going out, to the
road or the storehouses, and new ones
are arriving, in each case the producer
being confident that he will make
money.
Part of George Hobart's modern mor
ality called "Experience" was acted
last Spring at the Lamb's gambol at
the Metropolitan Opera-House, but it re
mained for William Ellidtt to bring
forward the whole work at the Booth
Theater in the presence of a most sym
pathetic audience. After the manner of
the popular play known as "Every
Woman." which was fashioned on the
famous mediaeval morality "Every
Man," the allegorical development of
the scenes shows the effects upon
youth of worldly passions. The vices
and virtues, the dangers and delights
of life are personified by the characters
in the play, which Is most earnestly
and emphatically said not to be any
thing else but a drama by the manage
ment. .
In the first episode, called "The Land
Where Dreams Begin," Youth, acted by
William Elliott, is brought forward by
the voice of Ambition. Later, in "The
Street of Vacillation," he is accom
panied by Opportunity as well as Am
bition. Of course, all that may happen
to Youth follows in the subsequent
scenes. The titles of these are enough
to explain the progress of the young
man. .
"The' Primrose Path" comes before
him "In the Corridors of Chance,"
which is the highly figurative descrip
tion of a gambling house which the
author adopts. "The Streets of Disil
lusionment" follows and then comes a
series of tableaux, which soars to such
a high number as 10. This 10th epi
sode happens to be in "The Land
Where the Dreamer Wakens." Al
though the dreamer -does awaken, he
lias been in the meantime through the
depths of despair, attended at various
times by poverty, degradation, crime,
grouch, roguery and similar drawbacks
to the success of youth.
' William Elliott proved himself an
actor of unsuspected resource and va
riety in his performance - of the long
role of the symbolic hero, the young
women representing the various at
tractive temptations that beset his
path were not only sufficiently typical
of their qualities, but beautiful in
themselves, and there were some
graphic denotements of character In the
other figures that surrounded him.
Andreas Dippel has made his first
venture into the realm of so-called
opera comique by producing "The Lilac
Domino" at the Forty-fourth Street
Theater.
"The Lilac Domino,": which is the
work of a young French composer,
Charles Cuvillier, who went to Vienna
to learn at its source the idiom of Vi
ennese operetta, - turned out to be
charmingly melodious and vivacious,
refined in its orchestration and in every
way an uncommonly refreshing score.
This youthful composer, who Is said
to be fighting now with the French on
the frontier, certainly will contribute
some admirable works to the field of
operetta if this first effort is a fair
example of his talent. .
Musically Mr. Dippel's new enter
prise was far above the average of the
operetta performances that New York
usually hears. In Wilfrid Douthitt he
possesses a. baritone with voice of a
delicious, mellow quality and unusual
compass. Then he sings with excellent
taste and his attractions are certain to
make him a favorite with the young
women who are supposed to attend the
matinees.
Then Eleanor Painter, who returns
to her own country after an experience
in opera in Berlin, is on a musical. level
higher than the average divette of op
eretta usually attains. James Harrod.
another stranger who has been studying
in Europe, proved an agreeable tenor,
which is somewhat of an achievement
in operetta There was an uncommonly
fine chorus in the quality of the voices
and in the training of the singers, as
well as an orchestra one-third again as
large as the ordinary operetta band.
' All these features combined to make
this production of comic opera similar
to the so-called "all-star" casts which
managers used to -collect at the close
of a season to revive some operetta
classic.
-
Wallack's Theater has reopened for
another season, although each Fall it is
the popular thing to say that this fa
mous playhouse wilUbe torn down and
an office building erected on the site.
The present year's offering Is "The
Highway of Life," from the pen of the
ever-popular Louis N. Parker.
It had been the Intention of the au
thor to produce the new play at His
Majesty's Theater, in London, with Sir
Herbert Tree. War conditions, how
ever, made this impossible, and conse
quently New Yorkers were given the
first opportunity to pass upon its
merits.
The play is based on "David Copper
field." In fact, according to Air. Par
ker's own description, it is Dickens him
self, page for page, line for line, situa
tion for situation. In converting the
wonderful Dickens story into dramatic
form Mr. Parker has retained all of the
principal characters of the story, and
in visualizing them has adhered closely
to the characterization drawn by the
famous author.
An unusually large cast was enlisted
in the interpretation of the various
roles of the play. - ,
NEWS AND GOSSIP
OF PLAYS AND PLAYERS
BY LEOXB CASS BAEB.
are delighted with Laurette Taylor and
predict her great popularity.
. - ' . - -
Eleanor Gates accorhDl'shed a Very
unusual thing by .turning out a tre
mendous success at her first attempt,
for "The Poor Little Rich Girl" was
Miss Gates' introduction to the list of
popular dramatists. It was no swift
achievement, however, for Miss Gates
confesses that jshe spent 12 years writ'
ing this play. She first had the idea-
when she was a student at Leland
Stanford University in California. She
made notes of whatever occurred to her
as material for the play, and in this
accumulated many bulky envelopes of
suggestion, in 12 years the play as
sumed dennlte shape in the author's
mind. Every character ' was formed.
ever bit of dialogue created and every
scene and situation prepared. The
play was practically . completed, men
tally, before Miss Gates touched her
pen to the paper which was to form
the manuscript. When,, at length, she
began this part of her work she wrote
the first act in 17 days, the second act
in 21 days and . the third act In 52
hours.
"But you must' remember," explains
Miss- Gates, "the play was really writ
ten in advance. It was thought nn
NEWS
OF THE THEATERS
Continued From Pag 2.)
as the unthinking may believe, merely
of interest to little folks.
"The Poor Little Rich Girl" goes
deep into the parental folly of entrust
ing the care of children to strangers
nurses and governesses, who may be
more intent upon their own comfort
and pleasure than the welfare of the
helpless charges. It is a rebuke to
such parents, who practically ignore
thei,r children to pursue the "society
bug" or who permit money-making to
blind them to domestic duties.
The first act treats of "bitter fact,"
and shows the reception hall in the
girl s home. It is her birthday, and
there is a society dinner. Nurse, wish
ing to escape for the evening, gives
Gwendolyn an overdose of opiate. The
girl in her delirium in the subsequent
scenes recalls the impressions she has
gained from the conversations of her
elders and peoples her "tell-tale for
est" with many characters, some help
ing her in her troubles and others
harassing her with their snakelike en
mities. The doctor is there trying to
"pull, her through," a feat which is
accomplished at Robin Hood's barn. The
fantasy is wonderfully well worked
out.
Among the 30 members of the com
pany are Leonie Dana. Ella Rock. Viola
Fortercue, Helen Gurney, Suzanne
Rowe. Margaret Houck, Nellie Preston,
Mignon Leris, Geneva Rohan, Horace
Mitchell. J. Palmer Collins. Eric Jew
ett, Harry Linkey, James Bryson, Jo
seph A. Bingham, Al Grady, A, Al
phonse and others long identified with
the success of the play. This is the
only company presenting it. Special
matinees will be given Thanksgiving
day and Saturday.
New York's annual assessed valuation this
year Is .049.8.".U.912.
THIS week, closes Nance O'Neil's
engagement as a leading woman
in stock In .Pittsburg, Pa. She
has been playing there for five weeks
and went into it following the close of
her vaudeville tour. She is coming out
to California now to pose for motion
pictures in "Iris," "The Notorious Mrs.
Ebbsmith" and "The Sorceress."
Cathrine Countiss while awaiting the
restoration qf normal theatrical condi
tions in New York has taken her lares
and penates out of ctorage and re
opened her apartments on Fifty-first
street, a few doors from Broadway.
Like many other well-known dramatic
players the has yielded temporarily to
the blandishments of the moving-picture
producers. Just now she is flit
ting dally across the river to the Paths
studios in Jersey City, where the Coun
tiss charms, so dear to Portland's mem
ory, are being immortalized for the first
time on the screen. "The Idler," by the
popular English dramatist Haddon
Chambers, and originally produced b
Charles Frohman in New York, is the
play in which Miss Countiss makes her
debut as a film star; Charles Richman
is associated with her in the picture.
Any of her old friends who may later
see Miss Countiss on the screen wiu
naturally feel a bit queer when they
see only the smiling pictured Countiss,
and miss the golden beauty of her voice
and have only memories of her delight
ful diction, but they will see her doing
a great variety of acting, comedy and
emotional. She plays tennis, rides
horseback, is the orange-flowered bride
at a fashionable wedding and is the
heroine of a domestic near tragedy It
is new work for Miss Countiss and" she
finds it novel and fascinating, accord
ing to reports in New York papers.
She has no notion of remaining in the
movies for any considerable time, only
until a big part turna up in a play
that looks reasonably safe in these un
certain times.
The London critics treat "Peg o' My
Heart" contemptuously as a play, but
LYRIC THEATER
4th and Stark Sts.
Where Musical Comedy Reigns
Supreme.
Week Commencing Monday Mati
nee, Nov. 16.
Keating & Flood present their pop
ular company in
IZZY THE MAYOR
A real langhfest, full of life and
action.
v See the
FLYING BALLET GIRL
Positively the most spectacular and
mystifying number ever presented.
Hear "It's a Long, Long
Way to Tipperary"
By far the most popular song
heard in years.
Staged and costumed in an appro
priate manner.
Matinees daily, 2:30; evenings,
. continuous, starting at 7:30.
Tuesday night, Amateurs; Friday
nights, Chorus Girls' contest.
BAKER.
THEATER
Phones 1 Main 2, A S3M
Broadway and Msrrlamn
GEO. I. BAKEH, H11,
HOME OP THE FAMOUS BAKER PLAYERS
Week Beginning TODAY, Sunday Matinee, November 15, 1914
Premier Stock Production in Portland of
FINE
FEATHERS
Charles) Halton
By Eugene Walter, author of Paid In Full.
The Wolf, The Easiest- Way and other
noted successes.
The life story of youns; chemist of amnll
alary, the extravacant wife, temptation,
fall and Its consequences, and all because
of an Inordinate love for "fine feathers."
A drama of purpose, of ftrlpptnjc Interest,
splendidly acted and mounted. Stage un
der direction Thomas Coffin Cooke.
Evening; Prices
S3c, SSc, Sue.
- Sunday ai
75c. Box seats. .
id Saturday Matinees
-25c, SOe. Box 75c
IMfc. TWO WEEKLY BAKEH BARGAIN PERFORMANCES
MUHT
ThankaslYlasT week Merely Mary Ann (by special request.)
ALL. SEATS KPt b. 25c weS
HEELKG
4 S TONIGHT ft,
THEATER
Broadway at Taylor Street
Phones. Mnin X and A
BARGAIN PRICE
MATINEE WEI.
H. Bt. PRAZEE PRESENTS
The Funniest Farce Comedy
Ever Written
A MIR I
SIXES
ALL-STAR CAST Including
UsearFiarmaa ' Hrrbrrtrortb.il i-.i-
Minna Gombel
Eleanor Fairbanks
Orlando Daly
J Kaf rael
Brrnlee Buck
And others
PRICES- Evenings: Lower Floor, $1.50; Balconv. $1 TKe BOe- niirv .6
Bargrain Prion. Wed. Mat, Lower Floor', i; Balcony', 7& llV. aVuSfr. tot
MAIL, ORDERS NOW SEATS SELLING AT BOX OFFICE
5 B1rfHTf TUES NOV 24 SPEC,Al PRICE MATINEE
O BeKlnnlnftT I ULsJ., UUV.tW THANKSGIVING DAY AND SATURDAY
Klaw fc Erlanrcr Brlnjr Eleanor Gates Wonderful Play
THE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL
The Greatest Dramatic Novelty of the Period. Blending Comedy. Pathos
and Spectacular Beauty
' IT IS ALIKE FOR THE MATCRE AND THE YOl'THFl'L
Wtr THE ONLY COMPANY PRESENTING THIS PLAY 9H
Hi'f1-Lowr" Floor. 1-50. Balcony. Jl. 73c. 50c. Gallery. 60c.
Both Afatinees Lower Floor, 1 Balcony. f. 75c, 60c. Gallery 50c
MAIL ORDERS NOW BOX OFFICE SALE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Main
. ft
BROADWAY AX STARK
Opening Performance
Sunday Evening
November 22
SEATS ON SALE at the Orpheum Box Office,
Broadway at Stark, Commencing Thursday.
: 10:00 A. M. to 10:00 P. M.
?r vl
Afternoons 10-a 5c
Nights . . . 15-25c
BROADWAY AT YAMHILL
Week Beginning Monday Afternoon, Nov. 16
MASTER MIND OF MYSTERY THE ORIGINAL
TT TTTT T T A T7
With Miss Elsie Terry. Remarkable Demoastratlon Thonirht Transference.
r it A I
THE LAUGH TRIO TWO CLEVER CHAPS
Haydn.Burton&Haydn Bobbe and Dale
ORIGINAL ODDITIES IN "IT HAPPENED IN PARIS"
ON THEIR WORLD TOIR ,
CANARIS AND CLEO blTkaNDWtS
IN A BIT OF PARISIAN MAGIC liJ-AV-ISk. A IN Lf WHITE
PRETTY GIRL ACROBATS
THE POPULAR FUNSTER -
BILL. ROBINSON . feature
Of Famous Cooper-Robinson Team P HOTO PLAYS
AFTERNOONS CONTINUOUS 1 t;lr, :00
NIGHTS TWO SHOWS . .7l30 and U13
SUNDAYS AFTERNOONS. CONTINUOUS, 1 iSO to t!:3U
HOLIDAYS)., s. . - NIGHTS THREE SHOWS, Beginning 8:30
Unequaled Vaudeville Broadway At Alder
Week Commencing Monday Matinee, Nov. 1 G
BIG DOUBLE FEATURED BILL
CANNIBAL ISLE
The SOth Centnry Musical Snc
cess, with Walter Terry and His
Fiji Girls.,
JOE KNOWLES
The Primitive Man, relating: bis
experiences In Oresron woods with
motion pictures oC his ventures.
CONTINUOUS PERFORMANCE TODAY
From li30 to II P. M.
5--Juggling Mowatts--5
Gardner & Revere
La Touraine Four
The Two Kerns
Mutual Weekly
Pantages Orchestra
Boxes and first row Balcony Seats Reserved by Phone, Main 4834. A 2S
36.