Show Bares 2 Reasons Why Audience Laughed at Olga Petrova lIter Iter Winchell ie 1 First EIghts en ien Olga retrO j appeared in he he White Peacock she had a ae I I Icene cene e with an actor named PerIn PerIn Pert Per- Per PerI I In one town during rei re- re i esaI Olga was warned that the tile t u nce ce would laugh out loud at atC att t ne of C her more stage r bits of k mating ig In this scene it appears j J h clutch her bosom with oth L mitts mills and anci exclaim This is F I. I h he essence of lo e In spite of he warnings varn Petrova did the I cene Jene that way on the premiere I ight ight t ad and the audience l was con- con A moment later she she- stormed offstage and emoted to the stage manager Dont bring up the tile curtain for bows bows I I will punish them Sheridan Knowles The Hunchback Hunchback Hunchback Hunch Hunch- back opened in Houston on a night as hot as this in June 1833 1838 No reserved seats in those days and when the smart set arrived late as usual they found the three front rows occupied by the gambling gambling gambling gam gam- bling element from the big saloon The dean of an exclusive boarding boarding board board- ing lag school had her students with her and when she couldn't get gether gether gether her lassies properly seated she hurried hurried hur hur- ried ned across to the fort and got gota a a. a squad of soldiers who forced the the- gamblers out of the front pews pews- with wilh leveled ri rifles les of course In Inthe Inthe Inthe the excitement the leading man took look laudanum to quiet his heart took an art overdose and dropped dead Sam Houston president of Texas arrived then ordered the soldiers to leave and told the gamblers to stand in the back of the house When order was restored the play went vent on with on-with with an understudy playing playing play play- ing the lead Personal grudges were more important important im im- lm- lm in the old days dars than the play Itself The show must go goon goon goon on was usually qualified by an unless clause Julia Arthur I opening in a new show glanced ata at af a box during the first act saw a agal agal agal gal she despised and ordered the curtain rung down She didn't resume resume resume re re- re- re sume until the woman left George Bernard Shaw as a ayoung ayoung ayoung young young- critic arrived at a London opening in his customary publicity getting attire attire-a a checked Norfolk jacket and old flannel pants Everyone in the place was in formal formal formal for for- mal attire and the head usher stopper Shaw and told him he couldn't be seated in that coat Shaw removed hi his coat and blandly told the usher that he would sit in his trousers trousers and and calmly walked down the aisle in iii his shirt sl sleeves ves I He got better notices than the play In Bill Shakespeare's day actors or mummers as they were called were held in such scant regard that they had to explain themselves to al allowed allowed allowed al- al the audience before they were alI I lowed to go on with the perform perform- ance At the opening of Anthony I and Cleopatra the leading man I took the leading lady by the hand and the following bit of dialogue I ensued Have I ever behaved to you in an ungentlemanly manner madame Oh no sir never sir Have I ever been guilty of any injustice to you t Dear me no dear no-dear dear me One more thing thing have have I ever beaten you Oh sir No a thousand times limes no The audience then applauded and cheered to signify its approval and the play began The cream of Chicago attended Al W Woods Woods' opening of Friendly Enemies Enemies and and we dont don't mean the boys with the J. J J. J Rosenthal Rosen- Rosen thai thal Als Al's Chicago manager had scaled the premiere at and when Woods learned of this he stepped on the stage between the first and nd second acts and told the audience to stop at the box office I and get a refund each after the show itA 0 it- it A capacity audience filled the Manhattan Opera house on October October October Octo Octo- ber 12 1912 for Harry Lauders Lauder's opening The preliminary vaude acts were already on when William Morris received word that Lauders Lauder's boat had been delayed by fog and had just arrived at Quarantine It was impossible to get him of oh I the boat without a special pass pas from irom the president the port collector collector col col- col j lector or a U. U S. S senator Morris grabbed Senator who was in the audience called the N. N Y Herald to get use of their and sent the senator of off to get Lauder He then made a wild dash up Broadway to Rectors Rector's Rectors Rector's Rec Roe tors tor's Considine's and all the other hot spots r recruiting stars to lo keep the show going until the Scotsman Scotsman Scotsman Scots Scots- man could get there David Warfield War Wr field Amelia Bingham Carter de deHaven deHaven deHaven Haven Harry Cooper and Emma Carus were called from the res- res Then the word got around about Morris' Morris jam and the stars rushed over to help out Frank Tinney did two turns one in Bob Fitzsimmons left his dinner at the Knickerbocker to recite The Kids Kid's Last Fight It was one of the greatest impromptu impromptu impromptu im im- im- im shows Broadway had ever seen Lauder arrived at a. a m m. and his opening line to the crowd was Dinna any of ye have homes He then did a full hour Sarah Bernhardt's opening at th the Palace on May 5 5 1913 was noteworthy noteworthy noteworthy note note- worthy for two reasons First of df all it made the Palace which up to then was a poor second to Ham- Ham Second it set a new salary record for that era she era she got 1000 a day She played there for three weeks and on the last week the gross reached almost 25 thou thou- sand From then on the Palace was the vaudeville house of the nation nation na na- na- na tion Oh Oh yes her leading man was Lou Uncle Toms Tom's Cabin opened at atthe atthe atthe the National theater in New York on July 18 1853 Harriet Beecher Stowe who wrote the book from which George L. L Aiken adapted the play attended the show her first visit to a theater She wept throughout the entire performance probably because she remembered remembered remembered that she had forgotten to register the dramatic rights to lo the story story she she never collected a penny from any of the performances of her masterpiece A whispering campaign once closed a show after the premiere When Olga opened in Sappho at the theater on February 16 1900 she pulled a curtain stunt that really back back- fired The show ended with Olga and her playboy friend standing at the foot of a spiral staircase Im so terribly tired wont tired wont won't you carry me upstairs whispered Olga her final filial line The leading man kissed her slowly lingeringly tenderly Down came the curtain curlain with no bows from Olga she Olga-she she was wu too loo too loo tired The men inert in the audience got a terrific bang ou out of it and cheered like mad The women liked it too but wouldn't give in and in-and and began whispering whispering whis whis- still upstairs in her boo dwa with boo wilh HIM They rushed back stage sho shouting ting Hussy hussy hussy It was too much for the local gendarmes and they ordered the play closed Copyright 1940 Daily Mirror |