Lillie Langtry (1853-1929)

"The Crossways"
By John Hartley Manners.
Produced at the Imperial Theatre, London - 8th December, 1902.

Mrs. Langtry's final appearance on the stage prior to her American tour was made last night under exceptional and brilliant circumstances. The King's unique command to Mrs. Langtry to give a special porformance of her latest play, "The Crossways," of which she is part author, at the Imperial theater started tongues wagging. Never before has a performance by royal command of any play been given in a public theater. Society is saying it was a most gracious act on the part of the King toward Mrs. Langtry, who has had hard luck since she opened her magnificent playhouse. At all events, no recent production has aroused the interest of this one. It had been intended to give a private performance of the play, which has already been produced with success In the provinces, but it was decided to make it a semi-public affair. All the unreserved seats were distributed among the servants of the royal household, and the remainder of the house which was not occupied by members of the royal family and their suites was sold privately to the elite of London society.

The King, Queen Alexandra, the prince of Wales and their suites arrived at 9 o'clock and without any formality were conducted to a box on the right of the stage. In the opposite box sat the Portuguese minister, Lady De Grey, Count Mensdorf, first Secretary of the Austrian legation, and others, while the brilliant audience included the countess of Errol, Lord Churchill, Mrs. Ronalds and many Americans. Three hundred and eight royal servants and their families were present. The plot of the piece is a rather hackneyed one, but Mrs. Langtry's acting appeared to greatly please the Royal visitors, who remained to the end. In the interval between the third and fourth acts the royal party moved to the anteroom for refreshments and the King then commanded Mrs. Langtry's presence and commended the play very warmly. Queen Alexandra said to Mrs. Langtry: "I am extremely pleased with the play. I think it is most dramatic and I am sure you will have great success."

Mrs. Langtry's dresses were very beautiful. She had a hearty recall at the close of the performance.

The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh), 19th December, 1902.