The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 24, 1904, Page 19

THE "SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 190a. 24, 19 e N= 5 ) ‘\\ /) e % . LR : n..g LEAVE :;E;L‘ & . s TAGE W RENSPATER INTERVIEWS? oF CouRsE ) LAKE TwEe il 12 oAl i &= SIS — — s & _T BESSIE TANNEHILL, THE TIVOLI'S NEW SINGER, WHO TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT HER AGE, SAYS SHE IS NOT CLEVER ENOUGH FOR VAUDEVILLE, AND LIKES THE NEWSPAPERS. I The goes only essentials to operatic success now- my dears, till the public hints that it nasts and the jugglers were the only presented “Im Weissen Roessl” on the on the stage of the Iroquois Theater before last, and the throng of idle daught nt to do ount But up for critical - ac guess ng, reposeful ess of powder, ate or the s The stage, by When away to talk shop, except whe tke Oh, you d surprise. Of e be noticed by the newspapers y shouldn’t I? Attention from the press eagerly welcomed by every rson in my pro- fession, although some of them are snobbish en to profess aversion to it. Advertising is the life of the ater I know that and you know and we agreed to be candid.” 8o we did. And in the ] t you to explain why ng way e of candor comic opera to musical comedy and Comic opera is as d as it ever was, but-it he librettists and composers The fleld remains open, are not delivered. All the res of comic opera were due the p r quality of the lines or the ic or both. There are no modern berts and Sullivans or Smiths and The breed seems to be ex- & place has gradually been race of Webers and Fields. Moliie,” for instance, No comic opera was ever so lavishly staged or so intrinsically worthless, un- ess it was ‘The Fisher Maiden.’ Both pieces were started out at the begin- ning of this season, and both died early and of the same disease—debility of the book. The music wasn't so bad, but the librettos were awful. I was In the cast of ‘The Fisher Maiden,’ book and lyrics by Arthur J. Lamb, a New York journalist, and score by Harry Van Tilzer. Charlie Candee, who now swings the baton over Fischer's or- chestra, was the music director, and the music was all right. But the book =—well, may it rest in peace,” “S0 music and scenery are not the and taken by Look at La siree. The American people are not uproaric sticklers for cleverness of - of situations or bril- liancy of dialogue, but they do insist on having something intelligible in those 1 other ou can’t make out of Y, costumes In alled musical e public acting, be- -called musical comedy is sim- ply connected vaudeville, and some- tion is not very close. ra you must st Kk to r; make your music illus- theme. In a musical . intri wore s0 is less onnec your may have two or three g alternately, or no and your music is all s 1 catchy.’ You are interpolate at will.” of vaudeville, have you I have had several enticing « s to appear as a ‘headliner,” but rejected them.” You considered vaudeville beneath your art? Not on your life. No such consider- ation influenced. The truth is—we're candid, you know — I'm too lazy for vaudeville.” Too lazy?” “Too lazy—that is, for vaudeville as it is operated on th stern circuits, where each ho gives two or three shows a day. Graclous knows I find it enough to don the makeup once a day. Two matinees a week is a great trial to me. And here is another con- fession — we're still candid — that you may make vublic: I don’t think I'm clever enough to succeed in vaudeville!” onsense “No; candor. I honestly believe that no sane manager of vaudeville would offer me stage-room if he knew what I know. Put me on any stage with a bunch of good people and I'll make good in any character comedy part, but set me up before an audience and ex- pect me todo an acceptable ‘single turn’ for fifteen or twenty minutes and you'll soon @nd yourself provoked to throw things at me. No, sir; no vaudeville for me. The educated pig or the elastic- limbed lady would make me look like thirty cents in compa “But other women have stepped out of comic opera into vaudeville and won plaudits.” “How many of them?" “Well, there's Jessie Bartlett Davis and Camille D'Arville and Pauline Hall and —" “Please let it go at that. Do you mean to say that Pauline Hall, for in- stance, made as big a hit in vaudeville as did the acrobats or the trained dogs or the knockabout comedians?” “With a certain class she did.” “And the applause of that certain class was prompted by pity instead of admiration. Now, there's another thing I want tc talk about — this thing of clinging to the stage after you have lost your artistic attractiveness.” “Do you mean Patti?” “I mean any one who is a hasbeen. Of all the women who have achieved aistinction behind the footlights there is only one I can now think of who showed good sense. That is Lotta. She is the wisest of them all, for she stopped work before she became stale and still has the world guessing as to whether she is vet able to compel its handclaps. She retired while the world was at her feet, and she is remem- bered only as a great artist. Such re- membrance is worth winning, even at the sacrifice of deserting the stage. I love the stage—have been on it since 1 was 7 years old—but just as soon as I see the first symptom of the public tiring of me, or even lessening its de- mand for my services, I shall go home and stay there. Thank heaven, 1 have a home to g0 to, although it may not be as luxurious an establishment as gome of those which have been aban- doned by their avaricious chatelaines. A good husband and a pair of the dear- est children on earth are constantly so- liciting me to stay at home all the year ‘round, but I say to them, ‘Just wait, does not like me, and then I'll be with you as long as I live.” May the hint never come.” ‘Oh, it will come, all right, and I'm on the lookout for it. . But that it is not lik to come for another twelve- month, «t least, is one of the comfort- ing reflections I derive from looking at my contract with the Tivoli manage- ment. Mr. Leahy seems to be rather a shrewd person, and if he saw a pos- sibility of my becoming senile within fifty-two weeks he would not have en- gaged me for that period at a salary suggested by myself."” “So you have been on the stage since you were 7 years of age?” “I thought we had disposed of the question of my age, but if you are ang- ling for autobiography I can fill all the blank pages of your notebook with it. Or shall I make it brief?” “To quote the dominant phrase of a lay now running to large and bewil- ed audiences, ‘it's up to you.’” [ don’t know what drama you allude to, but here’s the summarized story of my life: Jegan theater work as an nfant phenomenon in the city of St. T.ouis and have been at it every season ever since. Went to Colorado with my parents in 1876 and played child and ingenue with Nick Forrester's stock company in Denver and the mining camps until I became big and old enough to personate grown-ups, and then I commenced what might be termed my real professional career. Played under the management of Rich & Harris in ‘Evangeline,’ was with Hoyt & Thomas in their farce comedies a number of seasons, and for the last ten years or so have been identified with as many enterprises. Was here three vears ago with Dunne & Ryley's comedians when they played the Hoyt picces at the California Theater for three months—" “Mathews and Bulger were with that company?” “Right you are. Harry Bulger is now the leading comedian in ‘Mother Goose’ in New York, and Sherry Mathews is an incurable paralytic in an Eastern sapitarium. After leaving San Fran- cisco he married Norma Whalley—you remember the statuesque Norma, of course—and now she is in London and suing for a divorce. If lynching were legal, and Norma—but please omit that, even if we are candid.” “Too late—an agreement is an agree- ment, you know."” ““Well, 1 didn’t say all T was going to say, anyhow. But I guess it's safer to talk about one’s self than to discuss other people. Let's stick to strict auto- biography.” “You married Mr. Tannehill—" “Yes, Ed Tannehill—not old Frank. For gracious shke, don’t confound me, as so many pewspaper men have done, with old Mrs. Frank. After the death of Mr. Tannehill there was a long pe- ricd of widowhood and then I became the wife of—well, never mind his name. He is not an actor, and he is at the head of my home in New York. That's all 1 can think of about myself that would be at all interesting to the folk you are going to write for,” “Then we'll go back to the stage. ‘What is the future of vaudeville?” “That can only be answered by the opulent and clever gentlemen who are conducting the destinies of vaudeville in America. Its what they devise, and not what the public demands, that the public will get. I don't know what the conditions are in this part of the coun- try, but in the East there has been a gradual change in the general make-up of the vaudeville show from what it was flve years ago. Good acts—that is, genuine vaudeville turns—are scarcer than they used to be, because the per- formers can do better in Europe. And there is also an evident elimination of the short dramatic sketch that had such vogue not long ago. It looks to me if vaudeville is going back to where it sprang from, the old time variety show that society did not flock to patronize and .in which the knock-about team, the serio-comic singer, the innumerable dialecticians, the acrobats, the gym- performers.” “To what do you egmribe this going backward?" “To the fact that the musical comedy, musical farce and musical burlesque are giving the very features that made vaudeville go attractive a decade ago. In the musical comedy you get all sorts of ‘speclalties,’ and they are equipped with scenic and choral and orchestral accessories that the regular vaudeville house dces not and probably cannot n 4 “‘So you believe that musical comedy will wax as vaudeville wanes?" “That depends upon the gentlemen who are providing musical comedy. If their rivalry continues to lead to the extravagance of prcduction that caused 80 many failures this season, they will soon tire of the game, pool their is- sues and establish a common policy of economic expenditure, just as the dra- matic and vaudeville syndicates have done. Next season there is likely to +be fewer and less expensive musical comedies started on tcur than was the case this season, and consequently there will be less work for performers and a better prospect of steady em- ployment for those who are engaged.” “How do you like the Tivoli?"” “The audiences are generous and the company lovely. Most of my stage companions are old acquaintances. Would vou believe that Ferris Hart- man coached me in the first comic opera part I ever attempted? It was in Duluth, while the Hanlan-Courtney boat race was in preparation, and the town was jammed with visitors. We got up a performance of ‘The Mikado,’" and Ferris managed the stage and played Koko. I was cast for Pitti- Sing.” “The Hanlan-Courtney race took place in the year eighteen eighty”— “Goodness gracious! Can't we get along without resurrecting the prob- lem of my age? I move we adjourn.” Motion carried with reluctance. JAMES C. CRAWFORD. BRIGHT ATTRACTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 1OCAL PLAYHOUSES An exceptionally strong company is to interpret Hall Caine's play, “The Eternal City,” to-morrow evening and all the week at the California Theater. Pl “A Chinese Honeymoon" comes with high recommendation from the Eastern cities to begin a two weeks' engage- ment at the Columbia Theater to-mor- row evening. SR A “Mrs. Jack” will have its final per- formances at the Alcazar tMis after- noon and evening and is to be followed to-morrow night by “The Masquerad- ers.” g.08 -w “The Beauty Shop” has packed Fisch- er's Theater at every performance since its initial production two weeks ago, and the advance demand for seats is said to be unabated. S “Quo Vadis” is to be the bill this week at the Central Theater, commenc- ing to-morrow evening. S “pavid Harum,” with W, H, Turner in the title part, is announced to open a week's run this afternoon at the Grand Opera-house. ;S T “When Johnny Comes Marching Home" shows no sign of losing attract- iveness at the Tivoli. . s s The Orpheum will present several new and strong acts this afternoon and evening and throughout the week. o s e The Chinese baby girl in the infant incubator continues to hold headline honors at the Chutes. AP “Als ich Wiederkam,” a sequel to “Im Weissen Roessl” (“At the White Horse Tavern”), is to be played in Ger- man this evening at the Columbia The- ater by the same clever company that same stage several weeks ago. The principal roles will be in the hands of Adolph Schubert, Max Horwinski Jr., Frieda Shanley, Josephine Lafontaine- Neckhaus, Martha Plumhof, Theodore Seling, Richard Lenz and Josephine Sherwin. Some special singing features will be introduced and a dance typical of the country in which the tavern is situated will be presented by Josef Toplack and ElsaiKuehne. i 25 54 by ACTOR DAVID WARFIELD VOLUNTARILY CLOSES A PROFITABLE SEASON Dave Warfield is perhaps the only idle actor in America whose idleness is not compulsory. He closed his season in “The Auctioneer” while the piece was attracting crowded houses and ex- plained that the abrupt ending of his tour was due to the proceedings brought by Joseph Brooks against Da- vid Belasco, which ended in the ap- pointment of a receiver for the suc- cessful play. As Mr. Warfield refuses to play any longer in the piece no re- ceiver will be necessary. Brooks averred that he was a part- ner in “The Auctioneer,” and Belasco alleged that Brooks was not a part- ner in any sense, but that he was the dummy of Klaw & Erlanger, to whom, Belasco says, he had to give a half interest in “The Auctioneer” in order to have it booked by the syndi- cate agency. Mr. Warfield has issued this explanation of his position: ““When I stated T would not play un- der the management of any one but Mr. Belagco I meant just what I said. It was not a threat—simply my honest conviction as to what was just and due to the man who has made me a suc- cessful star. ‘The Auctioneer’ was Mr. Belasco’'s own investment, every penny of it. It was he who conceived the idea of starring me in a play of this character. From this man Brooks I have received nothing, nor have I from Klaw & Erlanger, who are Mr. Be- lasco’s partners in ‘The Auctioneer.’ “The manner in which they became partners will be shown and proved when this case comes into court for trial. They refused to give Mr. Belasco bookings until he had surrendered 50 per cent of the concern. I was an un- made star then, and Mr. Belasco was not in the position of power which he holds to-day. We had to divide. “But of the profits which Klaw & Erlanger have made from the man- agers with whom they have booked the attraction, neither Mr. Belasco nor I have recgeived one penny from our partners. As for Brooks, he has never had even carfare from our end, unless Klaw & Erlanger have been more lib- eral to him than to us. “The trouble and annoyance which this whole affair has caused me have made me ill. But, sick or well, I abso- lutely réfuse to play in ‘“The Auction- eer’ for any one but my own manager, David Belasco. I defy Erlanger, as he hopes to emerge unscathed from some of his own Western troubles, to deny that he and Klaw and not Brooks, are the real partners of Belasco in my tour. “He told me so with his own lips, when the New Amsterdam Theater was building last summer. He asked me to come and see how the founda- tions were getting on. And when I funked, before crossing a rather rick- ety-looking plank, he said, ‘I won't let you get hurt, old man. Remember, I own 50 per cent of you." When Klaw & Erlanger hand over our share of the profits they have made on the side, through booking my play, T will go on with the tour if my health permits.” R i i GOSSIP CONCERNING PERSONS AND THINGS KNOWN IN STAGELAND Nellie Lynch, whe is to succeed Georgia O’Ramey as Fischer's leading soubrette, arrived here last week and will rehearse for the piece that is to follow “The Beauty Shop.” She was in Chicago when the memorable holo- caust occurred and received injuries which necessitated her removal to a hospital, but she has entirely recovered from the effects of her physical hurts and mental shock. R Mme. Fabbri Muller's seventy-second birthday will be celebrated on the even- ing of January 29, when her friends will give a complimentary benefit concert to the veteran artist. As it will also be the anniversary of Mozart's birthday the first part of the programme will be composed exclusively of his works. Among those who will appear are Miss Suzanne Nicoline Pasmore, Miss Lina Wolff and Edward Lashmann, Mrs. Florence Wyman Gardner, Miss Beth Snow, Max von Borask, Miss Helea Darling, Miss Elsa Tolon and F. Rem- brach. The orchestra will be under the direction of 8. Maurice Simon. R ML Mrs. Grace Davis and Mrs. Carroll Nicholson will give a song recital on the evening of February 2, at Steinway Hall. The programme is varied and attractive. Lo A Henry W. Savage will bring his Eng- lish grand opera company to the Pa- cific Coast ‘at the close of his present New York season. It is a big and bril- Jiant organization, with an extensive repertoire, carries an Italian and a ‘Wagnerian conductor and a “technical director” of the stage. Sl e Frederick Warde and Louis James are working up the coast with their new historical drama, ‘“Alexander the Great.” The play is said to be more melodramatic than classical. . e . Timothy Daniel Frawley and his dra- matic company are touring South Af- rica and making money. Of all the plays in the Frawley repertoire “Ari- zona” finds most favor in the Boer country, probably because its charac- ters are more intelligible to the people than are any of the others portrayed. PR e Margaret Anglin’s name has been mentioned in connection with Weber & Fields as her managers, but there is no truth in the report. S The Isabella Rosati Caserini compa- ny of twenty harpists, brought to this «ountry by Ted Marks, are now filling vaudeville dates. & Wte Robert Grau has brought suit for libel against Weber & Fields, growing out of the incident relative to the Patti engagement at the West End Theater. Mr. Grau claims he was libeled. o & @ Virginia Harned was taken ill during a performance in Atlantic City and her date in Trenton was canceled and the company went to New York. § 0 e Harry Corscn Clarke has leased the New Empire Theater, Houston, Texas, for his stock company. Rl The John Robinson Circus had the unique distinction during the past sea- son of having a chaplain for the entire tour. He was the Rev. William Sheak of Peru, Ind., who has just returned to his home, thoroughly delighted with his experience. Mr. Sheak is known as “the circus minister.” He combined religion and business by lecturing in the animal tent and preaching to the members of the company. Mr. Sheak joined the circus because he realized that it was a field of labor that would offer him good opportunities, and he is loud in his praise of the circus people, for whom he acted as guide, philosopher and friend during a very long and pleasant season. R T Lillian Russell, Peter F. Dailey and louis Mann are some of the former stars that will accompany Weber & Fields on their trip to this city next March. e Eight more road companies closed their season for lack of business week actor folk in New York is augmented almost daily. Over-production and the Chicago theater horror are ascribed as the main reasons for the failures. The Bostonians have in rehearsal a new opera, “The Queen of Laughter,” by Ysabel De Witt Kaplan and 8. Wil- liam Brady, two comparatively new writers. P S Among the well-known actors who are out of employment this season may be mentioned Amelia Bingham, Henry Miller, W. J. Ferguson, Mrs. Le Moyne, Margaret Anglin, Harry Woodruft, Francis Carlyle, White Whittlesey, Jo- seph Holland, Madeline Beasley, Jessie Millward, J. H. Gilmour, Horace Lewis, Willlam Colller, Hilda Spong, Bonnie Maginn, Fay Templeton and Thomas Q. Seabrooke. se i Sheridan Corbyn. superintendent of the Actors’ Fund Home on Staten Isl- and and one of the last survivors of the old-time traveling managers, died at the home on the morning of Jan- uary 8 after a severe illness of only a few days. He had long suffered from Bright's disease and chronic pleurisy, and it was a sudden attack of the lat- ter malady that put a period to his life. Fears for the timidity of audiences have caused Hermann, the magician, to cut out his transformation scene in the last act of his performance for the rest of the season. The transformation scene consisted of wrapping a young woman in roils of paper and then set- ting fire to the bundle. The fire ap- parently burned the young woman alive. Mrs. J. Ogden Armour made the members of the “Bluebeard” chorus happy by paying their hotel bills, thus enabling the unfortunate young wo- men to take their baggage with them when they boarded the special train which Klaw & Erlanger furnished to take them back to New York City. The bills for forty girls amounted to $564. C e | lfirq. Gilbert fell on a stairway be- tween acts of “Mice and Men” in Wil- mington, Del., January 4, and broke two of her teeth, besides cutting her upper lip. The venerable actress com- mands wide sympathy for her mishap. 4w e Mrs. Le Moyne will read selections from Browning during Lent. She will not return to the stage until she is reasonably sure of having a play with success in it. wie e Forbes Robertson 1is - rehearsing “Hamlet.” His brother Ian is now on the way from London with the original scenery and settings used by Mr. Rob- ertson at the London Lyceum. ~ S ey Madame Antoinette Sterling, the no- ted contralto ballad singer, died In London on January 10 after an illness that began last October. Madame Sterling—in private life Mrs. J. Mac- kinley—was born in Sterlingville, N. Y., and at the age of 17 she won favor as a choir and concert singer in New York. In 1873 she made her debut in London and was so highly successful that she was invited to sing at many of the European courts. In the latter years of her life she became deeply in- terested in temperance and evangeli- cal work, and at the time of her death she was a vice president of the Wo- men's Christian Temperance Upion. PR Alma Stencel of New York made her debut as a pianist January 7 in Vienna in & Jan Kubelik concert and won the praise of audience and critics. She will accompany Kubelik on his Rus- sian tour. “The Daughter of Josio,” D’Annun- zio's latest play, is booked for ten per- formances in Milan, with Duse as the heroine, Hermine. If it is a success Duse will tour the world with it