The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 12, 1904, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 19 4id not attempt to jump from the 3 to th £ the t sentence suffi e's re fh " suppose one can be Irish without I ventured, “to your n schoolroom to stag parents were born and where our is n al about my prudence. It has with me as long as I can remerm r—ever since I was a wee girl with g voice. In my school days well- but indiscreet 2 ke right but someth! a foolish thing to d ur vocal and physical quali it is = er matter of seeing a m ged on the spot for reveling in calcium baths by press interviewer your being roles, t and rplu € how and wonder you can your money aring vision, wasn't it? But it never tempted me. Better take time tc te,’ said the inner voice. I Inve jon con ed m was only one way to reach the center of the stage with hope of holding it, and th the route was through y s of pa- tient study. It was a hard road to travel, but I stuck to it until—well, here I am to sing first contralto parts the Tivoli And the persons whose advice you gnored—what do tHey think of you?” Bless them! They said I. was willed and now they are e -same opinion. I suppose they be- lieved my arrival at the center was cessarily delayed, while I be- jeve that to hold the center after win- self- probably of ning it i& worth considering by fhe stage aspirant. How many stars have yu seen twinkle in the focus of the spot light for a season and then return obsturation? I don’t know how it is at this side of the continent, but in the East and espe in New York, there is a steady extinguizring of imma prima donne. What becomes of them Oh, the = ones gulp their dis- appointment and resume the study they should not have abandoned until they were fitted to hold after they had. The foolish ones, no doubt, blame an un- appreciative public and resort to mis- anthropy.” Miss Condon then went on to say she was graduated from the Chicago Con- servatory of Music four years ago. She sang in a church choir and on the con- cert platform ere she considered herself qualified 0 attempt opera, ensible + i And even then,” she said, laughing, rained me from r. ‘Just walit.’ nd when you are al will rviewing a d Prudence, appear in opera the propc to you’ Prudence was right. Henry W. Savage, the imy . heard me sing in the choir and v he sent for me. My first r 4 bel in ‘Faust,” and mmediately booked r years with his New York C e Company.” Mr th e for le ng various roles with the Castle are organization, and with the ngagement came offers were under ¢ con- Mr made his memor- ad y—move to the M Or use by arrangement with Mau au, and Miss Condon was chosen fr many applicants to sing Siebel, her t role, in the open- ing performance of “Faust.” that time,” she continued, “im- were to corral into the lighter musi comedy and comic they offered better salaries grand opera managers could would pay. For a while I resisted ures to abandon the grand because I had not advanced far in as I desired, but finally I to ¢ terms proposed by Fisher & Riley, whose ‘Floro- n in its first ecstacy of New York Casino. 1 f Dolores in the produc- fying were the results bade adieu to the ‘heavies’ and remain in light opera.” Her next important engagement was pera field Messrs. dor: success was the at the took the role that I decided to with Jef n de Angelis in Sir Arthur Sullivan's final opera, “The Emerald Isle and all the New York critics said that to her work as the coquettish Molly of the production. Then I joined was due mostly the success the Bostonians,” she said, “and sang the leading contralto roles of their repertoire. It is no envi- able ord I tell you, to step into a part that has already been ‘created’ by favorite. C ons are and usually unfair, for no matte succe: sccessful is the artist who ds the ‘creator,” the first impres sions of the public are as lasting as they are prejudiced. Understanding this, you may realize how miuch I value these criticisms of my first appearance Alan-a-Dale in ‘Robin Hood’ at the w York Academy of Music last Aug- ust.” The notices certainly were worthy of their foremost place in the Condon scrap-bcok. All of them pronounced the new Alan-a-Dale equal _in every detail of attractiveness to t ‘crea- tion” of Jessie Bartlett-Davis, and some of themt said that Kate Condon was the only legitimate successor, vo- lly and physically, of leading contralto of the Bostonians. That was my most gratifying tri- umph,” said Mi “ondon, “because it was the first actual comparative test of my ability. My preceding roles had zither been ‘created’ by me or sang by many artists before 1'assumed them, and it certainly was pleasant to be re- leased from the trepidation accompa- nying my debut in the part where Jes- sie Bartlett-Davis made her greatest suce: When the Bostonians pro- duced ‘The Serenade’ in Chicago I sang Dolores/and the critics again gave me primal Bonors—but the fact that I was a Chicagd g1l may have had something to do with that.” Which reminded her to ask the ques- tion that all newcomers of her profes- sion ask concerning San Francisco audiences. Contradictory reports . of their treatment of strange stage artists had reached her in the East. She would like to get the truth of it. “When you make your first entrance $ EX - s Alan-a-Dale,” T said, speaking with oice of one who has observed, “th sound with greeting most the congregation will sit closely attend to your per- they are pleased by it, nd nance I you will be tified by a demonstration that will surely ‘warm the cockles of your heart,” as they say in the land of your forbear But if, on the other hand, you fail to c¢ tation created by tk up to the exp ivertisement for my fellow townsmen have not yet completely lost faith in the veracity of the advance announcements—you will quickly wish you had canceled before vyou signed. No, there will be no hisses, but a silence so clammy that you would welcome a hiss or two to break it. After the first night, however, the lence will not be so oppressive, becat there will be fewer people to make it.” “I think your meaning is grasped,” said\Miss Condon. ' “The newspapers and the billboards send a congregation of fair-minded first-nighters and then it's me to do the rest—warm them up or freeze them out.” rou have grasped it,” I said. “After giving me an encouraging re- ception, to show there’s no ill-feeling to begin with, the people will settle back tn their seats, the men with arms foldled and the women with hands crossed in laps. Then they will fix their optics upon yours truly and say to themselves: ‘Now we've done our duty; we hope she'll make good.’ If their hope is realized —" “You wouldn’'t swap Eddy street for Broadway.” “And if they are frozen —" “You will believe all you have ever heard, and decide it wasn't halCenough, about the provincialism, the boorish- ness, th injustice, the wild and woolly — “No, I won’t. T'll just say to myself: ‘Katherine, your jump to the center may have been premature, after all You pleased New York and Chicago, my dear, but they don’t monopolize the music culture of this big nation. You must remember, Katherine, that San Francisco has heard all the big singers that New York and Chicago has had and that the people of San Francisco are qualified by experience to identify good singing when they hear it." Then I would say —" “Then you could say, without prevari- cating, that San Francisco didn’t care who you were, where you came from or what your preceding fame amounted to, but treated you strictly in accord- ance with your artistic merits as measured by the San Francisco stand- ar “Could I say that also? Thank you. Well, after saying that 1 would say —" ould you really say, in the un- likely event of a frost, all that you have already said you would say?” “Certainly. Why not?” “Then you ARE an exceptional stage woman, and Charlie Stri- is an ex- traordinary press agent. au revoir.” “Why this haste?” “I want to buy a drink for Charlie Strine while hi8 conscientious mood is on.” JAMES C. CRAWFORD, = = : | | - + ! KATE CONDON, THE SINGER, IN VARIOUS POSES. .,.‘flf. il o ) STRONG ATTRACTIONS WILL BE OFFERED AT THE LOCAL THEA in David Mrs. Belas- promises to Leslie Carter, co’s new play “Du Barry,” break box-office records at the Grand Opera-house. The advance sale of seats for the opening week, commencing to- morrow evening, presages a crowded house at each performance, the Wednesday and Saturday Since her last appearanc vears ago, when she played za” at the Columbia Theater, Mrs. rter is said to have continued the advance- ment that has been so remarkable ever gince her debut. The supporting com- pany includes a number of well-known clever people. B including natinees. here, three .« e E. H. Sothern's vehicle this year is “The Proud Prince,” by Justin Hunt- ly McCarthy, author of “If I Were King,” and the new play is sajd to be superior in every element of dramatic strength to its predecessor in the Soth- ern reportoire. Mr. Sothern's engage- ment, commencing to-morrow evening at the Columbia Theater, will be his last in this city as an individual star, as he plays Shakespeare next season with Julia Marlowe. e “Charley’s Aunt,” than which no funnier farce was ever written, will be the Alcazar's offering this week. It is one of the very few English laugh- makers that has retained popularity in this country. . s . “Sccret Service,” Williang Gillette's great war drama, will be started on a week’s run this evening at the Cali- fornia Theater by the Oliver Morosco Company, .an organization which has already won strong local favoritism. At the Central Theater to-morrow night there will be a revival of Bouci- cault’s time-honored drama of the ante-bellum South, “The Octoroon.” An elaborate scenic production promised. % = “Sergeant Kitty” will hold the Tivoli stage another week. sSince its open- ing production the piece has been con- siderably enlivened by the introduc- tion of interpolated humor by the comedians, and pow it is really an en- joyable performance, bookishly as weli as musically. . August, Weston and company, com- edy jugglers, are the headliners of this week’s bill at the Orpheum. Other pew | | | | | | —p b — acts are Eddie Heron, Madge Doug- lass and Will .. White in a one-act farce, the Romani Trio, musical artists, and Foster's educated dog. g is retained at Fischer’s, and the radium girls have made quite a hit. Fdna Aug and the other clever people are constantly injecting new “stuff” and improving the humor of the piece. e a5e New people to open at the Chutes to-morrow night are Russell Brandow and Stella Wiley, colored entertainers, and Harry Green, singer and mono- logist. - PENECESN. 2SN GOSSIP ABOUT FOLK WHO ARE PROMINENT IN THE MIMIC WORLD John W. Thompson, who was here as a member of the “Ben Hur” company, opines that San Francisco is losing its Bohemia. “I found many of my old friends gone,” he said to the New York Dramatic News, “and their ‘places taken by gentlemen of mor€é pro- nounced business ability. In fact, the actors and newspaper men who used to delight in being regarded as Bohemians are things of the past. Money rules the most everywhere and the stage and newspaper office are no exception to the rule. Do I find fault with this state of affairs? Not a bit of it Without money a man is of little con- sequence anywhere, and it is a sign of progress when we see writers and actors getting into line and saving in- stead of spending. There may not be the same charm about the profession of writer or actor, but facts are facts, and the commercial spirit dominates the artistic, which in my opinion is of much advantage to the latter.” . e In an interview Joseph Jefferson re- cently reiterated his objections to an endowed or national theater. The question of securing the best players he regarded as the.chief obstacle. On this point he delivered himself thus: “A good actor usually has the money he needs to make artistic productions. He has a desire, natural enough and very human, of beihg at-the head of the enterprise. Why should he surrender this privilege and the profits and glory of his work to go with a number of others into a general group of play- ers? It would also be difficult for an actor who has dominated his own en- tertainments to subject himself to the rule of another stage director. Then, too, he would spend most of the time in one place, playing to a single city, and you know an actor finds satisfaction and pleasure in going from place to place, meeting many people and hear- ing the applause of audiences in dif- ferent parts of the country.” L R “During our tours in Europe,” Sousa , “we discovered a number of offi- al and business customs that seemed strange aftgr long acquaintance with American methods. Fgqr instance. in Paris the Government takes 10 per cent of the gross receipts of all amusements for the support of the charities. In Russia the same tax is exacted. but it is collected from the public instead of the attraction, by the addition of a small amount to the price of each ticket. In Paris a reserved seat pur- chased before the entertainment costs nfore than the regular box office price, while in Germany jt costs less. It is all in the point of view. “In several places where more than one language is current-we had to make our advertising announcements in poly- glot form. As, for instance, in Warsaw the posters had to be printed in Rus- sian and Polish, while in Prague both the Bohemian and German languages were employed. “The laws of Russia require all pro- grammes to be submitted to the official censor for his approval, and while I was playing in Berlin a telegram came from the advance agent, who was in St. Petersburg, making the final ar- rangements, stating that it would be necessary to file the words of the songs that our.soprano was to sing with this official. The song words were dispatch- ed on the next train, but before they arrived the agent received another de- mand for them. He rose to the occa- sion and wrote out the verses of the only songs he could remember. They happened to be ‘Annie Rooney’ and ‘Marguerite,’ while our soprano. Miss Liebling, really sang the mad scene from ‘Lucia’ and similar numbers at the concerts. However, no one seemed to be the wiser or the least distressed.” aio g R The old question the joint en- gagement of husbands and wives is again being discussed in theatrical cir- cles, owing probably to the fact that a good many managers in, their selections for next geason are showing a dispo- sition to draw the line more strictly than ever before. A young leading man, whose wife is a talented actress, un- bosomed himself on this subject the other day to the New York Dramatic Mirror. “I believe that ninety per cent of the matrimonial shipwrecks in the profes- sion are due to separate engagements,” said he. ‘“‘At best, the migratory char- acter "of professional life is oppased to domesticity, but scarcely any life in common is open to the professional man and wife unless they are able to fill joint engagements, and I believe firmly that that is why we have so many unfortunate experiences. “The objections of managers to en- gaging husbands and wives are mostly based on unfounded prejudice. Married couples, as a rule, are willing to make material sacrifices in respect to salary in order to be together in the same company; they are better contented and usually find a greater interest in their work and consequently do better work; they prize the opportunity to preserve a semblance, at any rate, of the mar- ried existence of other classes of peo- ple, and experlence has proved that their managers find them more re- liable. “It is a curious thing — a demoral- izing one, too—that many of the man- agers who disapprove strenuously of husbands and wives are not at all par- ticular as to the relations of ynmarried men and women in their copipanies. I have noticed this often, and I believe it is a source of untold injury to mem- of bers of the profession and a menace to the morale of the stage.” Probably not more than one rson in ten thousand takes the trouble t verify the extr: long runs en writer on a into the hook and has 1 some very ling discrepan- ertised numbe ur Broadway one attraction ¢ opened and ow oper which kep when mana “now In its t had been playir actly thirty-two days a trifle over or one month, yet the managers could scarcely be called jugglers of truth for saying that it was/in its t month. inasmuch as it had been 1 O¢ tober, November ¢ An other attra n which cember 24 was adver as being in its se. was really true d But tempt to deceive the p was the an nouncement on January 2 of an attrac tion that opened on December 24, to the effect that it was “in its second year in New York.” The press agents of some of the plays which ar to have long run n must burn the midnight forts to conjure up something that w sound mighty big, but which is really very small when investigated Frank McKee, wh sev- eral weeks ago to pa £ The Prince of Pi A the Shaftesbury 7 has returned and will t his country place, arranging. ar while, the detai ncerning th of Mme. Bernhardt, with wh signed a contract for a twenty weeks, commencing next J uary, with a possible extension of f or five weeks, if business warrants | Mme. Bernhardt will appear fn “The Borceress,” and inasmuch as Mrs. rick Campbell will use this play der Charles F An’S managermesnt the Herald Squa Theater in Octobe: there will be a ench and h version in operation after the ot the year. While John Drew was on a visit to Paris last Frohman, a confer € Augustus Thon , who has a home the Latin Quarter, and it was ar wee for Mr. Thomas to write a new Ay purely American in locality, v Drew will use as soon as it is pleted, which will ot be until about the first of January, and it is expected that Mr. Drew will follow the examnle his jiece, Ethel Barrymore, and make a London appearance next summer. May Yohe has gone vaude at the Tivoli Theater in Lor dancing specialty, Ford, who was Mayme Gelirue's part- into assisted ner in this (‘-w:nxr)“ . - A fupny suit was sprung on Miller and Kauffman of Philadelphia by a woman who claims $5000 damage on the round their house (Forepaugh's) so crowded it caused her to become il and that the crowd was so great she coulgd not get out to the fresh air. or get medical attention. There are quite a number of managers who would have been giad to have risked such a suit. was There is an old saying, “Don’t mon- key with the lions.” It looks as if ‘Weber and Fields have failed to heed the warning. They secured two ani- mals and a trainer as features of the English Daisy, and now they have been sued for eleven hundred dollars back salary, because the complainants al- lege that the animals were contracted for 2 thirty-five weeks’ season, and the tour ended \after a short time at the Casino. e e Polly Stockwell has been engaged as leading woman for the stock company at Vallamont Park, in Willlamsport, Pa., which opens with “The Wife. 3 o 4.9 = Sarah Truax will be the Henrfette' of the all-star cast of “The Two Orphans™ next season. S According to the New York Dra- matic Mirror, the gemerally unfortu- nate outcome of the last dramatic sea- son should not be accepted as due om the whole to inherent causes for which the theater and its administration are to blame. It is a fact that the public showed by. the peculiar character of its pat- ronage that it had become weary of a certain class of “shows” that have differed mainly in names, and that have appealed solely to the eye and not at all to®the intelligence. This fact has been emphasized by many ~ failures of such attractions, the public turning quickly for relief from the su- perficial and inane to revivals of old plays—made in desperation by man- agers to offset the l-ck-of vitality of certain new pieces—some of which old plays, although by no means well suit- ed to this generation, still possess ele- ments of strength that have found ap- preciation. Aside from the apparent lacks in original offerings last season thers were extrinsic causes that militated against a normal patronage of the the- ater. One of the most potent of these no doubt was the general business de- pression, or, rather, the depression in stocks, that affected untold numbers of persons disastrously, and led to an abandonment of the theater among other things through the concentration of_interest upon matters that touched so many of the public more nearly. As some astute observer of findnecial conditions has remarked, the pecuniary disturbances in which values shrunk enormously or disappeared altogether were the result of a long continued “speculative debauch,” and when such things happen the people intimately concerned have little thought for anye thing but devices to save themselvea