The Billboard 1911-03-25: Vol 23 Iss 12 (1911-03-25)

MARCH 25, 1911. The Billboard 17 The Amusement Week in Europe LONDON NEWS LETTER Present Offerings in the Aggregate Consist of Romantic Plays—New Playlet to be Given at Coliseum in Near Future Awaited With Interest We are enffering here just now from a surfeit of plays of the ‘‘romantic’’ order. One rather expects plays to run in grooves, owing co the fact that most managers and producers are largeiy endowed with the faculty of slavish tmitation, but really these plays of adventure are coming too thick and fast for even the most patient of mortals. Only this week we have had a couple more; both are good, in fact above the average, but from start to finish we kpow in each case exactly what is going to cappen, and so our interest diminishes § accordingly. The first of these, Mr. Jarvis, is based on the Stuart period, a time that dramatists apparently think to be possessed of an inexhaustible fund of popular interest. Mr. Jarvis is the Pretender, who in this Instance is impersonated Telief as the mother of Kexuianue, and in the trial scene she is superb. The play got a splendid —— man has such a loyal following as Waller, and looks like having a splendid run. An interesting item of news is that a new peaziet by Gilbert will shortly be played by ames Welch and Company, at the Coliseum. It is typical of our times, when every big actor seems anxious to make his reputation at the halls, that Gilbert should write for the variety theatres. His new play has been called one of low comedy and pathos, and represents -the fast is served, he converses with his jailer in under sentence of death. When his last breakfast is served, te converses with hia jailor in a manner which should satisfy all the modern thirst for weirdness and tragic comical humor. oy Charies Lebrun. There is an uncanny likecess between the two, owing to the fact that the latter was an Iiliegitimate half brother, and every one in turn is taken in by the resemnlance, The story starts in 1712, in the closing days vf Queen Anne. Charles comes to England to -“ — mother, disguised and under the name J arvis. itinerant fiddler, his supposed identity with the Pretender is discovered, and later on in London, leads to considerable complications. The leaders | of the two political parties, Viscount Bolingbroke and the Duchess of Marlborough, both get bold of him, and both use him for their own purposes, the intrigues that go on being an interesting side light on the political methods geed in the Stuart times. It seems that some aristocrats are suspected of still being secretly loyal to James, although wtwardly devoted to Queen Anne, and, in order to trap them into a written confession, Lebrun is employed to impersonate the Pretender. One person after another falls into the snare, so | remarkable is the extraordinary resemblance tm both the physical and mental triate of the two men. Among these is Lady Margaret Beauchamp, who, highly flattered by the at tentions of her “‘royal’’ visitor, falls in love | with him, only to scornfully disown him when she discovers who he really is. But then, womanlike, she follows him to his dingy lodg| and declares herself head over heels in love | with him. In the end she contrives that he shall be spared, providing he gives up the compromising letters he has obtained, and in order to make him a_ suitable busband for Lady Margaret, Lord Bolingbroke finds him a soft | diplomatic job abroad Gerald du Maurier, making his second essay ‘B management, is the hero of the piece in every seme of the word. As Mr. Jarvis, he has a @ificult part to sustain, and comes out of the wdeal with flying colors. All the little pecuNarities of James, the historic little grin and Har walk, are faithfully reproduced, and b the love-making parts; du Maurier is as usual in bis element. enrietta Watson has a fine part as the duchess, while H. V. , the playwright, {s an extraordinarily imposing Boltngbroke. The great drawback to the play tis the way in which tt is hampered by too much Halogue and a superabundance of incident. Considering the L. M. Lion and Malcolm Chery, who have adopted the play from Reth Ellis’ dook, Madam Will You Walk, are both experienced and capable actors, it Is strange that they have fallen into this error. One at feature about the plece is the. beautiful way In which it is put on. Even in these days of sumptuous mounting—incidentally insisted on by the public—this play stands right out. Not only are the costumes beautiful im themselves, but they are absolutely correct tm every detail. The accessories are the same; the panels and lovely cornice work In the vari ms sets being exact reproductions of the period. The other romantic drama put before us is Bardelys, the Magnificent, which Lewis Walker. Sas just produced at the Globe Theatre, after a very successful trial trip in the provinces. This ‘gain is adapted from a romantic novel of the same Sabatini. = suffers from the fault throughout of never ping one in the slightest doubt as to what the | sext move is going to be. From the start, when Waller, as the Marquis de BRardelys wagers with Wm. Haviland as the Comte de Castelroux that he will win the hand of the beautiful Roxelanne de Lavedan (Madge Titheradge), one pretty well what to expect. Rardelys falle in love with her at eight, and she loves tim, thinking that he ts Bardelys, but another man—a dead man and & rebel-—whose name, by a curious combination of circumstances he has almost thrust upon him. The trouble of course comes through Castleroux, who has lost his bet. He {fs one of the rejected of Rosalane, and when fortune puts his sueceasful rival into his power, he has him arfeate] ag the outlaw, whose name he Is bearing, and nearly brings him to the scaffold. ere is a great trial scene at the finlah, but Just at the moment when the villatp has obtained the verdict of the subservient court, the situation fe saved by the sudden appearance of the king himself, who has been sitting InCognite in the crowd. He has been wandering about his dominions In dia ulse, having taken ‘. leaf out ef the Arabian Nights, and In the alck of time, he saves his friend Rardelys, and a ~ bam to the block Instead. vi nee Weller has a part In which ft te not egy | for him to kill anyone—as a rule he as to dispose of nearly all the other characters —but all the same new role of the rake re ed by pure passion sults him down to the orens, and he plays the part with any amount 9 dignity and passion, making love in the most Siero style, even when facing death, Madge winose is delightful as the heroine, and the am Haviland, as the villain. would run ) Pine of assassination if he played the rt ‘® same way before the typical East End endionce. Lott Venne provides the comile Masquerading at Rochester as an name, by Henry Hamilton and Rafael | Full of color and stirring scenes, it. the notorious | I understand that Welch, who incidentally is ; one of the best character actors we have, has | been putting in a few weeks at Liverpool study| ing the mental state of prisoners a few hours before the execution. Charles Urban, joint Inventor of kinematography in the actual tints of nature, has leased PARIS NEWS LETTER Premiere of New Play, Papa, by Authors of Love Watches, Decorating Clementine and Other Successes, Biggest Theatrical Event of the Week Robert de Flers and Gaston de Caillavet, some of whose plays—Love Watches, Decorating Clementine, etc.—are quite well and favorably known in America, are the authors of a new piece, Papa by name, which was produced this week at the Gymnase Theatre, the scene of most of the de Flers-Caillavet successes. Papa is a comedy in three acts, and though light of plet, as these two writers’ plays usually are, the premiere was the biggest theatrical event of the week, and one of the biggest of the season | so far. There are some weeds among the roses, but every new garden has weeds and no doubt as soon as Papa gets in good running shape the weeds in his particular patch will be uprooted. Then the Gymnase will have a very good play, and no doubt America will see it, as usually happens with Roberts’ and Gaston’s works. The Count de Larzac, seemingly, is about 60 years old, but no one knows exactly. He ‘does not tell his age because he (like George Washington), cannot tell a lie.’’ Ever since he was 20 he hae been a ‘‘regular divil amongst the ladies,’’ | though for the purposes of his reputation in the play he has been a gay heart-breaker, not a gor PROMINENT IN FOREIGN THEAT RICALS. J = s Charles Hawtrey as George Bullin {pn Inconstant freon ow the Scala Theatre, and will there uce Kinemacolor in its miscellaneous varieties, about the first week in April. The Scala is probably the handsomest theatre in the world, and is structurally the ideal house for the purpose in question, Bullt mainly of white marble and cut stone, and possessing numerous exits, the Scala ig the first theatre to receive the London County Council's permit to jerect an operating enclosure, with an electrical | Installation capable of coping with every kind of optical novelty, in the auditorium itself. From time to time, Urban will produce best short plays of the foremost English and American authors, and translations of the most Interesting foreign plays. Last week's appearance of Edna May in herald part in Belle of New York was a great success from the charitable point of | view, over $12,500 being cleared. Apart from slight nervousness Edna seemed just the | Same as ever and her long rest has certainly im|proved her voice, I have heard it whispered | that despite the fact of her being well en|dowed with dollars, the lady is beginning to |miss the oldstage life and would not be at |all sorry to get back. In any event there is | quite a lot of talk about a trial trip on the | balls for her. The Belle came out quite fresh again after all these years. it would still draw money. Sir Charles Santley, for fifty years the idol of the public here makes his farewell appearance on May 12, when a complimentary matinee will be given for him. On this occasion Santley will the old English opera The Waterman which he first played in 1859. Although getting on for eighty years of age the veteran's voice is still marvelously preserved and in songs that make no particular strain on the volce he seeme as good as ever. (Continued on page 838.) appear In hia old original role of Tom be In | rhic How well it does wear! I) believe now that if it were given another run | | | | | S| Ay 94 Max Dearly, of the Theatre Des Varietes. Varis, rowful one. “Life has always arranged to be pleasant when he passed by,’’ we are told; in otherwords, Papa is a likable, big-hearted, lovable old sport. At the time we come to know him he is ‘‘unharnessing’’ because, strange to relate, he has met one lady who laughed at him! Suddenly, about this time, Papa bethinks himself of a son. For he has one, really—a boy of 28 years now, as he figures it, the mother having been a star of the Comedie Francaise, but who died at the time the boy waa 2 years old. The Count had always provided handsomely for the boy and during her life had even offered to marry his mother. But she knew him too well and refused the offer. Anyhow the son is living at Languedoc, in the provinces, and Papa, now that he has been laughed at, decides to send for his boy, legitimatize him and all that. This is done. The son duly becomes the Viscomte de Larzac and half an hour later is sorry for the change. For he is engaged to Georgiana, the levely daughter of poor, but honest—sseme sald otherwise—parents, one of whom. the father, Papa had known. And Papa calls the man—now dead—a thief. And the daughter of a thief should never become the Viscomtesse de Larzac. No sir-ee! Son gets huffy and gays all right. Then he won't be a Viscomte. He jumps aboard a train and hurries back to Languedoc and Georgiana. Now Georgiana enters upon the scene. She ie a lovely young thing and in three shakes she has Papa duly wrapped about her little finger. He bas never seen this sort of a girl before. kind he'd rampaged among hadn't been her sort. “I never saw a REAL young lady before,’ he says in delight, so he hops on a train and follows Son te Languedoc. He will make the gon marry Georgiana; she was too sweet a girl to stay out of the family. The curtain goes down on Act II right about this point. In the last act we are introduced to the same a ge in Languedoc—a month later. eorgiana has taken quite a fancy to Papa and, frankly, he amuses her more than the Viscomte. She tells the Vicomte so and she tells the Count. Somehow the son is dull-witted, or somethin He doesn’t notice things like he ought. cS doesn’t even see that Georgiana has a new drese on. Papa, he does see, and more than that, be | tells her it is pretty and that he likes it. He | gives it the finishing touch by pinning on the | corsage a bunch of roses and tells Georgiana the | story of Eve’s first exclamation after she had been made from the rib of Adam: “My dear, I haven’t a thing to wear!”’ | Of course the Count proposes, making up ht» mind beforehand to be laughed at just as he had been by the lady mentioned to begin with. But Georgiana doesn’t laugh. She is mightily tickled Son gives his consent when the old man asks It | and the old man concludes by saying: ‘“Thanky | Papa!’’ Here and there there seems a bit of a tendency to turn on the sentiment too thick, as, for in stance ,over some photographs of the dead actress-mother, and over the gay Papa’s remorse | at cutting out his son. The play is too obviously a comedy to make these scenes ‘‘take’’ even by | way of offering contrasts—which are, of course necessary. Messrs. de Caillavet and de Flers should have found another way to offer them | Felix Huguenet. one of the best actors in France | makes an ideal Papa. A NEW COMEDY. Le Cadet de Coutras (Coutras, the younger) & the title of the new comedy produced this weeb at the Theatre du Vaudeville. It is in five acts and is the result of the collaboration of Abe! Hermant and Yves Miraunde. Maximilian, the Cadet de Contras, has bees adopted by his uncle and aunt, the Dye and Duchesse de Coutras, and for his tutor they se cure a certain young Gosseline, pupil from the | Normal School. De Coutras’ pal is ‘‘Coco’’ Sor | bier, the son of a financier, and who has not yet | attained his majority. He is somewhat char | acterless. Maximilian, in need of money and without realizing fully what he is doing, ne gotiates certain notes signed by ‘‘Coco and ali | sorts of trouble commence. All three of the young men are called upon to do their military gervice and ‘Coco’ dies of consumption while Maximilian wins a military medal for saving the life of his captain during a row witb strikers. There is a love affair and all ends | happily enough. sia I do not go deeply into the plot of t play because it Py one of the book-made kind and the plot, therefore, is not new. Only the play is new. Hermant’s books have always followed along social studies and have been called ‘‘en gravings from Paris life.” He depicts, rather brutally at times, the struggle of the titled classes to scrape together money enough to get along on, their martial troubles, their petty love affairs. So Le Cadet de Goutras naturally falls under the general heading of pieces such as are known here as ‘‘Boulevard plays,” light, gossips and yet containing a bit of irony here and there The papers spoke well of the comedy. Jean Dax. Puylagarde and Beeman appear in the three characters mentioned above. They are all good Mile. Jeanne Dirys makes her debut at this theatre and was loudly applauded. Mlle. Ellen Andre, who appears as a manicure girl, ts well | received. “SATURDAY THEATRES.” Some weeks ago I told in The Billboard vf Director Antoine’s plan to produce at Saturday matinees the works of hitherto absolutely un known authors. The play is succeeding beyond all hope. Houses are chock full and one has to get seats a long time in advance, else struggle with a half-mad rabble which collects before the box office windows just before the doore open. ie Boulangere (The Bake-shop Girl) 1s thr title of one of twe plays used as a double bil) Saturday of this week, at one of the events for {the “‘unknowns.”” The plot in this is simple |enough. Two men exchange wives, that’s all | In the second play, Le Pacha, the idea is equally | void of complications. A young, self-centered | man has a mother and a sister. These two be | makes absolute slaves to him. He marries. His | wife becomes slave No. 3. That’s all there is te /that. But the manner in which these two plays \4s handled is novel, attractive and deserving of | gnecess. And the success was won, Both piare | were loudly applauded. } IMPORTANT PLAYS. The week to come promises to be one of [he -letter periods of the year. renee of all the Comedie-Francaise will be the ecene of the premiere of Apres Moi (After Me) by | Henry Bernstein. This is a play which has beer looked forward to for many months, and, from the American professional’s viewpoint, it will b> one of the most interesting things of the year For Apres Moi will be seen in America, I am tok and will of course be played by American artist+ Bernstein’s The Thief and Samson are still o» the stage on the other aide. llowing Apres Moi at the Comedie will com L’Eatant ae Amour at the Porte-Saint-Martin L’Aventurier has been taken off the boards, Lucir Guitry has taken leave and all is now ready for what Messers. Coquelin and Guitry believe will » their biggest success of the season. Mme. Gab rielle Rejane, Andre Brule and other stars of the | French stage will shine in this piece and alt» gether it promises to be well worth seeing. The next night after |’Enfant de |’ Amour (ue | first performance in France of I’Oiseau Bleu {The Bluebird) by Maurice Maeterlinck, the Belgise master, will take place at the Theatre Rejan+ This piece has been seen in America and in Eng land but France has yet to see 1. for the firms time. Naturally considerable interest is fel! | | regard to it. et the Apollo the night following |’Osieau Bie | will be given the dress rehearsal of La Divores |. The Grand Guignol will change its list | | farcee and “horror plays’’ on the same nig’ (Continned on page 33%.)