San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

2 THE SAN FRANQSCO DRAMATIC REVIEW July 13, 1901 Tivoli Grand Opera Season The opening week will be devoted to Verdi's works, the classic Aida to alternate with the sparkling Rig- olette. Both operas will be given with superb casts, and the mounting and dressing will be historically cor- rect. During the progress of the sea- son other artists besides the ones men- tioned will be engaged, and every opera given will receive the best cast obtainable. Samson and Delilah, by Saint-Saens; El Guarno; Lohengrin and Tannhauser, by Wagner; and Verdi's great Falstaf, will all prob- ably be given. Harry Mann is Trying "Harry Mann, business manager of the Knickerbocker Theatre, New York City, is succumbing to an attack of Bright's disease, which first prostrated him six months ago. He has been in a comatose condition since July 9th. Death may come at any mo- ment." This was the mes.sage re- ceived at The Dramatic Review office Thursday. Many people in San Francisco will hear of Harry Mann's serious illness with great regret. He was long the manager of the Cali- fornia Theatre, under his brother, Al Hayman, in 1889, and his courtesy and urbanity, his genial and kindly disposition, made him a highly es- teemed citizen of San Francisco. Be- fore Al Hayman took the Baldwin Theatre, Harry Mann was one of the best known of traveling managers, especially liked in the profession all over the country. When Hayman had found new worlds to conquer, for a while the charge of both his San Francisco theatres was in his brother's hands. Finally, when Al Hayman & Co. was dissolved, Mr. Mann was made his brother's chief manager in the Knickerbocker Theatre, where he has been as popular as he was every- where else. The illness of Mr. Mann dates back for some time. He was sent South in a serious condition, and he was to be taken to Carlsbad if possible, but apparently that idea has had to be abandoned. Mrs. Mann will be remembered here and also his daughter, now near young woman- hood. Mr. Mann's real name is Hay- man. The way he acquired the name of Harry Mann is curious. He is one of four brothers, the others being Alfred, David and Albert Hayman. Albert Hayman is the head of the syndicate. All were in the theatrical business, and, to avoid confusion, he adopted the name he has been known by all through his theatrical career. Lucius Henderson He whose portrait appears above is well known to the theatre patrons of the city and coast. He made a great reputation here a few years ago as the actor pianist in Friends, and this year, as leading man at the Alca- zar and for Florence Roberts during her recent engagements in Honolulu and in the cities of the Northwest, he has added much to his popularity. He is retained here as Miss Roberts' leading man for her next season's tour, which begins at the end of her present engagement in San Francisco, and is appearing in her support in various important roles during her present summer season at the Alcazar. His recent performance of Flamont in Sapho was noted as a very artistic characterization, and the critics of Portland and Seattle were equally enthusiastic over his Jean Gaussin in the same play. Mr. Henderson neither rants nor overdoes his parts, being at all times perfectly natural. He is a forcible actor, young, and of fine appearance. His portrayals show more than ordinary force and ability, and thoroughly convince his audi- ences that he has a great future before him. Salem's Manager Dead T. O. Barker, manager of the Salem Opera House, went on a fish- ing excursion last week, and from a break in the harness the team ran away and threw Mr. Barker out. The fall resulted in a broken leg; twenty-four hours later blood-poison- ing set in, and two days after the accident, death resulted. Frank Mere- dith is now managing the house for Manager Cordray, of Portland. Will Charlotte Thompson Be the Great (Ameri- can PlaylPpright ? A writer in the Examiner, in dis- cussing the great American play- wright, has the following interesting article on Charlotte Thompson, who is one of the clever writers attached to The'Dramatic Review staff: "Will the great American play- wright be a woman ? To bring the interesting question nearer home, W^ill she be a California woman ? Those who are familiar with the work thus far done by Charlotte Thompson say "Yes." Miss Thompson and her plays are just now attracting a deal of attention among theatre-goers and stage folk. To this date in America's theatrical history no woman has made a success at play-writing that de- serves the adjective 'brilliant.' Sev- eral of them have done very creditable work, but none has reached the top- notch of fame. The more to Miss Thompson's glory, then, should she win the laurels that others have sighed and striven for in vain. Meanwhile, with all her physical energy and mental equipment, the girl from Cali- fornia is hard at work in the East, studying everything that is to be learned behind the scenes and writing down the ideas that flash from her busy head to the point of her busy pen. Miss Thompson's talent lay tucked away somewhere in her head, unsuspected by its owner, when one fine, lucky day for her it was discov- ered by a stranger. The stranger was Miss Florence Roberts, the well- known actress. A letter did it; a letter that Miss Thompson, then a teacher in the Pacific Heights Gram- mar School, away on vacation, wrote to a friend of hers in this city. The letter was so cleverly expressed that Miss Roberts began to ask questions. The letter brought about a meeting between the two. 'Write me a play,' said M iss Roberts to Miss Thompson at that first meeting. 'Write me a play,' repeated Miss Roberts. 'I want a one-act play, and you are just the girl to write it. You can do it— your letter showed your cleverness to me, and your possibilities. You have a wonderful talent for crisp dialogue; you must turn it to practical account.' M iss Thompson, having been thus introduced to herself as a person of hitherto undiscovered genius, set her untried hand to work. Six weeks later she placed in Miss Roberts' pos- session the manuscript of a one-act play, with an original plot and clever dialogue, entitled Only the Master Shall Blame. The play was of the right sort. It made a hit at the Al- cazar. Miss Thompson thereupon folded her certificate into the family Bible and quit school-teaching. She wrote for Miss Roberts The Suit of Sable, a four-act comedy that was produced with great success at the Alcazar and afterward sold to W. A. Brady. She is now writing a play for Henry Miller, and has written two for Miss Roberts to be produced this season. They are a novelty in a theatrical way, being sequel plays. We have had sequel books, but sequel plays are something new under the sun. Their titles are Silver-Mounted Harness and Miss Pendragon, the one to follow the other at the Alcazar. The Roberts version of Nell Gwynne was written by Miss Thompson in one month. 'Her plays,' says Miss Roberts, 'will, I think, be a revela- tion to local theatre-goers. She will be here on the i6th to stage them herself. Her chief characteristics as a playwright are her originality of plot and brilliancy of dialogue. Per- sonally, Miss Thompson is charming. She is thoroughly Western in type, of unusual height, and impresses you at once with her vitality and strong individuality. Her eyes are a dark blue, her hair a dark brown, her col- oring fine, her presence magnetic. She was born here, and San Fran- cisco will some day be very proud of that fact.' " Subscribe for The Dramatic Review