THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL PORTLAND, SUNDAY .MORNINO. FEBRUARY
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145 MINUTED PfcSM rv,. ..;.oy?i; ;
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DRAMATIC CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK
HEILIO Tuesday nd Wednesday, musical comedy, "Forty-f lve Mlnvftes
Prom Broadirsy"; Thursday, Friday, Saturday, "Buster Brown."
' MARQUAM ATI week, dramatisation of Parsifal."
'i BAKER Resident stock company In "In the Bishop's Carriage."
.LYRIC Allen stock company. In '"The Nancy Hanks."
EMPIRE! "Dora Thorne."
' GRAND Vaudeville. v ;
' STAR French stock .company.
PAN TAG ES Vaudeville.
PARSIFAL
1
OT5
I.
In
V
X
S3 J
( S ,f" .41 -1
THE DUnOti
CA1SBIA6B
NEXT WEEK'S OFFERINGS
Wednesday night, Elchen-
Dominlon,"
New
IIEILIO Monday night, Paderewskl recital;
lauo TeoiiaL.
MARQUAM Clay Clement In repertoire, 'The
Bells ' and "London Assurance."
BAKER Resident stock company la "Qraustark."
LYRIC Resident stock company In Dumas' :amHle."
EMPIRE "A BatUe or Life."
"The
4
BACK TO THE DAYS
r OF TRAVELING STARS
' By J. F. S.
ARE we rapidly drifting back into the old days of the travelipg star and
i'i stationary stock companies?
( Everything points to that outcome. Stock companies, for the past
score of years confined to the larger cities, are now springing up
everywhere. -There, are three of more or less merit in Portland. Their
managers are forming combines and gradually extending the number of
houses, so that men such as Baker in Portland and Denver, Bishop in Oak-
iana, ana r erns ana morosco in jos Angeies practically control uie popular
priced attractions for the Pacific coast.
The coming of the stock companies themselves, with permanent stars
and members of the company was innovation enough for comment But
when these have been succeeded by traveling stars the situation assumes an
fcdded, and more fearsome, interest
:i '-yiy
It cannot be denied that under the old system the most famous figures of
the American stage sprang up and flourished. The Booths, McCullough,
Jefferson, in fact nearly all the stars of the century grew up from the hard
and somewhat stony soil of stock. But the hurry and rush of the work pre
eluded the possibility of much, that was fine and the results when a traveling
star attempted to play with a company who did not know him and who
culled asainst him were hard on the actors and worse on the public.
'Just at present the stock companies are generally regarded as a half-way
house between Avernus and the Elysian fields. Most actors hate them but
console themselves with the thought that they are good training. Person
ally I'm' not' particularly interested in training schools for young actors but
they appeal to me as an excellent training school for the young critic They
give you an unrivalled opportunity to aee how many reallyjjad plays have
attained popularity in years past. " -
-It's'! great' comfort to know that you ; are to be given a second-hand
chance to whack at al the plays of the past 10 years and that one a week is
bound to come up, like an accommodating tennis bait
Their merit is that you 'see plays which otherwise you would probably
miss. , The fact that they r shown at very reasonable prices puts them
within the reach of the poorer classes 01 people, who may get some good
out ot them.. t--? T:'k:KrA i -' ' '-A-'.'
Their fault, lies, as has been said, in the hurried work of the actors, which
precludes careful production. They have no time to "grow into" their parts,
to study them carefully and to throw any of the finer shades and shadows
into relief. , That this trouble will not affect the pleasure of most of the
audience is true, but at the same-time the great desire of the actor who
noias nis camng m esteem must be growth, and artistic growth in a stock
company is as hard, a thing to compass as is literary growth on a modem
newspaper. i'
? Mary Anderson, who grew up in the age of the stock companies but kept
herself free of them for the most part, has no very high opinion of them as a
training school for actors.v In her book of published memoirs she refers to
M Vt? .1" ,u""ues m ine oowing highly interesting fashion:
c Few theatre-goers today realize the difference between the old traveling
ovu urT, swck company system and the present one when
every star has his or her own support Though one . could cite numerous
individuals who have soared high in the theatrical firmament in spite of it,
the effect of the former system cou d not but be pernicious in its influence
part of the company to study and digest their work and so give to it the
respect and importance due to it as an art
"Besides it eem$-to be anything but conducive to intellectual or artistic
growth or to originality It fettered and cramped wtdiuMlS
alines frequently descended to mere tricks. I soon learned that the
training of such ompaniej ws worse .than no training at all '
i:ach week brought a different star, with a round of new plays to? the com
panies (long runs were almost unheard of then), and they had frequently to
memorize their parts while standing, in the wings during the performance,
, j'y ..:sv-BSOEK2
mm " -Kjrmk i sir ' ' .'
' IS
; f ix:yjl Pi
.
cJEWEL.
PKOMISES MADE BY
THE PEESS AGENTS
nmbie. jnuRPKip.s ot. maim ?bs zm-zz m. sat.
awaiting their cues 'winging a part' it was called. Rapid study, a hurried
rehearsal daily, the rearranging of their costumes for the . ever-changing
plays, left them no free time to reflect upon the characters they were to
enact, and for the uncommon amount of work they gained but a meager
salary and a faculty for memorizing, which is the smallest part of an actor's
art."
, But far be it from me to wish to see the stock companies done away
with. 'One of the chief joys in an otherwise eventless recording of deaths
and births lies in the accusations of this or that member of a stock company
that she is being spitefully discriminated against, week after week, in spite
of evidences of great popular approval, while no traveling star, unless per
chance it be the leader of a light opera troupe, would deign to show pique
at the ravings of a small-town reviewer.
So, long live the stock companies I
. It really looks as though at last we are to be treated to a series of Ibsen
matinees. Mr. Baker has given the word that as soon as a competent lead
ing woman arrives he intends putting on some of the more "actable" of the
xr...... .1...;.. ..... ...i .l . Ai
nvincguuia I.M33H.I. , nuu uki vu in mc year, wiicn 111c wcauicr yeriims,
there is to be an open-air performance of "As You Like It." There should
be no doubt of the success of both from the commercial -standpoint. It is
scarcely conceivable that even in Portland there are not enoueh people in
terested in the higher lorms ot the drama to make these matinees successful
from the viewpoint of attendance.
As for .their presentation that of course depends on the members of the
company. .Nothing is sadder man tne usual Miafcespertan performance ot
ordinary players. It can safely be guaranteed to cast gloom upon the live
liest occasion. No doubt some of those matinees will be very bad from the
standpoint of achievement, and we'll go away disheartened. But at any rale
the effort will have been made and possibly the way paved for better things
in the future. ; '-.r ' .
Franklin Fyles. whose reputation as a writer on matters dramatic
is either so good or so bad that he lias fully one half of the larger news
papers in the country on his list of weekly comments, is also a playwright.
Mr. Fyles . greatly admires, George Cohan and thinks, ms humor the best
of the day. In spite of that his own plays are not so bad. They are usually
funnv because the v combine the old regulation melodramatic effects with
the most out of place, grandiloquent language. -
His latest was given for the first time by the Allen stock company at the
Lyric theatre One day last week. If it didn't do anything else it opened my
eyes to tne very capable work being done by some members of hat little
company. , We. fUid 10 cents to sec that matinee and were given an, abso-,
lutely new play, at least as good as Mr. Fyle's others, and saw some unusu
ally good acting on the part of Miss Verna Felton, and some good character
work by Mrs. Allen. , x ' S
I confess Idon't know how Miss Felton did it. There were at least two squall
ing babies in the. house who kept whooping it up at regular intervals through
three acts. You know you can t eject babies when you are charging 10 cents
a head. But she carried off the part of the young New York bride marooned
in the country village excelfently. She was perfectly. natural and her voice
was well controlled. The ease with which she assumed the entirely strange
role of Mildred Hoyt was mystifying to me until she told me that she had
never attended that most stultifying of institutions for the young actress
the dramatic school. ' '
The play told how Mildred Hoyt had left her husband of three hours arfd
stopped off the first station they reached while on their honeymoon. Why
Mr. Newly-wed let her go wasn't explained. When he found she was gone;
however, he raised an awful rumpus and came to search for her. -' The bride
found a friend in the village lawyer hence the title, "The Lawyer and the
Lady." lhmgs go swimmingly between the two the, lawyer and the lady,
that is until husband reaches the lawyer's house and finds them , together.
At this juncture the lady utterly confounded the lawyer .and me by Changing
her tone and announcing that, she had loved him but could love him no
longer that she could love no one but a strong man. Then she runs up
stairs and the curtain falls.
What happens in that last act I shall probably never know. I hadn't the
time AO wait and see then and now the opportunity is gone. Perhaps the
uadyiagreed with Mathew Arnold v
"45 Minutes From Broadway."
No more capable or better equipped
theatrical organization has been sen!
on tour this season than the large com
pany which the noted managerial firm
of Klajw & Erlanger are presenting In
the brilliant New York and Chicago
success, "Forty-Five Minutes From
Broadway," George M. Cohan's origi
nal play with n.uslo, and Scott Welch
as "Kid Burns, the ex-s'anay prize
fighter, said bv many to be the most
pretentious effort this industrious and
ambitious young actor-author- has yet
evolved, and wbich comes to the Hel-ll-
theatre for - two nio-hta. helnnin
Tuesday, February IS. -n ,
irorty-Five Minutes From Broad-II
way is in three acta, all of the ananas
Deing iaia m amerent parts or the sub
urban town of New Rochelle, which Is
three quarters of an hour from Broad
way, jnbw . York City, hence - the . title.
While It is In no sense a. musical mm.
eay. some 01 ine most popular songi
yet come i from the tan n
that prollflo composer, such as "Mary
jName," and "go Long,
11-
I hope SO.
"That will, that energy, Jthough rare '
Are yet far" far less rare than love
OLD ACROBAT LOSES
LIFE "SHOWING OFF"
(Coltod Ptsss LeaMd Wire.)
Guadalajara. Mexico, Feb. 15. Unable
to resist thev temptation to "show off
before more" than 200 people who wer
watching him from ' the street below,
Mose Declna. an old time acrobat, em
ployed in painting one of the great
towera' of the cathedral here,' proceeded
to walk along one of the narrow cornices
of the tower on his hand Just ' as he
attempted to resign his feet, .and- while
the admiring people were applauding hla
daring performance, Declna lost his bal
ance and fell. He struck several pro
jections in his descent end was dead
when picked up la . the . court - of the
oathedral. ,
Declna at one time traveled with the
Singling show,. . .
Is a Grand Old
Mary." I Want to Ba a. Ponular. Mi
nonaire and several others, are ren-
aerea auring the progress of the ac
tion of , the play, . and what la usually
termed the '"chorus" in this atvla of
entertainment consists In this produc
tion of eight young women who In per
sonal beauty, clever dancing and vocal
accomplishments more than atone for
any possible lack of numbers. ..
The unfoldlns- of the olot reaulrea
more novel characters than Mr. Cohan
has yet introduced In tnv nt hla- nlnva.
and many of these are types hot hither
to presented behind the footlights. ;
Miss Frances Gordon, one of . the
most popular .artists now - before V the
Eublie, portrays the role of Mary, ! the
ousemald. . ... , -vj,-
For tne rest of the cast Messrs. Klaw
urianger have retained the member
of the original company., whose- work In
mi piay aepi n on tne nign wave or
success in jnsw York and C
a continuous run of over a year. Seat
hlcago for
a.ra now selling, it the , theatre.
"Buster Brown" at Heilig Theatre.
Buster , Brown.'f,? with hi - faithful
pal, Tlge, and '40' pthers, mosUy girls,
wlll, b v the; attraction at thHenig
theatre. Fourteenth and ' Washington
street,-next Thursday. Friday and Sat
urday nights, February 10,- Jiy tV-wlth
a. special price matinee Saturday.- -As a
may actor, Buster - has been - a. success
T
rom me start. As the torv ; runs.
Buster father 1. a retired merchant.
HaviHa- 'fa)i1 .In kiialnoaa. . nA fallarf
"rleh.'V he1 has nlentv of moner and is 1 1
able to pay-spbt cash for the damages Tt
committed by Buster and Tig, during
their revels from dar to day.
- The -part-- of Busier .Brown Is -taken
by a little It Inch chap known a Mas
ter Reed.' who has attained national
fame. He- is considered a -wonder , in
his Impersonation of Buster Brown, a
Mr. - Outcault has created , him in tha
Sunday comic supplement-;- In the sup
port or sassier eea. Kawin uimar, the
sreat English animal Impersonator will
be seen , as -"Tige , while Miss Alice
MoruocR. tne stage moat natural child
Impersonator, will appear as Marr
jane. in supporims; company nas the
largest and most carefully selected cast
(Continued on Pag Five.)
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