| OCR Text |
Show DRAMA! 1C NEWS AND COMMEN1 Announcement is now made that Graco Georgo is to appear in a now play, opening in New York beforo the holidays. Miss Georgo ended her engagement en-gagement in "Half an Hour" at thc Lyceum theater Sunday nigbt, Novom-bor Novom-bor 15, her. eugagomont with Mr. Charles Frohtnan for tho 1. M. Barrie play being. for its New York season only. Alias George has begun rehearsals, rehear-sals, ot her new play, which was written writ-ten tor her by Avery Jlopwood, author of "Seven Days," " Clothes, " and "Nobody s Widow." Tho new play is entitled "Miss Jenny O'Joncs." nnd is a rollicking comedy" of tho most lightsome light-some sort. 'In it Miss George has a rolo in marked contrast lo tho one of Lady Lillian of "Half an Hour," U10 pitiable bit of aristocracy which tho ungentle Barrie uses to 'display his irony. Tho extraordinary success of othoru and Marlowe, who are at the Salt Lake theater on February 27-28 is a stunning stun-ning answer lo a surprising statomout lately made in a magazine of the day, to tho following effect: "Shake-spcaro's "Shake-spcaro's plays were written for the' theater thea-ter and survive for the library." It is curiously the case "that sonic people usually those who know nothing noth-ing ot the stage imagine that to mi" derstand the deeper meaning of tho react, ono must depend upon n partial of ridiculous toot notes,-, instead of the finer arts of the actor. In order lo discover to what a low level of absurdity these annotators havo sunk, all that is necessary to do is to pick up almost nnv copy of Shakespoare. The reader will there discover dis-cover such startling facts as that wheu Shakcspearo said "silly," ho meant absurd,'' and that when he wrote "boundless," he meant "big." The purpose soenm to bo to deprive the reader of thinking for himself or making use of his own imagination It is rather rough on Shnkespcaro to put. him in tho same class with the author of "Mother Goose." Jlowovor. boforo cnteriug upon an examination of somo of thc notes to Shakespoare, let ns sco what the anuorators who consider con-sider that Shakespeare is for the library only, have douo for the old Jartv f the shoo. Tnte n6v i)i(iUCf Diddlo," for example: "Tfev, Diddle. Diddle. The cat and tho fiddle, The cow jumped over thc moon: The little dog laughed To seo such sport, And the dish ran away with thc spoon." llero.are Clara Austin Winslbw's annotations: an-notations: J "The following questions nre suggested sug-gested for stimulating the pupil's imagination : "What is thc significance of the first line? '"Hoy' was originally a sad character. "Do you - understand that the cat had already begun to play thy fiddle? "How did thc cow .jump bv tho Del-sarto Del-sarto method 7 "What, is a full 1110011? "Was the dogVlnughine an evidence of wit or humor, or might there have-been have-been a combination of the two elements? ele-ments? "Would it havo been possible for tho doer to see at such .a distanco?" The reader may imagine that this example is an unfair one to cite, but if he thinks so. let him scan the eountrv schoolmaster's examination of a j'oulh as to a, alt box:. Professor What is a salt box. Student It is n box made to contain salt. Professor How is it divided? Student Into a salt box and a box of salt. Professor Very well! Show thc distinction. dis-tinction. Student A sail box may be whore there is no salt; but salt fs absolutely ncccssarv to thc existence of a box o'f salt. Professor Aro not salt .boxes otherwise other-wise divided? Student Yes. by a partition. Professor What is the abstract idea of a salt boxT Student It is the idea of n saft box abstracted from the idea of a box. or of salt, or thc salt box or tho box of salt. Professor What is the aalt called with respect to thc box 7 Student It is called its contents. Professor Why ? Student Because the 'cook is contcut to find pleutv of salt in the box. Professor You arc very right I sec you have not muspcut your time. The reader will say that it is .very 1 absurd to state that any annotatoV ever applied any such extraordinary method to tho text of Shakespeare. 17 be. thinks in this way, he will prcientlV be disillusioned. Let us take a few lines from the text and then discover the notoa lo them. ".0, sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature" soft nurse, how have I frightened thee, That thou no more wilt weigh niy eyelids eye-lids down And steep my souse in forgctfulncss7'' Hern aro the annotations: Note the first lino: "This lino means that sleep is soft and -caressing; but that -the speaker has scared the timid creature aud is suffering violently from that dreadful disease iusomnia. llo has boon assigned to a. noisy room in a hotel. And yet he is so lacking in discernment that ho asks how the timid 0110 has been so frightened." Note to line two: "Would it not j have bceu better for Shakespeare to have said 'Lovely nurse' instead of 'soft nurse ?' .Certainly tho bard did not. mean that this nurse was mush'." Note tp line throe: "It is cvidout that the speaker cannot keep his eyes closedj, and going to sleep, forget. It is a pretty figure, thc idea of weighing the 03'clids down as one docs the eyes of a dead man, with noppcr cents. This custom evidently, prevailed in Shako-sponro's Shako-sponro's time." Note to line four: "Hasn't Shakespeare Shake-speare mado a frightful blunder in mixing mix-ing his metaphors! In line three ho speaks of weighing thc cyolids down, evidently with pennies, and here in tho fourth line he speaks of stoeping thc sleepless person's senses that js of holding the head over a pot of boiling 1 water, i. c., soaking tho head." This is the sort of thing that emanates ema-nates from thoso persons who consider that. Shakespeare ib for the study and not for the stage. But all one has to do to appreciate the complete ubsurdity of this notion, is firstto read thc notes commonly affixed to one of tho plays, and then to see tho play acted. There aro whole passages in the dramas which arc cntireb lost on the reader unless he knows, or sees tho stage "business" which goes with them. Lately, in Washington, a woll-known literary man saw a performance Of the Sothcrn nnd Marlowe company in "Twelfth Night." That night he wrote Mr. Sothcru as follows: "I read thc play this after-nooiv after-nooiv and I hadn't then the slightest notion thnt tDcrc was such. a wealth of fun and comicality in thc linos and situations. After all, it takes the actor U) elucidate tho text, either by inflection, inflec-tion, facial oxprossion or by what is called 'business.' It is surprising to discover what a difforenco thero is between be-tween reading a play and seeing it well noted. ' What is trite of "Twolfth Night" applies to all of thc plays. Snako-spenro' Snako-spenro' left much of thc sense of many passages for the actor to illustrate and embellish. Consequently, in order to rcallv know ono of thc plays in its fullest sense, it must be soon upon tho stago, for, ns it has been snid, "The dramas were written for tho theater."" If Shakespeare had intended them for tho closet, ho would have supplied his own notes nnd illustrations and thuB saved tho world from a partial of ridiculous annotations. Thc individual who doos not go to the theater to sec Shakespeare's plays porfornjod and knows them only in the librarj', reminds one of that sapient countryman who did not visit the ruins of Pompeii, for the reason that, as ho expressed it, "thny were out of repair." re-pair." Actors with largo salaries will hereafter here-after mculiou Ihc fact under their breaths for fear thc income tax col; lector will overhear them. Inquiry of the government has olicited the information infor-mation that I axes will bo collected at the source of income on all actors' salaries sal-aries over .3,000 if tho actors arc single, and .OOO if they are married. Managers are not to bo responsible to tho government for tho tax on a given actor's income until they have paid tho siated amount to him. In caso the actor receives his total of three or four thousand, as tho caso may bo, from different managers, ho wil'l havo to maikc his personal return on February 1 10M. The law dates IY0111 Mnrch I, 10 IS. The way the managers are to collect tho lax is to withhold it from the actor's ac-tor's salary, turning tho amount over to the government nt tho proper time. Klaw nnd Erlanger, Charles Frohman, and the Shubcrts have already installed in-stalled special bookkocping. departments depart-ments to moot tho condition. Under tho treasury regulation for the year 1913, the manager would, wholly disregard any salary paid the ac or beforo November 1. nnd would have no obligation to withhold the tax except in oases whoro tho actor's pal-ary pal-ary for the two months of November Novem-ber and Decom'ber aggregated more than $3000 or $4000. This would, include in-clude onlv salarios of approximately .o00 per 'week. By claiming exemption exemp-tion 011 his salary tho actor may postpone post-pone his mannger's withholding of thc tax until tho amount of three or foui thousand has been paid. It is said the, government is going to insist on tax ing on all printed stat omenta of salary, sal-ary, which means that tho pross agout will bo curtailed in his imagination. A board of censorship in Cincinnati hat includes a health officer anion; its members, has announced through its snfoty director thut thc managements manage-ments ot the local theaters must submit sub-mit to them their lists of bookings for tho season. "Thu Lure." which was bookoiP for thc Lvric theater in that city. 1ms been prohibited. "Damaged Goods," w which opened at the Grand opera house, was ccusored. Gaby Deslys, who is known on two continents, is the most ravishing of all French actresses. She will be seen at I ho Salt Lake theater December 19 in a modern musical farce, entitled "The Little I'arisieune." Sho will be presented pre-sented by thc Winter Garden coinpauy and her support will include mau3' well-known well-known players and fifty Gaby girls. Apart from being, a most talked ot young person, Gaby i extremely pretty and extremely taloutcd. In "Tho Lit-tlo Lit-tlo Parisicnne" she plays the part ou-tirely ou-tirely in English and sings in the same tongue. Jlobert Hilliard, who is mooting with marked success on tour in "Tho Argyle Case," wcjtton by Harriot Ford and Harvey JT O'Higgins in co-operation with Detective William J. Burns, has alwavs been a .1ceen student of criminology. crim-inology. Whon at home in York he is a frequent visitor to thc police magistrates' courts, often occupying a seat upon the bonch at the magistrates' invitation. He knows the dark -side of life as intimately as he doe3 the clubs and polijo socictj'. "If I wore uot an actor," says Hil-linrd, Hil-linrd, "I would liko to bo a criminal lawyer. The earliest plans of my en- r . i rccr contemplated the law. but b'-'orp I actually took up it- dtndy I was lt verted into Wall street btMinow chai-ncls." chai-ncls." " Eleanor Gates, author at "The Poor Little Rich Girl." wbW-h Myssra. Klaw & Erlanger are preteniios ou tour, says it wiis soin.? tiao before she found a name for the piny. "Finally one day. almost in despair." de-spair." she. -aid, "I toW an intimate triend that I could think' of 110 suitable suit-able title. . "'What's the play about?' . she asked. 'WhV,' I said, 'it's about a 'poor little ricfi girl, ;md be "'There!' she uxclaitntid. stopping me.. 'there's vonr title. 'The Poor Little Lit-tle Hich girV" ' "Aud it was." Full of pleasing melodies and offering offer-ing an .nmazinglv lavish production, "Tho Prince of Tonight." enhanced by the prestige afforded bv tho presence pres-ence in tho titlo role of Torn Arnold, should live up to its record as a phenomenal phe-nomenal magnet for thc playgoer when it appears here at the Salt Lake theator. December S and 9. Henry Miller, in, common with manv other representative actors and managers, man-agers, is not in favor of the new tvpe ot suggestive plays. In a recent interview inter-view lie had this to say: "Just now there arc managers who aro presenting exhibitions of the sewer and having thc effrontery to assume for their offorts a high moral purpose, their plays being supported by those sections of the public whose tiiste is a mnttor of their olfactory sense. Tlie inherent resentment, or. the decent peoplo of thc community should havo killed them at the outset. Whilo 1 decry any mere prating for business purposes, I am happy to find a re-sponso re-sponso to a jvholesom'o play like 'Thc Rainbow.' Such support "is the ono balance that is the ray of hope, tho testimony that the public is not all decadent de-cadent and vicious in taste." Twenty-five thousand miles of motion mo-tion picture .films, enough to stretch around the globo at the cquajor, will bo the export record of the United States in tbn calendar year 191.1. Tho United States is the world's greatest manufacturer ,of motion picture films, probably three-fourths of the - cntiro films or thc world being manufactured in this country. Large quantities of films are sent out of thc country, both as blank or unexposed films and as finished films, ready for uso in thc storcopticon. The rapid increase in this branch of tho oxport trade of tho United States resultoil in tho establishment by tho bureau of foreign and domestic commerce, com-merce, department of commcrco, of a detailed record, which shows the quantity, measured by feet, and tho value of films exported from tho country; coun-try; the plain films and thoso ready for use, separately stated; the countries of destination, and tho port through which this distribution is mado. This record shows a total exportation in tho nino months onded with 'September of 65,500,000 foot of unorppsea or plain films to bo used in other parts of tho world in taking motion pictures, and 23,500,000 foot of oxposed or finished films roady for uso in tho storcopticon, making a total of 89,000,000 feet during dur-ing tho period. For tho single month of Soptembcr, however, tho total wai 14,000,000 fcot-i and should tho remaining remain-ing months of thc year make a similar record, She total exports of thc your which ends'with noxt month would bo 133,000,000 feet, or slightly more than 25,000 miles, tho distanco around tho earth at the equator. Jn 1912, the first full calendar year for which figures aro shown, the total length of films exported ex-ported was 62,250,000 feet, or less than half the prospective total of ,1913. Tho stated value of the films exported ex-ported in tho nine months ended with September, 1913, is about $3,500,000, being $1,811,000 for the (55.500,000 foot of unexposed films and .?l,fi5t",000 for thc 23,o00,000 foot of exposed films ready for uso in tho storcopticon, or an avorago of 294 cents per foot for tho unexposed and of 7 cents per foot for tbo exposed films. England is by far tho largest purchaser pur-chaser of films irom thc United States, and this applies especially to the unexposed un-exposed films. Of tbo 80000,000 cct of films of both classes exported in the fiscal year 1912, 70,000,000 feet went to England, 5,333.000 feet to Canada, a littlo over 1,000.000 foot to France, 750,000 to the Philippines, over 500,000 to Brazil, nearly 500.000 to Newfoundland Newfound-land and Labrador, 250.000 to Australia and slightly less than 250,000 to Japan. Most of tho films going to Canada, Newfoundland and the Philippines are exposed. Tho importation of motion picturo films amounts to a little more than a million t'eot por month, the total fdr the nine months ended with September, 1913, being .10,250,000 feet, and for the corresponding mouths of, 1912, 12,500,-00(1 12,500,-00(1 feci. Nearly all. of the imported films are in the finished state, ready for use, the import price averaging from 5 to G cents per foot. About one-hulf one-hulf of tho total importation is from Franco, which supplied approximately 7,000,000 feet out of 1-1,500,000 feet imported im-ported in thc fiscnl vear 1912. Italy supplied 2,750,000 feet, Kugland 2,333,-000 2,333,-000 and Denmark 1,250,000. while 84,000 feet came from Japan and 83,-000 83,-000 feet from India. Gab3" Deslys has experienced considerable consid-erable trouble in gotting her famous "Victorian leghorn ben into the hotels in the cities whero she plays. In "Pittsburg "Pitts-burg last week, the. Hotel bhenley man agement ordftrcd her to vacate hor quarters unless sho gave up tho fowl. Complaint was made bv eoveral guests that the chicken cacklod during the night. Gaby, however, refused to budge. Since the rogue of the artistic temperament tempera-ment play such as "Tante," "Thc Concert." Con-cert." and the like a piano has become an Important fixture to stago rooms; often It is glvou the Importance of a character In the play. There Ih a piano in "practically every play now succeeding in New York. Not all these plays are similes In artistic temperament, but even so the piano as a decorntlvo object hut-become hut-become the stage manager's favorite device. de-vice. Thc genuine piano-play has to do with so-called Bohemian life or has a plot that makes some, exhibition of pianoforte piano-forte Indispensable. Nothing Is more stupid as a feature In a stage setting than a piano whose keys are never touched. The 'mere sight of ono ns tho curtain rise's causes every spectator naturally nat-urally to presume -or to fear that beforo be-foro thc curtain falls the piano will be heard. Resourcelcss stago maungcrf most often betray their Inck of Invention Inven-tion b- "filling spaces" on Abe stage, completely cluttering Interior settings, by illvaus and more often by huge, grand plnnoy. The knack of arranging Interior scenes with a few pieces -of very fine furniture, aptly chosen and skillfully placed, la not generally understood by American producers. "Atmosphere'' In an Interior setting Is usually thought to be !-omcthlng that docs not grow inevitably in-evitably from tho Internal Ideas of lhi play, but 'M a thlna that can be laid on with Ijio help of nhc upholsterer n cabinet maker a nervously disordered filling of the stngu with n numberless assortment as-sortment of nlcknacks that only end by confusing thc spectator's eye. One car. quickly telr the difference between n stage room arranged by a foreigner and one arranged by mi American marely by j tije nir.lor of ".rj-erUe." or stage H :i!':'e- cji:. .ot . . .Wvtffmr wl!' a - HHH ''f!i:5!!-.ti iwf.c a - r.-. with Imif ibe m n-'. - uf -.n. 1 American t- v-1 " 1 Ii;nr- iii- .-.-' npeuk. in a .-.itiK.' HH definite fMKldon. wl roas Unj Anirl .t , Is more pt to for. bin t-dnc to xr-ak HH rtfty tonfilciliu; lun. .lladden ("ham-bers ("ham-bers Uttelj arranged one of i'ie b-i in-terter in-terter nrttlng vir put Mfxn it New H York stag;. It h- tli lat act of "Tunic." On the protrt amine tlte rc-nr la referred to m room In nn Inn uuixld 1 Lon H Oof. Ter are only lx or eight pieces of furniture on ti "tut I re Mtago a. piano, H mo vhKln ami inbineu. At first glanre tho room look a iltiw rich for the In-torior In-torior of nn ordinary country Inn: but. HH nit a mailer of fad. It Ifi an euet copy ;'' beat room In an Inn known as fhe Compient Afjer" t Marlow and Die very room in which -Mr. Chambcfi. wrote ih act. Jut hefore returning' to HH London i e ordered thu .room mrofully photogrtumei. Moat Krenvh Interlora. too. arc few In the numbor of piece or furniture employed: but ono feela of H typical French Interiors too often that they arc of tho ftage ata gey mere HH negligible backgrounds having nothing at all to do with th diameters In the fort- , ground, and, on tler own account, say- HH lng nothing at all. giving the auditor no extiaalnformatlon as to the taste, rablts or nation In life of tlie people tley tferve. But the. usual French difregurd flH if stage settings, however complete, is always Intereatlny. and. of course, i-aelly explained; for what a French audience want to know as it alls bofore a ploy la not where It ,-ll happoned or even what happened, but what thc characters H nave to nay about the thing supposed to have happened. American audience. 011 the other hand. like fnmlllnr scenes, and o'fien prefer a H production To u play, particularly If tho production Is crowded with physical ac-lion; ac-lion; many successful plays of today are H In. reality not plnys at nil, but spoken movluc pictures. It Is tho practical. lhable look of a stage room that counts most for thc effectiveness of any sup- posed scene; a spectator believes almost Implicitly in a stage sceno In which he thinks he could live most happily. liarrle had a very fine Interior in the lost act of "What Every Woman Knows' fine H In thnt It had an extraordinary livable quality; the chairs looked an If they had bceu much sal upon; tho fireplace, dug deep In the side of tho hou?c. almost beckoned one over the footlights for 11 shin wanning. Three years ago- Haddon ) Chambers arranged a splendidly offcctHo j Eccno for his play, "Pnsncrs-By." It i """M was au exact copy of the study of his H 1 old apartments at H Waverton street, London. The cleverness of that atage room was In the met that although it -'H stood without rearrangement for throe. acts, one never got a sense of sameness H nor was the eye ever tired by the mo- "H notony of looking at unchanging objects because Mr.. Chambers wns very t hicud with Ii1k lighting; tho paf.agc of tim't from night to dawn imd tho correspond- H lng changes In thc lighting gave the same scene as much variety as three en-tlrcly en-tlrcly different scenes would have bad "H Most English playwrights, like Plnero. Mnughan and Barrie, make It their buid- JH ncss to find actunl rooms nnd then adapt the rooms to their characters. For "Thc Land of Promise," Miss Burke's noxt play, Mr. Mnughan spent a good two months In the Interior of Canada, visit- Ing and living In more than a score of farmhouse?. It almost seems a law In jmk play-making that, whether or not a play shrill bo a work of one or two dimensions .HHHHHHH whether It shall make a single or double appeal Is pretty largely determined by tho pains that the playwrlcht takes with his settings as well as with his charac-tens; charac-tens; backgrounds often speak loudcr .than dialogue. laaaaVHaM Much has been rumored about thc cxB tenalvq wardrobe of Reginald dc KvcrEH the composer, but nothing, authorltatlvHjH had been given to tho public until thJH December Green Book Magazine appcarj on tho news stands. In it. Rcnnold Wof theatrical expert, presents real-facjH and figures. In collaborating with ChaH nlng Pollock on tho lyrics for "Ilrr lH tlo Highness," for which Mr. de K'J wrote tho music, Mr. Wolf came in 'H contact with Mr. do Kovcn. He wr1tcH Opinion the exact merits flaRRLaaaaafl Reginald de Kovcn'n cotnrKsItloris"p"W may differ, hut I have no hesitation in proclaiming him thc headllncr sartorial of the musical world. H It has been said of him by a mem- ber of his staff that I1I3 repertoire- of personal habiliments Includes Ion suits of clothes. Tho estimate Is moderate. In a close professional association with him, embracing ISO "H days, I have failed to noto an In- stnnce of a duplication of a Do "H Ivovqii suit: or. as one might say In tho language of the theater, a "return nngagemcnt.' During that period Mr. dc Kovcn has como to the scratch each morning gayly bedecked In a completely new outfit one Involving a. change In ov-cry ov-cry detail of the tout ensemble from shoes to hat. At o'clock, of course, Mr. de Kovoti, who Is distinctly to the manner born, changes to even-ing even-ing garb, but even In this division of attire ho serins to be versatile and prolific. Lois Ewell. In an article la the Decjm-ber Decjm-ber Grcon Book Magazine, adds aortyi pointed observation!! lo thc prevailing argument over the decency or lndcctncy of present-day fashions for women In part thu story reads: There Is only ono reason why a woman should not bare her legs on the stre.et an she aoo8 at thc bathing beach or ou horseback, and that rcanon Is not mou- bbbbbj esty. It Is because, being unnecessary. It would not be In good taste and because there Is nothing more beautiful than ex-qulsite ex-qulsite textiles ornamenting thc human IH form by their graceful drapery. Men of anclenl time knew this as well as women do today, and it was not until the six-teenth six-teenth century that they themselves di5-carded di5-carded skirts. At that time there were people who considered this frightfully lm-modest, lm-modest, and as lato as 1SS0 breeches were referred to as "Inexpressibles," which Is IH of tho same order of polite modesty a that of our grandmothers who referred jBB to their legs as limbs nnd who were cov- BBBJ cred with confusion and blushes If they were caught with their sleeves rolled up. BBBJ Tho last vear has seen the most beau- BBJBJ tlful fashions in gowns that the world flJJJB has ever known, and. contrary to the IBBBJ many who have' railed against thc tight fljfljfl split skirt for ordinary purposes. It is BJflJfl most comfortable. And there has been BJflJfl nothing Immodest about It when worn BflJJ by a modest woman. The woman who BJflH cares to do so can make a nun's habit flfljflj seductive. Modesty pcrtulns not .to thc Bftflfl body hut to thc mind. To the Playcrn in "Llttlo Women." Dear comrades of those happy day, UVien as a little girl I read BH With many smiles and happy tears ' Bftflfl Of the quaint things you did and said; BBKfl I little thought or then I scanned BflJJ With eager eye each glowlntf puge. BflflJJ That vou would step from out Book-land. flflJJ And l" should find you on thc stage. flBBB Yet here I greet you as of old My "Little Women." As I see Thc story of your lives unfold flflfl The breath of Youth comes back to me- BEBflJ My spirit playmates! Here I greet flH Your Hying presence warm and sweet. flflfl |
