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Show MORE OF MAETERLINCK Dreamy Tragedy Seen on a Sylvan Stage UNBIDDEN BIRD WARBLES Vaudeville Sketches Blossom Luxuriantly; Mile. Dazie, the Dancer, Surprises by Appearing in Stock Company in Minor Role. By Vanderheyden Fyles A T last we know tho stage man-agcr man-agcr capable of producing a tragic fantasy by Maurlco Maeterlinck Maeter-linck In tho vaguo, oluslvc spirit of Its poetic author. It took tho first performance In America of "Agla-valne "Agla-valne and Sclysettc" to Inform us. Have von ever read a Maetorllnck play and then put down the book and thought out how you could produce It on an ordinary theater stago with tho tamo effect tho words had made on you? Or, liottor fstlll, have you ever observed tho work of doing such a thing In progress, or been a participator partici-pator In fiuch work? Maeterlinck gives no stage dlrcctlona In his manuscript, manu-script, beyond mentioning that "the walls of the but become radiant" or "the graveyard turns Into a field of HIlcs." It taxed the sconlc gonlus of Hamilton Bell and the resourceful stage technique of George Foster Piatt, working for many months, In association with the discriminating taste or Wlnlhrop Ames, to realize "The Blue Bird;' and beautiful as the result was, the visible performance of the fairy tale still fell a little short of the effect of the unadorned words on the Imagination. But that Is as Inevitable as to expect any production produc-tion of "A Midsummer Nlgbt'a Dream" to accomplish as much as Shakespeare's printed poetry. AT the elde of a country road In WestchcBter county, about an hour's ride from New York city, stands a quaint little tea shop, hidden hid-den amidst treos and flowers. U Is a favorite stopping place botwecn the numerous large estates that have been laid out around Mount Kisco by wealthy New Torkors. Back of the tea house Is a semi-circular slope of grass that forms a natural amphitheater. amphi-theater. For tho stago a white-columned pergola has been erected at the foot of this mount. Bade of It aro dense trees and a flower garden, through which runs a little stream. And that Is Martin Leonard's Brook-side Brook-side theater. No better setting could have been found for "Aglavalnc and Selyscttc." The words alono created their own "atmosphere." as words may be relied on to do when they are Maeterlinck's or Shakespeare's, while nature at its loveliest lured us Into the most receptive mood for poetry. But still about that Maeterllncklan stage manager. Whon the end of the play came with tho sacrificial death of poor, unhappy Selyselte. a bird In a tree that spread Its branches ovor the staee began io sing his evening song. No deft touch by Belasco could have added more effectively to the poignancy and poetry of the climax. Maeterlinck should Immediately cabl to the Brookslde theater and secure the exclusive services of that bird. UOR the open-air performance, Mart la Leonard had considerately considerate-ly curtailed "Aglavnlne and Sely-Bette." Sely-Bette." reducing it lo twelve scenes, gcncrallv brlof. But she had not obscured the sad sory of the sisters who both loved the same "man to distraction. All Is well with Sely-settc Sely-settc and Melcander until Aglavalne comes to visit them. Immediately the husband Is fascinated by her beauty. She begins to love him, too, though In a harmless sort of way. Aglavalnc sees only his good qualities, quali-ties, whereas Selypette Is conscious of his faults, but loves him passionately passion-ately In spite of them. Tn the end, ' she determines to do away with herself, her-self, leaving Moloander free to live In happiness with Aglavalne. And this she docs In a truly Maeterllncklan Maeterllnck-lan way, choosing to leap from her tower. CTfTALTDR HAMPDEN was a good " selection for the only male role In the piece. With his fine physique and classic features, he looked handsome hand-some enough In his medaelval dress to Justify the sisters' capitulation; and he spoke the noble verse admirably. admir-ably. Mr. TTampden (son or J. Hamn-den' Hamn-den' Dougherty, the Brooklyn politician) politi-cian) had plavert the same part nine years ago In London, when Granville Barker made a very sympathetic production pro-duction of the trasredv, then eight years old In print If I recollect correctly, cor-rectly, Mrs. Hampden, known nro-fcsslonally nro-fcsslonally as Mabel Moore, was Selv-setto Selv-setto then, as she was the other afternoon. aft-ernoon. Edith Wynne Matthison wns to have played Aglavnlne, and she would have lifted the performance materially: but she was prevented from appearing and Martla Leonard filled the role intelligently. Minor parts were played bv Caroline New-combe, New-combe, formerly of the New theater, and Walter Fowler, a little boy of the neighborhood, who thus made his debut on the staee under tho unusual circumstances of Impersonating a little lit-tle girl. Do you suppose be will crow up, histrionically, from Maeterlinck to George W. Monroe? if-pHE SONG OF THIS HEART" 1 sounds like something highly high-ly psychological and "modem" from the pen of Hermann Sudcrmann. but ... ' . ri,ctf a sentimental vaudeville vaude-ville sketch brushed together bv tho experienced and hasty hand of Ed- p?r.,JVIai1 YooU' Tne ra!n d'etre of it Is Sophye Barnard, well-dressed n tyo songs and n atunning gown by Melville Ellis. It, fact. Mlfs Barnard Is quite In a class with Frltzl SchefT and Kitty Gordon-so far as the gown goes. Her role Is thai of a grand ooera prima donna who has graduated from a Bowery music hall to "Thais" at the Metropolitan. Metro-politan. The man who ran the downtown Joint has accompanied her on her upward flight, posing as a German impresfnrlo. Also the prima donna has acoulred a husband. He was born n High Life; therefor, his family would not stand for the "marriage "mar-riage and has succeeded In sep.irat-ng sep.irat-ng the couple. The prima donna Is ready for "'Thais." with a $7000 audience In front and nothing much on her back But Hubby is In the family box-, and, presently, he breaks rn?n. h,s asl'ndlngly aristocratic aristo-cratic relatives and comes around to the singer's dressing room. Ho tolls her that their little girl Is ill t ho. o and, In her delirium, has cried for her mamma. This harrows Thais a lot; and sho declares she cannot sing. But the resourceful Impros-sar Impros-sar o remembers the Svengall method and hypnotizes Mrs. Mary Garden Just as y6u can lead a horse to water wa-ter but cannot make him drink, so ! 1 -sma.jl you can mesmerize a prima donna onto the stage, but you cannot make hor sing. Thais, with her heart by the bedside of the little Jaundice patient, falls on her top note, break- J Ing down before the audience. Then she staggors back to her dressing room and says she Is through with the stage, is all for homo and Hubby and tho little one. ANOTHER tender romance in tho lives of muslc-mnkcrs ia told In "An Idyl of the Strings," by Oharlco Carver. This time the performer per-former with a breaking heart Is a violinist. Mabelle Adams. In short, who plays extremely well, thus making mak-ing up for a rather trlto talc. She Is "supposed to be the adopted daugn-tcr daugn-tcr of an eccentric old Italian violin-maker. violin-maker. He has a son with whom the girl Is much In love. Thoy are "both entered In a musical competition. competi-tion. The old man has just completed com-pleted a very remarkable violin, which he presents to the girl. But. hl3 son Is Jealous, covets It and, eventually, exchanges It for his own. The girl discovers the theft and so does the old man, he becoming enraged, en-raged, while she takes all the blame. Thus all ends happily; and we aro left with a tranquil mind for tho performing per-forming dogs and acrobats that follow. fol-low. WHEREAS, Sophyo Barnard and Mabelle Adams called In outside aid to supply them with playlets, Jean Weir boldlv took her pen In band and wrote "His Last Offense" for herself. Good for Jean. What Is more, she made the only characters of any consequence, besides her own, twins, so that ono actor Is enough. Bully Idea! If Shakespeare had only thought of making King Lear's daughters triplets, thai admlrablo play could bo produced at comparatively compara-tively slight expense. Indeed, Mary Anderson, who hit on the happy Idea of "doubling" Hermlono and Perdlta because they are mother and daughter, daugh-ter, might consider making a grand re-entry on the stage as Gonerll. Regan Re-gan and Cordelia. Still, Judging by the way the tall hustling required of Miss Weir's duplex leading man, such an undertaking might be too much for an actress of advanced years. Though Charles and James are brothers broth-ers nay, more, twins they are wholly unlike Internally: for Charles Is vory, vory good, while James is very, very otherwise. In short, while Charles Burnham, Esquire. Is a banker, Jim Burnham is an ordinary ordi-nary thief. And with a very dirty face to boot But that, as you presently pres-ently will see. Is essential to the drama. We are In Charles Burn-ham's Burn-ham's comfortable home, one evening, even-ing, when a telegram arrives for Mrs. Charles (Jean Weir) tolling her he has been detained on business. busi-ness. Presently. Mrs. Charles conveniently con-veniently having quitted the room, bad Jim Burnham sneaks in by way of a window. He Is running from the police. When he realizes he Is in his rospected brother's home, be hits on a happy Idea. He washes his face. That Is to say. by the simple process of rubbing off his burglar's smudge, he passes himself him-self off as his brother. Even Mrs. Charles herself Is taken In at first In time, however, she discovers Jim's Identity, draws from him a solemn promise to reform and agrees to help him deceive the policeman who has traced him lo the house. With her word, added lo Jim's marked resemblance re-semblance to tho banker and a good stiff drink that Mrs. Charles slips to the officer, Jim manages to hoodwink hood-wink him. He goes into another room; and, In on astoundlnglv brief period re-enters from the other side of the stago as Charles. Once again the shift is made, so that our last view of the reformed James is his exit by the window whence he entered. en-tered. I hardly see why; unless Jim had seen "The Blue Bird" and taken to heart the Fairy Bervluno's admonishment ad-monishment of the children never to leave a room by the door whon (hero Is a window ono might fly out of. A NOTHER Utile play In which a - x trickster's success in getting tho hotter of an honorable, hard-work-ins- official Is "Hor First Case," written by Zella Covington for Julia Nash. Two girls are llvlne In a hotel ho-tel to which they owe $100 for board. One of them (Marcla Leslie) staggers In from the street In tattered raiment, rai-ment, but really not much bruisod. from a collision with a taxicab. She Ik quickly followed by the company's clulm agent, who wastes no time In getting her signature to a "release" for $10. But her friend (Miss Nash) arrives Just In time to stop such wilful waste of woeful opnomSlM She becomes hysterical ovi girl's condition, even convincing t&l young woman horaelf that sh ,.tlSB has been seriously injured h J&M taxi. Indeed, so deceptive B ?h ttl4H sourccful friend's acting that ?3H claim agent feels ho has tnadpTo job of It when he finally gTt JSH for five good, crisp ?100 bill!. yOU never can tell who you nriH A find acting In a repertory .uLHI company In the summer tim7 ttM othor evening I dropped In tnJB "The Girl In tho Taxi" at VvfiB hatlan opera house, and. ciar'H down the programme to trv tJt i HSM my mind off the opening overtur?? wis not struck by the name of Acer. .ot surprising, as ah Sm cast for the small role of th But when sho came on, I reru5iB nono oUier than tho dancer rtFrr known as Mile, Dazic. A K&Hl for a premiere danceus6 to BDond tBM summer, one might think; but UmmSSME a reason. As everybody knows thJL'B is no bolter training for acting iu!M a repertory stock company- nl2 Mllo. Ann Dazio Acer wants i to riBtV come ar. proficient with hr vv!P chords as with her toes. "Shs !MrfT planning a season In vaudeviiu iHo J. M. Barric'E fantastic little uT about Lngllsh pantomime iiftrfnWHa crs, "Pantaloon," In which uSaHJS and John Barrymoro acted In bill with "Allco Sit-by-theMSBfc when thoir fascinating slater fwJm&' acted In that fascinating ply iniTKj' Dazle will be a ballet girl in taloon." though with not much Ing to do. playing the role prevlousfcB : acted by Beatrice Agnew. A T another cut-rate stock conH1!? pany I found Mrs. Dr. MunvnB1'-filling MunvnB1'-filling her time by actlne SHfC waiting for her divorce. The nLiBf: was "The Only Son;" and PaiiiiWVr Ncff. as Mrs. Munyon is kno'SMS the staeo, wan impersonating a man described as a. "society ladv-'Kv. Mrs. Munyon acts with great aclomiM and an ample wardrobe. But onW could expect no less from a wontnMfc' who declares that "tho averari! American business man has about JTf! much knowledge of tho styles aBdW prices and such things of women'iB clothes as a Chinaman has abmi?B'j! corsets." t. TTAUDEVILLE, ever klndand ganBii v erous, is giving a helping ha&jBt! to Gilbert & Sullivan. A comwny?rl! children, called the Pinafore KMdluMll give a condensed version of th fXFr mous nautical operetta, obllginsWR I embellished and Improved. GIlbmBf wit, somewhat to our surprise. IBc found to be old-fashioned, and' hiBilt been touched up with colloquial qul;iH;& According to the programme. eullfiH van has not been slighted, either. fKrt ballad by Charles K. Harris havlEB? been Interpolated. I am happy to ruB4 that no such thing was sung at tbH' performance I saw. The children ttkRnf themselves very seriously. whlcBiit makes them rather funny, but thalH.r qualntness soon palls. and thslrM: voices are disagreeably shrill. CotjMB" Julia Marlowe's over have been unB1 pleasant? Or Anni9 Russell's? Oi:rf JSfflc Shannon's? It seems IncredlblsBr yet when they sang In "Pinafore." uBr-rC the days when It was new and JureBj nlle opera companies flooded tho couhE try. there 5s no reason to supp8iB"f they were different from other chUH1 dren. T do not remember to har5!, heard what part Annie Russell playeJB;) but Julia Marlowe was Sir JostpJK,'. Porter, while Effle Shannon ntveBi,' pot beyond the toddling chorus. FrlldMri Williams, with whom Miss ShanntnB2!; was destined to be so consplcuousljfcr. associated In the famous LvcsunBjr Stock company, was the Sir JosetfK In the troupe In which sho was so InB,. conspicuous, and she tells how alBTui tho little girls worshipped him iroMrt afar and how unapproachable, he wyBst: Sex did not matter much In castltyjMit; roles in the numerous Juvenile "PinBil fore" companies. Fay Templeton. foiHj- instance, was a favorite Ralph "Rm,r" straw, while Henry Woodruff 'aniW; the timid Josephine. 3K??r "VDDLY enough. Arthur Dunn. wbaKi used to play Dick Doadeve In WJ childhood, was appearing in a vauilsBcii vllle sketch In tho Fame bill with thlMejj Pinafore Kiddles, while Gus CoWni,J i who was the boatswain in 'he Pftin'Bftt'. cast, stood out in the box offlco selNH Inc tickets to everbodv who wanted?,-them wanted?,-them and some, perhaps, who did notfMeu And what is more, neither Dunn noiMt'l i Collins has grown enough In thwHrj thirty-throe years that have elapwfl. to dAbar them fmm appearing FKi,.J "kiddles " If only the wrinkles wou!4Bj not show. SOMETIMES one wonders whetherikrl there Is anything In the world!!; that a vaudeville sketch-writer wouldjRsI hesitate to mako a play of. WltneMfe , "The ICev of the Heart." 'written fWMbJ Harold Crane and Florence MacWaM-. t by that arch-skctchlst. Edgar Alln Woolf. and set to music by the roerMrr lodlous Silvio Heln. Of course. IT Jt.U'. Harold and Florence feel they mu!tai, sing, it doubtless does not rcattegHj, how they get to it. Harold comes IntKn a room that is described as opening oS a "fashionable dancing ball.' .r-jMC-' In evening dress and carries a 'vBf c ney stew. Also a chicken leg, fne4Wr. Those make for comedy. Then tlnjelt-dancer tlnjelt-dancer falls asleep. Enter Florence,";.: blonde and some dresser. Being ,nj7 absent-minded girl, Florence uncon-,W?c sclously locks the door and drops W key down her bosom. Then she sl'tmj Thcn he sings. Then they both MnMlik Having relieved themselves of "'1$'; oral songs, Harold declares his I"T'iWfc for the girl, while she. desiring to PeUJ away, makes comedy on the key mo -w a tlf. so to speak. Finally the koy 'jmii extracted from her gown, sho srn',e!,M'V' encouragingly on tho young man, an2tIi both exit lo the "fashionable dancHiKt; hall." singing. y""! |