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Show f BROADWAY THE MECCA OfI ; THE STAGE-STRUCK GIRL 1 I INSTANCES AND ABSURDITIES OF THE FURORE MANAGERS 0 WHO PROFIT BY IT, AND MANAGERS WHO DO NOT THE 1 GIRL WHO IS NOT UP TO SAMPLE :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ! 1 BY ANNA S. RICHARDSON tJ I Special to Tho Tribune NEW YORK, March 25.-SprlngS Trco and bush In Central park abtoom with uncertain, un-certain, dcllcato Errecns! Smart society turning Us face- toward Europo or Its country coun-try estates! Among the great sky-scrapora i the work-a-day world planning vacations und Jaunts far aflaldi ,, , But old Father Knickerbocker smiles to himsolf as ho watches preparations for he annual exodus, for all Is grist that cornea to his mill, and as soino so. others come. From tho north to the south, from tho golden west to rockbound Now England, Eng-land, tho army of Dtago-struck glr a ia turning Us faco and Tls feet, Its llttlo hopes and las big ambitions, toward New York on Us annual pllgrlmago to Broad, way and tho Rlalto. ! Broadway Mecca of tho stage-struck . Rlalto-promlscd land, flowing with dra- I matlo milk and honoyJ 1 I Stoady-golnff. home-loving cillzons of i far-awny towns do not dream how mam girls drift; from their midst to tho theatrical theatri-cal colony of Now York City Occasionally '! they read of a neighbor's daughter who was risen suddenly to fame as or 1 actress, and thoy bask contontcdly In her rolleoted glory. Thoy rosbIji somewhat 1 boastfully of her diamonds, hor automo- bllo and tho monoy which she sends homo to "mother and tho girls," When nor company plays at tho local theater tne crowd It to tho doors and applaud hysterically hyster-ically But what do they know of the ulrls from their own town- who bcopj not succcoss but failure girls who slip away quietly and back again, girls whoso lips aro scaled to all that happened during that brief but pregnant absence? Only those, of us who work and llvo on tho Rlalto or on its edgo know thl3 sido of tho picture In Different Cities. In Philadelphia's holy of holies, tho RU-, RU-, tenhousesquaro set. Sovely younff ma- ' I iron hua Just scored a hit In private theat ricals for charity. Like faded roses, &o- clal triumphs crumblo at her feot. A 1 jav Art becomes as dust and ashes. With 1 hor husband's consent sho approaches an cminont Now York manager and offeis a startling Bum for tho prlvTlego of starring i tinder his management. rrnt In Now Orleans.. a .dainty girl, perfect typo of Southern beauty, steps lrom tho ) convent to tho drawlngroom, to charm I with her piquant faco and crooning ice. I In old Creole melodies. Tho applause first carries her off her feet, then turnn her faco toward Broadway. In a d ngy room 1 Fho seeks out a once popular singer. He is now eking out a livelihood training would-be opera stars. or a fee, ho hears her Bing. and for still another fee. ho places her In corrcsponclonce ; with tho manager under whom ho sang light opera yInr aafm'all mid-West city a pretty girl recites "Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight" or '"Ostler Joe." with perhaps a touch of that real talent which Is vaguely recognized recog-nized by the audlonca of admiring reja-! reja-! lives and friends. The next morning she roads in tho one dally paper of which her town can boast-a complimentary notice of l her work. Then, with furtlvo stops, over a circuitous route, she makes her way to )' a distant now3 -stand, whore sho buys a I theatrical weekly. In tho secrecy of her i , own room she poUrs over its pages, selects i the names of thoso agents and managers , ' which appeal most strongly to her roman- tic fnncv, and writes each and every ono ! ; of them a pleading letter, enclosing the I ,1 ono complimentary notice of her career. n And another faco Is turned toward Bro.id- I way. Tho Rlalto has charmed another vlc- II 1 'All Go to Now York. J They come to New York not by hun- 1 areds but by thousands, theso stage-struck f girls, and spring seems to find tho stream 1 of would-be stars at flood tldo. And what ha stho Rlalto to offer them' The an swer to that question would embrace a i world of pathos and humor. It would af- ford elements of tragedy and comedy j painfully locking In tho very plays In which theso girls long to appear. Stago fovcr Is no respeoter of age, purso ' or former condition of ecrvltudc. It at- 1 tacks tho dreamy maiden in boarding- school and the middle-aged woman who, having been left a wee lnhorltanco, looks with longing toward tho portals of a dramatic dra-matic school. It lays its clutch upon the ' shrill-voiced cash girl, who, with her M steady." goes to see tho.latcst "mc-chlld, me-child" melodrama, and upon tho ' daughter of millions, who, from tho van- ! lage point of a stage box, studies a now tJJ . matinee Idol. It Is Just as liable to at- 71 tack tho girl who has played listlessly at j a round ot social duties, as tho young wo- ! man, -who, having been forced through a ! course of stenography and typewriting by ', hopoful parents, suddenly decides that an 1 oftico Is not a worthy arena for the dls- ! tSy of her talents, Long-suffering managers and agents have ceased tp ask why girls, utterly ln- : experienced and unequipped for tho fray, project themselves from Squecdunk and a J Hiram's Crossroads upon tho RIalto's i V horizon. Tho presence of this eagor glrl- t nrmy Is ono of tho penalties paid for i making Now York the theatrical center of America- Dramatlo and musical com-, com-, j panle3 are organized In other largo cities, notably In Chicago and San Francisco, but thoy are quickly filled from tho ranks of experienced actors stranded In tho town through tho failure of other road ' companies. In the smaller cities, where, an aggregation is booked for only one or two nights, It Is practically impossible for a girl to securo a hearing with tho man-I man-I A. ager's representative. A few men, Biich H, as Henry W. Savage, Instruct their musl- tal directors to try out voices In each Im- I portant city where their companies play, but It 1b only for voices that they aro seeking. Tho girl who ha3 no definite gift ! of Bongi and who counts on some undis covered dramatic gift or perhaps mere ( beauty to secure a hearing, gurries along , ihe Rlalto, whoro managers aro thick, and V openings for beauty ' In particular aro 1 ' many. 1 Tho Manager's Mail. H I Every Broadway manager of any stand- 1 ing expects that a certain proportion of f his dally mall will bo pleas from stngc- j struck girls. And ho has a stock letter which his stenographer sends to moat of 1 1 theso vague appeals. Many of them aro ', silly, so silly that tho manager who Is, aovo all things practical and businessman business-man llus, turns from them In disgust. One writer announces with amusing frank- 1 ness that her parents aro irrevocably op- B posed to the stage as a career, but depo- H' nont ls entirely willing to clopo and Join j ) Ills company In. most romantic style, If properly enai-ged in a financial way. B. J Then there Is tho girl who knows her J Shakespeare from "klver to klver," but BBAV , i who would '-tart In tho chorus or as a AvJ maid. whcrevCr hor real gold hair and aVj . ! violet eyes will bo most profitable for the BVJ i , manager. The girl who tells tho story of aVj ,l Jior llfo from childhood up, in seven pages. AV i.'t and devotes the last to a description of AvJ I j u charming dimple in tho cleft of her AV r-hln, is not missing, As to any evidence, AVj''', (ecn or unseen, of dramatlo talent, she ij lias nothing to say. But the girl who -is H ; JiiRf now demonstrating tho fcmlnlno acu- H i. men of tho twcntlclh century is sho who H p upproaches the manager by mall with a H (. financial clause. 'j A Chicago Girl. Hl ; It was a Chicago girl who wrote a prom- H i Incnt Broailway manager that sho wished H ' to go on the ntagc. and that her deslro n was backed by solid cash. Sho did not 1,; waste time on. such tries as good looks, '!H fine stago prcsonce. dramatic ability, or ! Undying ambition. Sho simply talked ji'l money. Now. there happened to bo on H I J tho manager's staff a very competent H i. young chap who was ambitious to strike j U out for himself. His chief, half-joklnglv, 1! j handed him this letter and advised him to l ii look into tho matter. Perhaps tho girl Ht might havo both talent and financial H" ; backing. If so, the young fellow could get his coveted start in this not unusual fashion His heart beating high with hope, the would-be mannger wrote to the young woman, and received In reply some charming photographs. Interesting personalities per-sonalities and moro hints about the Investment In-vestment of her capital. After considcr-ablo considcr-ablo correspondence the amount of this capital was ascertained 1-Ier assets consisted con-sisted of $179.50 deposited In a savings bank as the result of sovcral years' faithful faith-ful service as ladies' nsnld In a wealthy Chicago family I Dcsplto his own disappointment over the loss of a moneyed star, tho young man was so amused by her nerve and determination determi-nation to scqul'e a hearing that he advised her to spend her savings in coming to New York, where ho would secure for her a place in the chorus. Tho girl further demonstrated her cleverness by arriving on tho sccno rcsplcndont In raiment partly part-ly donated by her ex-mlstrcss and partly purchased by her savings, and sho Is now playing a small part Five Thousand Short. But tho combination of money and shrewdness docs not always result In this happy fashion. A manager had Just had a very hard and disastrous season and was tottering on tho edge of bankruptcy, when from northern New York thoro came to his offlco an Interesting appeal from a stage-struck girl. (You aro nlways a girl on tho singe ) Sho wanted a position In tho chorus, and sho could back her desire with a rcrtlfled check for (ZOOO, to be invested in-vested In ono of his productions. Tho harassed manager grasped nt this letter even as tho drowning man nt the proverbial prover-bial straw Ho wrote to the embryonic star to come to New York at once. He -would havo rushed off to seo her. but his affairs wero In such condition that he did not daro leave tho scene. Sho replied by wire, and followed tho wire In person. Then for tho manager tho deluge. This blushing maiden was a maiden. Indeed, but tho blush was artificial, arti-ficial, so wero her teoth and tho golden lights In hor hair. She walked with a slight limp, and sho had a flguro llko an exaggerated scantling, whllo her volco. was as musical as tho tones of a small boy working the familiar combination of a comb and a sheet of paper. Mournfully tho manager looked over his self-constituted partner, and there followed fol-lowed ono of thoso brlof. sharp struggles for which tho much-abused manager Is nover given credit. His manhood won out. and as gently as possible, considering his own bitter disappointment, ho told the woman tho truth about her future. Tho stago was not for hor, neither was her "five- thousand ' for him. And when he learned her story, ho warned hor against unscrupulous men who would Jump nt her money and give her worse than husks of theatrical lffo in return. For this poor, misguided creature, whoso wholo llfo hnd been sp.ent in yearnings for a stago career, ca-reer, from which sho had been barred by physical Imperfections amounting almost to deformity, wras willing to barter tho entire Inheritance which had como to her suddenly and unexpectedly and which represented rep-resented a comfortallo old age., for one mad whirl In tho theatrical vortex. A Musical Prodigy. i A manager whoso specialty is musical comedy and whose roputatlon for absent-mindedness absent-mindedness Is marked, recently had a somowhat trying experience with ono of theso moneyed aspirants for stage honors. Ho rccelcd from a prosperous city in Iowa a most ladylike communication written writ-ten on the very smartest stationery. Tho writer hnd been training her volco for years, but she realized that she must begin be-gin at tho bottom would he give her a position po-sition In tho chorus? In reply, his ste--nographer sent a form-letter setting forth tho fact that It was impossible for any one to judgo of her capabilities without a personal per-sonal interview. If she desired to make tho trip to New York, ho would be glad to glvo her an audience, otc. Thon tho manager man-ager promptly proceeded to forget her existence ex-istence until reminded by a second letter Sho had decided to come to New York. Furthermore, she had decided that, after years of training, It was not necessary for her to begin In tho chorus. Perhaps he might have a small part at his disposal, or ho might know of a struggling playwright play-wright with a musical comedy which she could produce at hor own expenso with tho manager as her sponsor. At any rate, ho might expect her. with volco and bankbook bank-book in tow, on such and such a date. And again tho manager forgot her existence and plunged back Into the absorbing details de-tails of a new production. But Inexorable as the hand of Fate, the date and the woman wo-man wero coming nearer and nearer to New York, aud the manager woke up with a start oho morning to find hlmsolf looking at a vaguoly familiar name on an engraved card. And a moment later ho -was gazing up at a plump, matronly figure, fig-ure, backed by a tall, strapping youth, who looked as If ho would make a fine center rush on a football team. "I'm ,Mrs. Jones, from D ," tho caller remarked, In a colorless voice, "and this la my son. You remember I wroto you from homo. We're stopping at tho ."' mentioning ono of tho most fashlonablo of tho Fifth avenue hotels. i Tho manager blinked hard and fast as his glanco traveled from the plump, matronly ma-tronly figure to tho stalwart son. "Yes, yes; I remember. You did write, and let's see, what did you want?" The woman's faco turned purple and tho boy moved forward aggressively. "I'm a singer. You promised me a position po-sition In one of your companies." "Eh, what?" murmured tho manager Indistinctly. In-distinctly. "And I've come to have my voice tried not that It's necessary. I havo a book-ful book-ful of notices." "Exactly," answered tho manager, brightening visibly. "Wo aro trying voices this afternoon, between 1 and 2, nt tho theater. Come around, como around, and I'll lntroduco you to tho musical mu-sical director. Good-morning, good-morning. Peter, Bend In Mr. Stand-off." That afternoon, a certain well-known musical director had tho shock of his llfo when a matronly looking woman appeared ap-peared at the piano with the posltivo assertion as-sertion that Mr. Manager was going to engage her for tho leading role, and It-was It-was all nonsense for her to undergo this trial before a lot of giggling girls. Tho musical director, In dazed fashion, struck a chord. And the girls stopped giggling. Perhaps it was the very pathos of tho woman's attempt at singing which stilled the laughter. The musician looked nt her with pitying eyes, took hor namo and address, ad-dress, which she gave with a funny air of tolerance, and promised sho nhould hoar from him in tho morning. That afternoon tho mannger found himself dictating this letter to his stenographer. ' ..Ira. Jonen, llotol, City. "'Dear Madnmr I regret to learn from our mualcnl director that your voice 1b nulto nn-Hultcd nn-Hultcd to musical comedy. It la unfortunate that you did not havo it tested by omo rc-upoitalblo rc-upoitalblo JuJko beforo going to the cxixmso of this trip. Itcerottlns, etc " And for forty-eight hours after tho receipt re-ceipt of that note, the .manager was in a state of sioge, tho besieging partv being an Ideal football tlguro, with blood in his eye for tho Insult cast upon Ms mother's vocal attainments. For weeks tho woman and her stalwart son haunted manngerlnl offices and agencies, and it Is a quostlon In tho minds of thoso who watched tho pitiful llttlo drama at close range whether the womnn or her misguided, if idolizing, son suffered most keenly front the disappointment. disap-pointment. Accused of Prevarication. Managers aro often accused-of prevarication, prevari-cation, and of raising false hopes in the hearts of theso stage-struck ,women, when a word of honest If cutting advice might end their foolish dream. But manager and ngonts have learned by sad oxpcrl-enco oxpcrl-enco that rcllablo but homely advlco is not always takon in a kindly spirit, and tho girl prefers to work out her own way through a succession of disappointments, until, funds and hopes exhausted, she returns re-turns to home und mother. This hint fact was Illustrated by tho recent adventure of a well-known manager who Is popular with tho out-of-town newspaper fraternity. frater-nity. A young woman approached him bearing a letter of Introduction from a newspaper writer of somo repute. She wanted to start In light opera. The manager man-ager anxious to oblige his newspapor friend, hnd her voice thoroughly, patiently patient-ly tested, but she showed nbsoluioly no trace of musical ability. While she could blng, covcry note was false, and she seemed totally deaf to true tones. As gently as possible ho communicated the decision to tho girl, advising her to go home, and tho next week hp received from tho Irate Journalist this rebuke: "What do you mean by saying Miss H cannot sing? Sho can sing higher than any piano ever made." She Hnd Experience. Women seem to bo sublimely Ignorant on tho subject of managerial methods and needc?. They expect Broadway managers to share all their Improbable, rosy-hucd dreams olj future greatness. A few weeks ago. the press representative representa-tive of a well-known Broadway firm looked up from his writing to meet the earnest gnzo of a young woman dressed In the height of cross-road fashions. "Arc you Mr. P ?" she inquired, 'coyly. 'coy-ly. With a premonition of trouble, tho man admitted his Identity "Well, I'm from . Michigan, and 1 thought I'd come in to see you about going on tho stnge." "Had any experience?" "Oh, yes, I took tho Dcmorost modal In our town, and I've been asked to recite all over our county. Here's my scrap-book." scrap-book." shu added triumphantly, as sho spread the volume beforo his astonished gaze The press representative toyed with tho pages until her volco sounded with unpleasant firmness on his ears: "Well?" Ho looked up at her angular figure. ' Well?" ho said in reply. ' What havo you to ofTor mo? I'm willing will-ing to star in 'most any kind of part, but I nrofer emotlonnl work." The theatrical man gasped, then he had an Inspiration. "How much money do you want to put up on your starring lour?" "Monoy!" almost shouted the girl. "Monoy! Why, you're going to put up the money. You've been recommended to mo as a firm which appreciates talent. I'm giving you the first opportunity to star me." And it took the smoothest press representative repre-sentative In all New York full ten minutes min-utes to mako the young womnn from Michigan understand that she was starting start-ing at tho wrong end of the ladder, and then ahe swept from the room like an Injured In-jured empress. Easy to Prove. Any ono who doubts the probability of thoso anecdotes has only to spend an hour with Mrs. Matilda Scott Paine, a theatrical agent whose specialty Is supplying sup-plying singers for light opera and musical comedy. Every Tuesday and Friday morning between It and D:C0 o'clock sho trkrt voices at her studio In tho New Amsterdam theater building. Hero eventually event-ually como most of the women, young or old. who wish to Join the choius. Not long ago. tho writer spent a most absorbing absorb-ing half hour beside her piano. The first caller hailed from IMttsburg. Sho was round-shouldered nnd awkward and her voice was barely passable. She had been bandied back and forth, from mannger to manager, until llnully sho heard of this woman agent. Mrs. Pnlno tried her volco patiently, thoroughly, then set about the unpleasant task of shattering tho girl's dream. There was no possible chance for her on the stage. Then came tcara and hysteria. The girl had spent hor last cent. She was absolutely abso-lutely penniless and friendless In New York. Somehow t,hls Is one of tho things the woman of tho Rlalto never tells money was secured to send tho girl home. She wont back to her llttlo clerkship Iti a Pittsburg .store, and a fnw days later Mra. Paine received a grateful grate-ful note from the mother, enclosing tho borrowed money and thanking the agent for "knocking sense Into my daughter's head." Just a Show Girl. The second nppllennt for a position was radiantly beautiful nnd she hailed from Now Jersey. Mrs. Pnlno struck a chord on tho piano and the girl started at her In blank wonder. "I don't want to havo my voice tried. I want a Job." Tho agent swung round on tho piano stonl. Rut you must lpt mo hear you sing be fore I can got you a place In the chorus." "Oh, I don't want a chorus Job; I want to bo a show girl. What's tho u of being be-ing a beauty If you havo to sing, too." Just for a second Mrs. Palno wasiloored. and tho radiant young person pursued her pecullnr lino of reasoning. "You don't suppose that with my face and tlguro I'm going In for any ?15 a week Job? I don't go to any manager for less than &Q." "Well," gasped Mrs. Paine, "then I guess you'll have to stay in Jersey. Wo don't want show girls any more. We want voices." Then, as tho girl swept angrily from tho studio, sho added. "And she lias never set foot on the stage! Not less than thirty per! Next!" Dazzling Expectations. "Next" proved to be an English girl who sang sweetly and spoko with a delicious de-licious cockney accent. Mrs. Palnc told her sho could place her at 515 per week In town, $1S per week on tho road. The girl looked crestfallen and by tactful questioning, question-ing, tho agent ascertained that tho girl had Just arrived via tho steerage from England, having heard wonderful stories of the salaries paid in New York. "I thought you'd pay me fifty per, ut least," sho ended, mournfully. Further questioning developed tho fact that she had not a "shilling to mo name." with four weeks of rehearsal beforo her. What happened? Well, Influence was brought ot boar on tho manager, and monoy to llvo was advanced the girl, who had had somo experience In England and whoso voice wus worth something to a manager. Two "Sweet Sixteens." Tho next arrivals were two girls in nnklc-lcngth frocks. They wero attended by a hawk-eyed mother, the sort who Is a terror to overy manager and agent along thn Rlalto. Mrs Paine glanced sharply at tho two girls. "How old aro you?" sho asked tho older r,f the two. Tho mother broko In quickly ' 17. nearly." "1.0 1 tho child answer for herself," said Mrs. Paine. strnly. "When did you leao school?" And again tho mother broko in: "They arc both going to stay in school until wo learn whether you can get positions posi-tions for them." Mrs. Pnino turned abruptly to the mother moth-er "I am engaging theso girls, not you. You go to the other sldo of tho room. Now" this to the older girl "how old arc you? When were you lt?" . ,. Tho girl looked helplessly in the direction direc-tion of hor departing parent and mur-irfhred? mur-irfhred? "I was 10 in November. ' "And when will you bo 1C?" said tho agent, turning Suddenly to tho youngor girl, who murmured. "I'll bo 10 in March." "Humph." said tho agent. Hushing angrily, an-grily, "and you are sisters?" Sho called tho mother back. "Take theso children home and don't bring them back until you can prove with birth certificates that thy aro both over 10. And, incidentally, slop teaching them to lie," Wanted Something Easy. , Tho next comer was a sharp-featured woman with little lines of card in hor forehead. fore-head. Sho sang shrilly, and under clever questioning admitted that sho had passed her thirtieth milestone. Sho had been a trained nurse, and was tired of the life wanted something easier. She left the offlco of-flco unconvinced that sho wa3 trying an even more difficult, nay, an lmposslblo life for ono of her age. And so It went from grave to gay, from youth to dhll middle age. When tho hour was up not les3 than thirty voices had been examined, and only two glrl3 had shown any talent whatever. A Small Percentage. "What percentngo of the girls who como to Now York to go on the Btago remain?" 1 nskGd the exhausted Mrs. Paine. "If you mean remain to go on tho stage. I should sav about one In 000. But many others remain In Now York, taking places as clerks, cloak models, anything that will keep the wolf from tho door. Wo do our best to urge girls unfitted to the work to return home, but they stay until every penny Is exhausted and then they aro ashamed to return empty-handed. Thoy drift, God knows whore, and others como to take their place. It Is only ono girl in a thousand who can get a start on tho stago. and a smaller proportion still who can stand tho pace, physical, mcntnl, nervous ner-vous and moral." CCopyrlghtcd. 1905. by A. S. Richardson.) |