The theatre of science; a volume of progress and achievement in the motion picture industry (1914)

134 Cl)e Cijeatre aware of it. Mr. West's long stage career was principally devoted to comic opera, and that statement recalls the fact that there are not a few former light opera favorites profitably engaged in film work. Henry Hallam, long with the Kalem company, not so long ago was a Casino tenor, who created many important roles in comic opera. Tom Ricketts, of the American Film Company — one of the best directors of to-day — was the comedian of one light-opera company for more than ten years. Later, Ricketts had his own opera company, and was regarded as one of the best stage directors in the operatic field. Peter Lang, long with the Lubin Company, sang heroic operatic characters with the Bostonians and other organizations. Julia Calhoun, of the same organization, is the widow of Kirkland Calhoun. Both were principals of the Calhoun and other opera companies. The Calhouns were members of the Grau Opera Company, under the writer's direction in the early nineties. Louise Beaudet, of the Vitagraph Company, was a comic-opera queen in the 80's. Few careers of stage celebrities provide greater or more varied achievement than that of the "Lady dainty" of a generation ago, whose sensational success in Lecocq's "Le Petit Due" (in which she assumed the title role in English, and later in French), at Booth's Theatre, in New York, was not forgotten by the critic, Alan Dale, when the screen revealed Miss Beaudet at the premiere of the Vitagraph Theatre. In that first-night audience there were many others who had wondered what had become of the little artiste who, in "Madame Fifi," gave a performance of an extremely difficult role which in any other hands would have been repulsive. Louise Beaudet is yet in her prime, and I have ob