The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 10, 1904, Page 19

so difficult ed near town t coffee ned THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 10, 1904 e he daughter’s both own the younger v a little mouth fitted nd white as you nber. g But mot and daughte “coftee!” the tiny to the that we talked ouldn’t help as the one bit- of the day. Miss so surprised to “find it I told her with gelid at wasn't often like hoped it wa nois and t be “pk than broil P hey day hought to g I 't.” She had I could “imag- I could, but sug- easanter to be ed.” She “did got only five in their rooms t the bottom of perhaps that made a dif- t did, but it was what one want- d really not ex- pected to be here this summer. r No?" I No,” Miss ds - queried Rawson over her k y of doing. th in er. I h York for eaki® / African thought the play would said, clasping res, as I find she ‘I was with Million- ad planned the season, to in they have,” I said from rience the t know a n paper.” to be and fragrant, y w nd got tc hear I as 7 law sh: " the play good,” ank laugh. ardly stage at the girl ‘I give it bad play from wiser than the asked sternly. we soon as not so bad chat of Miss Raw- something of the ked her, rather blue eyes and suggested e owned, “and the same Peculiar combination——"" Yes stage but I ays she insisted w and 4 anted to go on 1 wanted to nothing but dra- Of course, you did,” 1 threw in. It « somehow more appropriate to im- agine the girl a Portia of the stage han of the bar. But I n't,” she said “1 grad- 1ated Took a bar examination.” 4 Oh!” I said respectfully, But, be- eve me, she does mot look it. Yet, rhaps that chin. She js so gently de, =0 soft of eye and voice, so Mamma thought,” almost shy of manner. Miss Rawson xplaiged it, “that as I had be- study I ought to finish it, and sted that I should What did she think about the other thing?” 1 asked. Oh, mamma’s real sensible,” re- arkeds her daughter. “She said: ‘It want to study for the stage I sup- se ¥ not be content until you go ahead'—only ma doesn’t s ahead,’ " she laughed. I studied years at the Chicago Musical Ah, that accounts for it,” I said. for what Mi Rawson aghed, “Oh, my It's better than in't they teil you about it— you ‘But, Mr. played a sly particular himself they didn’'t notice Ives, is i of pronunciation is hat had puz- er debut here on Monday a fleeti over-th s ded brightly, “I learn- »m Reeves-Smith. Do even hear that I e others? 1 can ere's a word. Such fun I used to have with it— Heah what a ‘heerrre Did Mr. how to is something like, but I used to giv % Reeves a very ng one Do you think so? I am so glad,” the rl cried aughing and blushing She is as admirably na- Th about voic That s what I r first, last and ali the d to study with icago—just for * I interjected. heard of a th has eem to he climate. I mber going to she beauti- at the other Her s a voi " the young woman cried. “But it was not s. Campbe voice that so amazed There was a tiny, frail girl play- ng with her—looked as though a breeze woul biow h away. But she g me great, beautif had it. I said t It's English,” but just the same my breathing and the re came to spe There was voice, 1 went back studies, deep Brav I said, and after asked how long she had been on the stage. Four she confessed, and with a sly gleam in her soft blue eated: “Four years, and not a star yet!” “And what do we want to do?” I queried, after telling her that I saw no reason why she should not be a star some d. Miss Rawson's eyes twinkled more decidedly then as she saild: “I want to do parts like Miss Crosman, romp- ing, buoyant comedy parts—now isn't that ridiculous for a tall thing like me?” ell Gwynnes and things Nell Gwynnes and such—" “Well, I wonder—" I said. From Miss Rawson's work at the Alcazar this week I should set her down as some- thing approaching the Annie Russell type. But then one never knows. And about Shakespeare?” Miss Rawson looked -at me out the corner of her eye, hesitated, and then flung at me: “I don’t want to act Ju- liet. I don’t even like to see the play. seems strained to me, unnatural.” “Perhaps you have never seen greatly acted?” Perhaps not—I have not in fact.” it ‘But about the rest—now that we have confessed our sins?” I laughed. “What about Beatrice? Slowly she owned then that she would like to try at Beatrice, Katherine perhaps, and Rosalind. “But I so like strength in a part,” the actress decided, “I think of all the things I have seen, certainly all that Mrs. Fiske has done, I should prefer to see her ‘Tess of the D'Urbervillest again. There is a tremendous strength, And don’t you think that it is splen- didly emphasized by the apparent weakness of the character at the begin- ning of the play?” “Surely.” “What an actress Mrs. Fiske is! 1 admire her s0,” she said. “I think that she knows more about the art than any woman on the American stage.” “No doubt of it,” from the chorus. “It seems, seeing her, that one should immediately know all about it, doesn't it?” ehe asked, a thoughtful chin in her hand. “But one has to learn for one’s self. You see, you hear, things are drummed into you, and suddenly they become yours. Years and years you may hear the same thing, then in a flash you understand. People talk, and talk, and talk, but until the seeing moment comes you cannot see. Then, you feel as though you had discovered the truth yourself. You can’t be told things—how fast one could learn if that were s0!"” “You learn much though from your fellow actors—" “Yes,” then she looked solemnly at me, “but it is horrid how much selfish- ness these is among us, not only the kind of selfishness that refuses the ad- i i 1 | | | ! | b — | MARIE RAWSON, ALCAZAR'S NEW LEADING l_:{l;)' vice of experience to the novice, but a wholesale self-absorption. Sometimes, too, a curious meanness—" “How like the rest of us!” “No,” she hesitated, “something a lit- tle more peculiarly selfish. Let me tell you. I remember an actor telling me of a scene he had with a woman in which she had a longish and very ef- fective speech Well, he didn't like her, made no secret of it. But when that speech came he would simply make a little insignificant gesture that utterly spoiled it. She never got a hand.” “Did she know why?” “I don’t knc I should never have noticed the thing myself.” “But there is also so much kindness.” “Ah, yes—and—I have since thought —that the man that seemed to be proud of that mean thing never bragged of a thousand kindnesses he did. People are better than they say, aren’t they?” “I think so,” 1 hands. said, as we shook BRI o FEATURES ARE MANY AND GOOD AT LOCAL THEATERS THIS WEEK The chief attraction on the week's programme at the theaters is the ap- pearance of Miss Ethel Barrymore at the Columbia in a comedy in which she is said to have achieved one of the notable successes of her career—Hubert Henry Davies’ “Cousin Kate.” The en- gagement of this charming young act- ress has something the same kind of interest that attached to the recent en- gagement of Maude Adams. Both play- erg were long strangers to San Fran- cisco, and both have won a peculiar personal popularity. Miss Barrymore has an excellent supporting company, by all accounts, and her play's suc- cess in both London and New York promises at least pleasantly on that score. Qe An event of considerable local inter- est will be the presenfation to-night at the Califorri~ of a political comedy by MHerbert Bashford, a writer well known in magazine circles. The play is in four acts, and deals with political life in Washington. Tt has not been n here before, but was presented on a road tour with encouraging su cess by L. R. Stockwell, who will ap- pear in its leading role to-night and will later take the comedy to the BEast The title of the play is “The Honorable John North.” Among Mr. Stockwell's supporting company are Lewis and Mrs. Belmore, Charles Allen Verner, Maurice Hyde-Chick and Alice Han- non. > A Account will be found elsewhere of the opening last night of the new bur- lesque at Fischer's, “A Lucky Stone.” F oy e James Neill and his company will use as their play this week at the Grand Opera-house Archie Gunther's “Mr. Barnes of New York.” R White Whittlesey in “Heartsease’ is the Alcazar programme for the week. The leading role is one peculiarly well suited to the personality of Mr. Whit- tlesey, and the play itself is one peren- nially in favor with a large contingent of playgoers. . s The Central will run to the truly rural this week with the pastoral arama “Along the Mohawk.” It is said to be replete with novel and interest- ing situations, one of the scenes show- ,ing the pressroom of a large news- paper in full swing. sl e e ‘Walter Le Roy and Florence Clayton, who made a hit at the Orpheum two years ago in “Hogan of the Hansom,"” will return to enliven that temple of variety this afternoon with another Hogan sketéh, entitled “A Horse on Hogan.” Among the rest are two famous dancing sisters, Estelle and Babette D’Arville, and Valerie Bergere will revive her taking sketch of last year, “Billie’s First Love.” Belle Gordon, a clever athlete, head- lines the Chutes bill of the week. PR The Tivoli's famous production of “Robin Hood" seems only to be grow- ing in favor with the theater-goers. The houses are very large and the per- formances going delightfuily. i v s INTERESTING CHAT ABOUT PLAYERS AND DOINGS IN STAGELAND Lulu Glaser will commence her sea- scn on Labor day, September 5, at the Knickerbocker Theater, New York, in a comic opera by Ludwiz Englander and Harry B. Smith called “A Madcap Princess.” e The rebuilt Iroquois Theater, Chicago, will reopen Sentember 1 and will be known as the Vaudeville. e Florence Stone is to be seen next sea- son in a big revival of “Cleopatra.” Nance O'Neil is to be seen in New York next season under the manage- ment of John B. Schoeffel. 8 ei. Clyde Fitch has sold his new play, “Granny,” to Charles Frohman. Mrs. Gilbert is to make her farewell tour in it next season. CHATHE R Joseph Weber and Florenz Ziegfeld signed a contract last week to conduct the music hall at Broadway and Twen- ty-ninth street, New York, as a stock = BL PARTING.TON | burlesque house. Anna Held, Aubrey Boucicault and Harry Morris have been engaged, and Edgar Smith will furnish the burlesques. CHIRT ‘Wagenhals and Kemper have secured for Miss Blanche Walsh the entire Eng- lish rights to Jacob Gordin’s domestic tragedy, “The Kreutzer Sonata,” which was presented in Yiddish over 300 times at the Thalia Theater, New York. Miss Walsh's first appearance in it will be in Chicago in December. Wilton Lackaye has gone to his Long Island cottage for the summer with his wife and little son. Mr. Lackaye is a close student and a brilliant speaker. He is the first actor to receive an offer from a political organization to stump the country in the interest of a Presi- dential candidate. His long tour already booked with “The Pit” made his ac- ceptance of the offer quite impossible. Lackaye has made a great reputation as a speaker and he is in demand at meetings in every city he visits. & ente Joseph Hart and Carrie de Mar re- fused an offer of $40,000 for forty weeks to return to vaudeville. Wik Ll Lee Shubert sails for Europe, author- ized by William A. Brady to offer Ros tand or Stephen Phillips the largest cash bonus ever paid an author for a play founded on a religious character, that Grace George is very anxious to enact. If either author accepts this will be Miss George's greatest produc- tion. The Theater Magazine can always be relied upon for splendid pictures of stageland, but its July issue breaks all records as regards their number, there being no fewer than 100 half-tone plates. The reading matter, likewise, is more interesting than usual. The articles include an account of Perez Galdos, the Spanish playwright, whose drama, " has just made a sensation in Paris, and Yone Noguchl, the Japanese poet, contributes an en- tertaining and instructive paper on “Theaters and Theater-going in Japan. “A Morning Chat With Can- dida” (Dorothy Donnelly) constitutes the interview of the month, and Dr. Judd, the veteran manager, tells how Buffalo Bill first gained celebrity. This being a special vacation issue, two pages are_devoted to pictures of the leading players at their summer homes, and Wells Hawks, continuing his series, “How Theaters Are Man- aged,” tells about the attaches in front of the house. The papers on “Fam- ous Families of American Players, which begad in the May issue, is con- %tinued, the present article being de- voted to the Jeffersons, and illustrated with rare portraits lent by Mr. Jef- ferson himself. The experiment tried by the People’s Institute of New York to give the poorer classes fine dramatic performances for a nominal sum 1s described in an article entitled “Twen- ty-five-cent Shakespeare for the Peo- ple,” and there is a full page pictorial feature describing New York's new summer amusement resort, “Dream- land,” at Coney Island. Millicent Moone writes an amusing letter to James K. Hackett, and Julia Wempie continues her interesting ““Confessions of a Stage-struck Girl.”, The pictures include scenes from “Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch,” “A Little Tragedy of Tientsin,” ““Woodland,” “The South- arennes,” etc., and portraits of Grace Heyer, Bertha Galland, Nell Hawthorne, Paul Cazeneuve, Mona Desmond, Harrison Ford, Dorothy Tennant, Mrs. Leslie Carter, Fanny Brough, Gabriel Pares, leader of the Republican Guard Band of Paris, which is going to St. Loujs; Howara Kyrle, Jessie Jordan, Franz von Vec- sey, the phenomenal violinist, who 1Is coming to America, etc. o e e Yone Noguchi, the Japanese poet, well known locally through his inter- esting Anglo-Japanese verse, con- tributes to the Theater Magazine for July a fascinating article on “Theaters and Theater-Going in Japan.” He says in part: “Modern Japan, despite its ready adoption of western manners is in things theatrical still faithful to the ancient feudal days, and the san- guinary, interminable dramas written many centuries ago are still the chief attractions in the Mikado's theaters. It is true that within the last few years— in fact, since the triumphant European and American tours of those distin- guished Japanese players, Sada Yacco and Oto Kawakami—the old school drama has to some extent lost ground, and quite recently performances Shakespeare’s ‘Othello’ and ‘Hamlet’ and Daudet’'s ‘Sappho’ have been re- ceived with favor by Tokio audiences. The explanation of this curious su vival of the old form of play at a time when all Japan is eagerly imitating the foreigner is undoubtedly to be found in the peculiar customs of the country. The progressive Japanese finds it easier to change his mode of dress than to re- form habits bred in the bone. The old plays, lasting as they formerly did from early morning until nearly midnight, just suited the Japanese playgoer, who when he does go to the theater makes an all-day affair of it. Indeed, theater- going in Japan is a very serious mat- ter, like an ocean voyage or long rail- road journey with the American, and not to be entered upon lightly or with- out due preparation. Some ten or twelve years ago the Japanese police limited the duration of a dramatic performance to eight hours, and more recently Sada Yacgo and Oto Kawakami, who learned a good deal in their foreign travels, in- troduced the comparatively short eyen- ing performance of three or four hdurs, an innovation which was at once wel- comed by the better class of people. “But the new arrangement found lit- tle favor with the general public, whose honorable traditions it rudely upset, and particular indignation was aroused in the bosom of the Japanese Matinee + Girl—fully as important a person in Ja- pan as in America—who loves to in the theater as long as possible and weep over the play. For, to the gen- tle mousme, the theater is essentially the place for weeping. Japanese g are extremely sentimental, and a play without harrowing situations would not appeal to them in the least. The mu- sical comedy—as presented in America and England—is quite unknown in Ja- pan, for which we Japanese should per- baps be devoutly thankful “When a Japanese makes up his mind to go to the theater, he proceeds first by interesting his neighbors. If he is a married man, he consults his wife and daughters. If he is a bachelor, he gets together a party of friends. The Japanese women are passionately de- voted to the drama. It is usual for a party to book a box through a tea house connected with the theater and at the same time make arrangements for what refreshments they wish served. The Japanese maiden makes the most elaborate preparations days irls beforehand, and when the eve of the eventful day arrives, she has been known to sit up all night so as not to oversleep herself the next morning. To be at the theater on time, playgoers must rise with the sun, and all their mea including breakfast, are eaten in the tiny bex in the playhous Itis not an easy task to reach on seats, and once the family has settled down, nothing but a catastrophe would duce it to leave its box. They eat in it, smoke in it, nurse babies in it, and put themselves thoroughly at their ease. In each box there is a small at which they light the short = pipe, an their side is the e of rice and fish with the tradi- tional chop sticks, and a Dottle of sake (rice brandy) and cups of tea, which are filled as often as emptied. The women chew candy and the r take freely of sake as the play on. A man who has beem obliged escort his women relatives Is often to be seen fi asleep, politeness to women is not seriously discussed in Japan. During the intermissions, at- tendants with cakes, confectionery and tea pass up and down the elevated aisles offering their wa et 4 Fannie Francisca (Fannie Michasison mak of this city), who has been name for herself in grand opera in rope, is said fering offers from the New Y politan Opera management. Miss aelson has just finished a long engagement in grand opera at Amsterdam, and goes to Paris in the near future. It is eleven years since the singer left San Francisco. Melba will sing but four times with the Metropolitan Opera this season as her concert tour will take up all other dates. Conried has arranged for her appearance during the holiday time in some of the special productions. Her concert tour will ch from the At- lantic to the Pacific and from the Guif to British Columbia. The “Venetian Romance” goes upon the road next year heralded as the only musical show written by a woman ever produced in New York City. Mrs. Cor- nelia Osgood Tyler, wife of Colonel A. C. Tyler, U. S. 4 retired, and a cous- in of the President, enjoys the distine- tion of Being the author of this suc- cess romantic comedy opera. Henry W. Savage’s English Grand Opera Company will greatly extend its field next season, proceeding as far west as San Francisco, to Canada on the north, New Orleans as the south- ernmost point, with New York as the chief objective center in the East. In all, some sixty-five cities will be visited by this unjque organization. “The Prince of Pilsen” has met with such a cordial reception at the Shaftes- bury Theater, London, that its run s continued for an indefinite period. The advance sale in the librarfes extends into thousands of pounds. L Henry W. Savage's massive pictorial production of “Parsifal” in English is now completed and the entire cast has been formed. The first representation of the Wagner music drama will be given in Boston October 19. —_———————— ¥ PROVES TO BE EXPENSIVE PRINCIPLE HONES Austrian Returns Conscience Money and a Court Makes Demand for Interest. VIENNA, July 7.—Herr Tippelt, an Austrian mining millionaire, has de- cided that honesty is not the best poi- iey. Recently he discovered that his in- come during the last few years had exceeded the figure at which he had returned it, and in a fit of remorse he sent £1300 to the exchequer The result was that he received a demand for another being inter- est on the arrears, and eighteen times the amount of the interest charged, as a penalty for not having declared his full income. Herr Tippelt yesterday appealed against the demand of the court, but the judge decided against him. —————— War on Cigarettes. LONDON, July 9.—Physicians of the West End are considering the advis- ability of presenting a resolution to the House of Commons recommending the introduction of a bill providing heavy penalties for the proprietors the Bond-street teahouses which retail tea cigarettes to their customers. Within the past two weeks upward of twenty women have been taken te the private sanitarinms suffering from the effects of tea cigarettes. Physicians declare that the tea ecigarette has taken the place of the morphine habit with many women of the smart set.