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Show 64 THE CITIZEN Staggering Recollections has intimated that the stage is to hold the mirror up to nature.' Therefore his plays, first published by two actors of his company, are supposed to reflect the manners of his time. Coming down through the plays Shakespeare of of . r, Wycherley and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, to the plays of Sydney Grundy,' Arthur Wing Pinero and Henry Arthur Jones, all of these authors refer to drink and drinkers, either in 'a comic or a tragic manner, to point or adorn a tale. But now that prohibition has come upon us and hard stuff is no longer expected to exist, scenes of intoxication on the stage will presumably be taboo . This leads us to recall various instances in which thespians have been called upon to simulate inebriety, and some of these recollections are quaint and curious. For instance, it may surprise and shock the present generation, which only knows Maude Adams as Cinderella and Peter Pan, perhaps even as the heroine of What Every Woman Knows, Quality Street, and The Little Minister, to learn that one of her first big hits was made in 1892 in The Masked Ball, in which, as leading lady to John Drew, she was represented as having imbibed too freely! May Robson, who in a long and varied career has played all sorts of parts in all sorts of plays, met with considerable success several seasons ago when she starred in The Rejuve Congreve, Far-quaha- nation of Aunt Mary, in which she was supposed to be a respectable old lady who takes a new lease on life and consorts with individuals many years her junior. In one scene, surrounded by several lively youths, she becomes grotesquely hilarious. Blanche Walsh inclined rather to tragic parts than to comic ones, and in two of her best known starring ventures, Resurrection, by Count Leo Tolstoy, and The Woman in the Case, by Clyde Fitch, she had thrilling scenes of 'intoxication. In another Russian play, Redemption, produced last season, John Barrymore gave a vivid portrayal of debauchery and drunkenness, thereby gaining recognition as one of the foremost actors of the day. By a curious coincidence, in The Jest, which followed Redemption, Lionel Barrymore had a drunken scene and he proved himself quite as expert a delineator of dipsomania as brother John, with whom he shared stellar honors. A few seasons ago, in My Ladys Dress, by Edward Knoblock, Mary Boland, in one of various episodes into which the piece was divided, played a Russian peasant besotted with drink, finally deserting a sober husband for a drunken lover. William Faversham has more than one stage dissipation to his credit. Years ago, .in The Conquerors, by Paul Potter, he, as a Prussian officer while drunk, insults a French gentle iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiig AN IDEAL XMAS GIFT! I A Years Subscription to I THE CITIZEN E E A Thinking Paper for Thinking People E E E The Citizen has the unique reputation of being read and ap- dtizen of Utah, and is fast predated by every public-spirite- d (Formerly Goodwins Weekly) I " gaining popularity. PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW For extra copies of the beautiful Xmas number A Gift Subscription To The Citizen Subscribe Now E E E E E E Citizen. Street No. State fillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll introduced further intoxication into in Lady Huntworths Experiment, which Lady Huntworth, played by Hilda Spong, becomes a cook in order to support her drunken husband, played by the late Jameson Lee Finney. During the past season Miss Spong appeared in support of William Gillette in Dear Brutus, in which piece the star is represented in the first act as being in a condition. In Mrs. Fiskes great success, Tess of the DUrbervilles, she was supposed to have a drunken father, and in her subsequent triumph, Becky Sharp, she was supposed to have a drunken husband. Mrs. Fiske then produced Salvation Nell, the first scene of which was in a low beer saloon. During the progress of .the play the heroine changed from a scrubwoman to a Salvationist and redeemed Salvation Nell a drunken husband. was the first play of Edward Sheldon, written while he was an undergradusemi-maudli- n ate at Harvard university. One of his later pieces, The Song of Songs, provided Irene Fenwick with scenes showing her first in the midst of a carousal in a public restaurant and then propped up in bed the morning after. Years ago Marie Bates, character actress, whose dramatic gifts have been developed through long association with the management of David Belasco, made a hit as Aunt Rose in Zaza, constantly crying for some stimulant for her weak heart. Frances In "The Case of Becky, Starr had an unusual role as the victim of an unscrupulous hypnotist, the villains power over her finally being weakened by plying him with wine before counteracting his influ- ence. Alice Fisher played a drunken hag in Two Little Vagrants, which had a long run at the American theatre, the urchins being played by Minnie Dupree and Jessie Busley. This melodrama by George R. Sims waB adapted from a piece popular in 6 Paris. f E E E E town fame, introduced impressions of inebriety into several farces; Charles H. Hoylt finding that audiences were amused by bibulous characters oh the stage. Thomas Q. Seabrooke was at one time a popular star in comic opera and year after year reappeared as the bacchanalian ruler of The Isle of Champagne, gaining fame and fortune in his tours from coast to coast. At the same period. Frank Daniels gained applause through similar presentations, and at a somewhat later date Richard Carle started staggering about the stage, to the accompaniment of hand clapping from the other side of the footlights; James T. Powers, Raymond cock, & Hitch- Frank Moulan, De Wolf Hopper, Jefferson de Angelis and many other stars of comic opera portrayed at, one time or another varying degrees of. Inebriety and drinking songs " and clinking goblets were part and parcel of these performances. One of the characters in Little Johnny Jones, an early success of George M. Cohans, was a fellow who staggered on and off the stage from time to time, but never said a word. Nevertheless, a hit was made, Broad- A few way appreciating a novelty. seasons ago Mr. Cohan produced a Holliday, piece called antics the apparently suggested by and activities of Billy Sunday. As acted by Mr. Cohans brother-in-laFred Niblo, the title role was highly diverting. Oldtimers will recall thq play called Drink, an adaptation by Charles Reade of the novel by Emile Zola. Charles Warner, the father of H. B. Warner, starred in this piece and toured the world with it, holding audiences spellbound in England, America and Australia. Harold Seton, in New York Sun. Hit-the-Tr- . aii w, THE WAY TO BETHLEHEM. Long was the way to Bethlehem To those who sought of old, By burning sands and bitter springs And nights of haunting cold. Bearing their nard and frakincense, Their precious gems and gold. . Irwin introduced humorous episodes of intoxication in several of the farce comedies with which she amused a former generation, and people always applauded when the portly lady lost her balance and fell on the May E ! City. E E E Cut This Out The Citizen, Salt Lake City, Utah. Enclosed find $2.00 for one years subscription to The Send to E E woman, played by Viola Allen. Mr. Favershams tipsy scene In Lord and Lady Algy always brings down the house. R. C. Carton, who .wrote Lord and Lady Algy, decided that one good turn deserved another, so floor. Anna Held was partial to drinking songs, and in Papas Wife and The Little Duchess displayed considerable ability as a delineator of. conviviality. Furthermore, she permitted Charles Bigelow; for several seasons a member of her company, to give somewhat similar exhibitions. Leon Errol has amused New Yorkers, . and more recently Londoners, with his tippling tricks, his mirth provoking methods being slightly remiof niscent the above mentioned Charles Bigelow, late lamented. Harry Conor of A Trip to China Hard was the way to Bethlehem So far, it seemed, so far, By flowerless vales and arid slopes And barren heights that bar. With neer an omen for a guide Until they saw the star. But then the way to Bethlehem, It was no longer lone; Joy was their comrade, those who trod Oer bruising shard and stone, Until they found for king a Child, A manger for his throne. i Upon the way to Bethlehem, Till Time shall bring release, However dim and rough the path May not our footsteps cease, Since at the end for us awaits The guerdon of His peace! Clinton Scollard, $ . : |
