| Show PROM FROM BEHIND THE CURTAIN CURTMN At o 0 dinner in New lew York Tork recently David Bel dissected with delicate and true truo wit n a certain playwright This playwright is successful lie he pro produces produces duces half a dozen pieces every year but it is admitted on all sides that he owes all his best ideas to play pla playwrights wrights who have preceded him One night said sald Mr Belasco at the I conclusion of his comments the play pla playwright wright had a dream And in his dream I it seemed to him that he heard a noise i down don stairs Rising softly he took a 1 lI candle and descended The drawing room was empty empt the thc lib library ra r was empty but in the din dining lug room the playwright saw a figure in a ablack ablack black mask bending ever the silver siler I chest V VAlia esL 1 Aha Alia cried the playwright steni inn ing N No said the other calmly No not stealing Only adapting Was ras David talking to his mirror Gags are an i important Item in th the stock in trade of ever every coined comedian Ian and anda a good one OIle is sure to win a coveted covett d laugh from the audience Harmond Hitchcock claims that the quality which catches the tue attention af a an au an audience is the spontaneity of the ga gag I and cites lites as an an example an incident ver In telling the sto Mr Hitch which recently occurred during an en engagement in a town not far from Den cock nays sas TaKe an Instance which occurred a afew I few weeks ago A cat strolled out to the middle of the stage in the second act ct of A Yankee Tourist It squatted right down and amI looked at me The au audience tittered and I turned around and saw the cat Scat you ou I yelled and clapped my Inh hands but kitty never moved Some of my best lines were to fol follow follow low and I realized the scene would be utterly spoiled But at that point the I cat came to my rescue She opened her mouth and said lIeou WB Va try voIces at Ii 11 in the morning I said Get out You are interfering with the performance Then I picked her un UJ and carried her to the wings and the show went wenton on Now that caught lIke blazes But if it happened again it could not possibly possibly bly have the sam effect If I had a cat trained to on every evening and the spontaneity would b be gone I 4 F Some of the wise men of Broadway have hare been doing a little figuring on the seasons income of the leading stars and here is the result Richard Mansfield David from The Music Master SOhn Drew His House in OrdEr V Sothern and Mar Marlowe I lowe Shakespearean repertoire eacH William Collier Caught in the Rain Robert Manteli I Frank DanIels Montgomery and Stone between them Sam Bernard Robert Eleson 30 Maxine laxine Elliott Margaret Anglin Hattie WIlliams 30 fore Stahl Anna Held Viola Allen Maud V I Adams and Rose Melville 45 V When his friends ask Ernest Lam Lamson Lamson V son an actor why he does not leave the stage he replie I 1 am like the young man who was calling on oil the only girl he ever loved Papa Papi was wall becoming impatient at atthe atthe the laten lateness S ot of the hour when he re remarked I marked 1 cant see Why that young fellow who is calling in Minnie sense enough to go home Its near midnight The dear little brother or of the famIly lam fam Ily just thou then came caine In heard his lath fath fathers lathers ers remark and ventured some light Ho cant bOo go father Sisters sit sitting sitting ting on him him |
