The theatrical scenes of Great Britain and the United States were largely interchangeable during the golden age of theatre, with many of the same productions and the same stars being equally well-known on both sides of the Atlantic. Shows, individual stars, and sometimes even whole casts, would frequently cross the Atlantic to take a success from one continent to the other. For the Actress, or actor, on either side of the Atlantic there was great incentive to consider an ocean crossing to spend time on the other continent.
For the American actress the lure might primarily have been to enhance her standing. London was, at that time, the foremost centre of World attention for all things theatrical, and consequently a great deal of prestige could be gained by any actress from appearing in a successful show at any of the great West End theatres. For the already successful American actress, a successful season starring in London might be seen as setting the final seal on her success, whilst for the rising starlet a successful season even in a supporting role in London would greatly enhance her acting credentials back in her homeland.
For the British actress, the lure of appearing in America was generally more financially motivated. America was vast with many large cities to tour, the acting profession was not so heavily overpopulated as it was in Britain, and British actresses came held a particular appeal there. Consequently the pay an actress could hope to earn was generally somewhat higher than she might expect in London.
Some stars from either continent would make the crossing almost annually, splitting their time between alternating seasons on the two continents whilst others. Before the advent of the passenger aeroplane, this was the era of the great luxury ocean liners, and almost every transatlantic crossing sailing in and out of New York would have had it's share of theatrical luminaries aboard.
A few, like Americans Pauline Chase, Queenie Leighton, the Elliott sisters (Gertrude and Maxine) and Britisher Kitty Gordon would make the move permanently, setting up home and making a permanent living on the opposite side of the Atlantic to which they were born.
Reproduced below are a few period newspaper articles discussing the transatlantic exchange of actresses.
The New York Times - August 26th, 1906.
English Invasion of the American Stage Will Break All Records This Season
The meteoric success of Sarah Bernhardt in this country last season proclaimed it essentially as "the French Year" on the American stage, while the overpowering domination of the English actor marks the coming theatrical season as "the British Year."
Ever since the beginning of the South African War the British stage has suffered a depression that has progressed from bad to worse with each succeeding season, culminating during the present year with the most disastrous theatrical season ever known in London and the provinces. The consequence has been a wholesale exodus of well-known and capable English actors and actresses to America, which has always been the land of golden promise to the British thespian. The English actor will be found in every company of any consequence, English stars will shine from every point of the American theatrical firmament, and English plays will engage the attention of playgoers and critics at many theatres throughout the land.
The American stage and the American public have always welcomed the English actor of ability, and both will doubtless continue to express the same cordiality in the years to come, unless the possible domination of the player from across the water threatens too formidably the interests of the home theatrical market. Will the principle of protection then prevail instead of that of reciprocity? Will the "closed season" be the rule instead of the "opendoor?" Thirty years ago the English actor found his only home in New York at Wallack's Theatre, and it was there that such great favorites as Harry Montague, Maurice Barrymore, Osmond Tearle, and Kyrle Bellew were introduced to the American public. But with the advent of Henry Irving and Charles Wyndham, the American stage became the happy hunting grounds of the English actor.
Now that managerial plans are fully known it is possible to glance over the field and ascertain just how far the British domination bids fair to extend. First consideration must be accorded the stars, and we find that British stage will send us the following notable list:
Sir Charles Wyndham and Mary Moore, with an entirely English company; Ellen Terry, for her farewell tour, supported by a complete English company; Lena Ashwell, with an all-British ensemble; H. B. Irving and his wife, Dorothea Baird, with an English support that includes as many of his father's players as he could gather; Olga Nethersole, with a large English company; E. S. Willard, supported exclusively by his compatriots; Ellis Jeffreys, with a British company that includes George Giddens as chief comedian; Forbes Robertson and his English company; Mrs. Patrick Campbell, with the customary English actors. This list may yet be further extended.
Walter N. Lawrence will make stars out of William Hawtrey and Hilda Spong, both legacies from the British stage. Miss Spong's play will require an all-British cast, as will also "The Girl in Waiting," in which Virginia Harned will star. Guy Standing, an Englishman, will be advanced to stellar honors by the Shuberts. Robert Loraine, a successful star in "Man and Superman," is an Englishman, and so are Robert Mantell and William Faversham. Richard Mansfield has been so long accepted as the great American actor that we forget the fact that he was imported from London as an English comedian to play a German dialect part in Planquette's opera, "Rip Van Winkle," at the old Standard Theatre, now the Manhattan Theatre. Margaret Anglin is of Canadian birth, and her company always includes numerous English players.
James K. Hackett, in addition to starring in an English drama, "The Walls of Jericho," a play that requires a company of English players, will again present "Mr. Hopkinson," with its ten or a dozen English "actors and actresses, as well as the London farce, " The Little Stranger," with its English cast of fourteen intact. Mr. Hackett's wife, Mary Mannering, who will once more shine as an independent star this season, is by way of being one of the all-conquering British race. By arrangement with Frank Curzon, the London manager, Mr. Hackett will also present a number of other English plays that will call for more English actors.
Henry Arthur Jones, one of the foremost of British dramatists, has found it convenient to abandon London for the nonce as a producing centre for his plays, and has elected to show here for the first time his new drama, "The Hypocrites." Of the fourteen members of this cast twelve are English, and for one of the leading parts Mr. Jones has imported an English girl who has never been on the stage. The leading part, a young, manly, courageous clergyman, will be played by Leslie Faber, who happens to be the son-in-law of Mr. Jones.
"His House in Order," the greatest and almost the only success of the recent London theatrical year, will have two Americans — John Drew and Margaret Illington — in its leading roles, but to off set this, there will be a dozen British players to complete the cast. W. H. Crane will be seen in an English play by Alfred Sutro, and one conspicuous English actor will be included on the roster of the Crane company.
Incidentally, it may be mentioned that Maude Adams has an English leading man. So have Grace George, Fritzi Scheff, Hattie Williams, Annie Russell, Blanche Bates, Maxine Elliott and Henrietta Crosman. Bruce McRae, leading man for Ethel Barrymore, is generally regarded as an American actor, but he happens to be a nephew of Sir Charles Wyndham and of the nationality thereby implied. And there are others.
Lew Fields will introduce Lawrence Grossmith and Coralie Blythe, both from the London stage. Joe Weber has an Englishman, Ernest Lambart, in important parts, and he is also going to bring Maurice Farkoa over from London. The English musical comedy, "Lady Mapcap," which the Shuberts will present at the Casino next month, will have half a dozen English players, including Madge Crichton, Delia Mason and George Carroll, of the original London cast. "The Squawman," with its two companies, requires the services of a number of English actors, and the four "Lion and the Mouse" companies will afford employment to as many English actors. Charles Klein, author of "The Lion and the Mouse," is of English birth, and was at one time an English actor.
Charles Dalton, George Arliss, J. E. Dodson and Hamilton Revelle are other English actors who have won permanent places on the American stage. Both Arliss and Dodson were introduced to New York audiences in the same character, that of Caylay Drummie in "The Second Mrs. Tanqueray." Dodson played the part first with the Kendals, and Arliss was in the support of Mrs. Patrick Gampbell on her first tour here.
Eleanor Robson imports an English actor, Charles Cartwright, to stage her plays this season, and Dion Boucicault has crossed the Atlantic to produce "His House in Order." The Gaiety piece, "The Spring Chicken," has been Americanized by Richard Carle, but still it will afford an oppotunity for at least one Englishman, Victor Morley.
Keith Wakeman, an actress of American birth, whose professional career has been mainly on the London stage, will be the new leading lady with Otis Skinner in "The Duel," in succession to Fay Davis. Miss Davis never acted until she went to London and made a success with George Alexander at the St. James's Theatre. Then she came to New York with a London reputation and has recently annexed an English actor as husband.
Harry Warner, son of Charles Warner, the popular English actor, and George Lestocq, son of the English general manager for Charles Frohman, have elected to make their theatrical careers in America rather than in England. Murray Carson and Esme Beringer, both London players of repute, are seeking for fortune in the American vaudeville theatres in a dramatic sketch. Kyrle Beliew will have a number of English actors in his support this season.
W, L. Abingdon is permanently settled in America, and has won an American bride. Holbrook Blinn is of American birth but his theatrical success has been achieved principally in London. He, too, finds refuge from the London depression in an American Engagement.
Lawrance D'Orsay, the luckiest English actor who ever crossed the Atlantic, will continue to twinkle gently as an American star. And there may still be other English stars in the near future. Cyril Maude and Gerald Du Maurier will be knocking at the door soon, and they will both be welcome. Mr. Maude is regarded as one of the most consummate artists on the English speaking stage while Mr. Du Maurier is a light comedian of distinction. Albert Chevalier is coming over again on a recital tour. It is a safe estimate that there are at least five hundred English players under contract to play on the American stage during the coming season, and in all probability a careful census would double that number.
Contrast this with the status of the American actor on the English stage. A few years ago, when "The Belle of New York" was at the height of its popularity in London, a great cry went up from the British actors that there was danger to them in an Amercan invasion, but evidently this menace never assumed alarming proportions, as there are not more than twenty Americans holding assured positions on the British stage at the present time. The following list will probably include them all:
Cora UrQuhart Potter, Paul Arthur, Gertrude Elliott, James Carew, Holbrook Blinn, Keith Wakeman, Edna May, Frank Mills, May de Sousa, Madge Lessing, Marie George, Pauline Chase, Billie Burke, Camille Clifford.
Of this number, the artistic endeavors of Mrs. Potter are about at an end. Gertrude Elliott is the wife of Forbes Robertson and deservedly popular in England both as woman and as artist. She will accompany her husband to America this season. Frank Mills, James Carew, and Holbrook Blinn were known in this country as "bit" actors before they went to London, but all three have progressed. Carew returns during the Winter as leading man for Ellen Terry, while Mills will occupy the same position with Olga Nethersole. Miss Wakeman and Mr. Blinn, as before stated, will also return to America this season. Paul Arthur is a fixture in London, and Pauline Chase has become a theatrical personage of consequence in the British capital through the skillful management of the Charles Frohman office. Edna May is an international celebrity, and the others mentioned have important places in the English musical comedy world. But the balance of trade seems to be very much on the side of the British actor.
[*The mention in the above article of a depression in the English stage is greatly exaggerated. The exodus of English stars to America was more due to an over-abundance of persons being drawn into the acting profession in England and the fact that top players could earn twice as much on the opposite side of the Atlantic. - Ed]
The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette - 21st November, 1906.
More Successful English Stars Invade the American Stage
Lena Ashwell and her Good Work in "The Shulamite" — Forbes Robertsons hit in "Caesar and Cleopatra" by G. B. Shaw
[From Our New York Dramatic Correspondent.]
Lena Ashwell, the latest English star to appear in America for the first time, has achieved a personal success in "The Shulamite" at the Lyric theater. "The Shulamite" is a play adapted by Claude Askew and Edward Knoblauch from the novel of the same name, and it is a morbid melodrama of life on the South African veldt.
The play is not great, neither is it a pleasing one, and hence the conclusion that it is not a success necessarily must be drawn. The playing of Miss Ashwell is the one saving feature.
The Play an Exaggeration
The theme of "The Shulamite" is exaggerated domestic infelicity. The authors seem to revel in human suffering in the travail of downtrodden souls and in the dark shadows that haunt the inner lining of some phases of life.
In short, the play illustrates the inability of many young playwrights to shake themselves free from the melodramatic virus when once it sets into their veins. A well developed melodramatic instinct is as difficult to get rid of as the gambling habit. In its last stages the disease causes its victims to mistake melodrama for realism on every occasion, when, as a matter of fact, it is only occasionally that the melodramatic is required to bring out the realistic in a normal or strictly legitimate play. The melodramatic fiend were he an artist, would use green and red house paint in depicting "Midnight in the Bengal Jungle" or "A Fog on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland."
Murder as a Climax
"The Shulamite" rises to a climax with a murder, which, however, takes place off the stage, and at this point Miss Ashwell does her most effective work. Her role is that of Deborah Krillet, the warm hearted wife of a flinty, puritanical farmer of the Transvaal. Deborah's life is a bare, lightless one. owing to the harsh unyielding nature of her husband, and naturally falls in love with Robert Waring, the English overseer on the Krillet farm, whose character is the opposite of that of the master.
Discovery and Death
Of course in due time, as this is a play, the wronged husband discovers the love of Deborah and Waring. The farmer attempts to shoot Deborah, but Waring kills Krillet in self defense in a skillfully worked up climax. John Blair as Waring was a failure in every respect. It would seem that the result of the shooting bee should have been reversed, for Edward R. Mamson's playing of Krillet was of a superior description.
Miss Ashwell is probably the most popular of English actresses of the present. In London her vogue is tremendous. She has played the leading roles in nearly all the English emotional successes of the last few years. Two of her most notable hits were in "Mrs. Dane's Defense" and In "Leah Kleshna." She also won success in London in "The Shulamite."
The appearance of Forbes Robertson and Gertrude Elliott, his wife, in "Caesar and Cleopatra" at the New Amsterdam theater accentuates the great popularity of English players in this country. While Miss Elliott is an American (sister of Maxine Elliott) the rest of the company is English. Mr. Robertson's work in the George Bernard Shaw conception of Caesar is highly meritorious. Miss Elliott does the best work of her career. Originally a very poor actress, she has developed materially (probably the result of Mr. Robertson's teaching) and is now capable of playing strictly on her own merits. She has overcome many serious limitations. "Caesar and Cleopatra," according to Author Shaw, is a "history." However that may be, he has not given fiction and fancy entirely the frigid shoulder. Caesar is shown at the age of fifty, while Cleo is in her budding teens.
They Were Only Human
Mr. Shaw's idea is to present Caesar and Cleopatra as human beings of the most human sort. He contends that they were not abnormal beings, that they thought and noted and talked like their fellows. So he lifts the curtain of mystery with which tradition and imaginative historians have obscured them and reveals them as he sees them. Cleopatra asks Ceasar if he happens to have seen a certain white cat, she comments on the length of his nose and informs him that he looks "thin and stringy."
In the last act the mighty Seizer of almost the entire known world leaves Cleo, after telling her that he will send to her the Antony that will be his easy Mark.
Imposing Stsge Equipment
The settings and costumes are extravagant and imposing. The managers have succeeded in putting on the most sumptuous production of the season thus far.
"Caesar and Cleopatra" is a genuine hit. It stimulates the imagination, refreshes brain and wit, pleases the senses and gives the best $2 worth of entertainment seen in New York for many a day.
FREDERICK TREGELLES
Wisconsin State Journal - 13th April, 1907
Bearding the British Lion
John Bull's Reception of the American Actress
By EDWARD W. LOWREY
There are few American actresses of any note who have not at some stage in their career longed to make their bow before a London audience and make a personal test of the cordiality which is supposed to exist between the two countries. As soon as they win name and fame here, like Alenander of old, they long for other worlds to conquer and naturally their thoughts turn to Britain first. Very frequently they would win undisputed success over there, if they would make a more judicious choice in selecting the play for their first appearance.
They have all to gain or all to lose, and the kind of play which has been received with prolonged applause on this side may be greeted by hisses and hoots by our English cousins. With the British playgoer it is first the play and then the player, and he is frankness itself in expressing his disaproval, and therefore the actress who is but slighily known and is further handicapped by an indifferent play, or one that is not international in its appeal, is attempting an almost hopeless task.
The Recent Failure of "Julia Boabos"
The most recent example of the futility of a venture of this kind is found in the return of Louis Mann and Clara Lipman, recently, after having tried unsuccessfully to make their London debut at the Waldorf theater in "Julie Bonbon," written by Miss Lipman herself. The comedy was first presented in New York a year ago, and although it was crudely constructed and was soundly rated by the critics, it pleased the playgoers and ran successfully for several months. It had one unique and original act, which was supposed to lake place in New York's famous Bohemian restaurant, "Little Hungary." This little place, with its habits and customs of the Latin Quarter and the Old World, has long been one of the points of interest in New York, and since President Roosevelt once honored it by his presence at a dinner there, it has become widely known the country over. Accordingly, when Miss Lipman placed the strongest act of her play amid such surroundings, reproduced with almost photographic fidelity, American audiences in the larger cities took to "Julia Bonbon," and it was deservedly accredited a success.
After the piece had run its course over here, Miss Lipman and Mr Mann, neither of whom had ever appeared in the English metropolis, were anxious to try their luck across the water. They did, and on the opening night, the critics left after the second act, and in their reviews the next morning, accused the fair dramatist of plagiarism, and while they commended the acting of the players, they doomed "Julie Bonbon" to speedy retirement. The British public treated the visitors with but little more consideration. They knew nothing of "Little Hungary," they had never heard much of either Mr. Mann or his talented wife, and accordingly after a brief fortnight, the shades were drawn at the Waldorf, and Louis and Clara were mourning the untimely demise of their first born "Julie Bonbon."
"The Lion and the Mouse"
A similar fate was meted out to "The Lion and the Mouse" last spring at the Duke of York's theater. The piece bad been the reigning success of the American season, and the manager did not doubt for a moment that it would take equally as well in the Old Land. To make assurance doubly sure, a small company was selected which included the pick of a the "Lion and the Mouse" companies. Edmund Breese was given his original part of Ready-money Ryder, and Daniel Frohman presented his beautiful wife, Margaret Illington, as Shirley Rossmore, the mouse. However, the season was an unpropitious one. Society was still in town, and the English smart set care more for the player than the play, and they had never heard of either Mr. Breese or Miss. Illington. The great mass of London theatergoers, the middle class, those who would support a strong play regardless of the professional reputation of the cast, had at this time of the year abandoned the theater for out of door entertainments, and so the Klein play, which is already in its second year in New York and is being presented by four other companies on tour, was obliged to give up the struggle after a month's run.
May de Sousa's Vogue
But the fates are not always so unkind. Very frequently London welcomes with open arms some foreign player who has had to struggle hard lo win any kind of prominence at home. Take the case of May de Sousa, who is the daughter of a Chicago police sergeant, and made her first bid for fame when she appeared in vaudeville in the Windy City and sang "Dear Midnight of Love," composed by Alderman John Coughlin, "Bath House John," as he is best known. She had a sweet voice and pretty girlish ways, but she was stiff and amateurish, still she peresevered and it was not long till she was given the prima donna role In "The Tenderfoot," with Richard Carle. Two years later she appeared as Mary in "Babes In Toyland" and gave unmistakable signs of improvement, but for all that, she did not by any means set even the Chicago river on fire.
At the close of the summer of 1905, Miss de Sousa decided to try her fortune in England, and without introduction or influence she went to George Edwardes, manager of the London Gaiety, and at once made so favorable an impression that he engaged her on the spot. She was given the title role in "Cinderella," the Christmas pantomime of that year, and immediately became one of the reigning favorites of the London stage, enjoying a vogue almost as pronounced as that previously won by Edna May. At one time no less than four managers were striving to get her signature to contracts. She appeared in a revival of "The Geisha," later was transferred to "See-See," or "The Third Moon," and soon after created the title role in "The Jolly Widow," in which she is now appearing. It will be with no little curiosiiy that Miss de Sousa's return to her native heath will be watched.
Good Fortunes for Maude Fealy
When William Gillette took his great success, "Sherlock Holmes," over to London, some five years ago, Maude Fealey was his leading woman, appearing in the ingenue part of Alice Faulkner. She was a young actress lately come from Denver, whose girlish graces and winsome manners fitted her most admirably for the part, and she was immediately established as a London favorite. It was rumored in those days that Mr. Gillelle was to wed Miss Fealey, who was still in her teens, but all that ever came of these reports was that she remained behind and played leading rolls with no less an actor than the late Sir. Henry Irving. Then E. S. Willard took her up and brought her back to America as his leading woman, and she his since remained here. Last season Mr. Gillette took over another young girl of the demure type, in the person of Marie Doro, who created the title part in his latest play "Clarice," and now the story is going the rounds that Miss Doro will shortly become Mrs. Gillette.
Others Popular in London
Eleanor Robson won instantaneous favor when she made her English debut in "Merely Mary Ann." On the other hand, Ethel Barrymore, who had played small parts in Henry Irving's company and therefore was no stranger, and in addition enjoyed the distinction of being welcome in London's most exclusive circles and was an intimate friend of the Duchess of Sutherland, was given but an indifferent reception when she made her first stellar appearance in "Cynthia," a comedy by an English dramatist, Hubert Henry Davies.
Maxine Elliott has long been an English favorite and has appeared with her husband, Nat. C. Goodwin, and also by herself in "Her Own Way." It was during her last engagement there in that play that King Edward summoned her to his box one evening after the performance, and commended her on her acting. Later she was acclaimed the most beautiful woman present at a large garden party given by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle, and attracted even more attention than the present King and Queen of Norway, in whose honor the event had been given. While Gertrude Elliott was a young girl with her hair hanging in braids, she accompanied her sister Maxine and Nat. Goodwin when they took "The Cowboy and the Lady" to England. Young as she was, she found favor in the eyes of the mature Forbes Robertson, and joining his company, soon became his leading woman, and later his wife.
Yet We Make the Experiment
Nearly every English actor and actress of prominence has had at least one American season, yet of our own leading lights, neither Mrs. Fiske, Julia Marlowe, Margaret Anglin, or Viloa Allen, has ever visited London in their professional capacity. Julia Marlowe will have tried the experiment before the summer, and Mrs. Fiske and Miss Adams are contemplating it.
Edna May the Greatest Favorit
Of all Yankee girls, who have won fame over there, no one has obtained more lasting favor than Edna May. The story of the little girl from Syracuse, the daughter of a letter carrier in that city, who went down in New York and obtained a place in the chorus, is well known, as is the fact that one night she was suddenly promoted to sing the role of the Salvation army lass in "The Belle of New York," just because that eminent judge of character, Charles Frohman, thought she looked the part. She made no particular hit, but she had shy, modest ways, and she was a veritable embodiment of innocence and simplicity. Later when the piece was taken to England, with Miss May in the same role, all London fell at her feet, and she became the adored of all adorers, and for over two years "The Belle of New York" played at the Shaftesbury. She stayed abroad for five years and did not return to America til the fall of 1905, when she appeared in "The School Girl," her latest success at that time. American audiences then found that the adulation which had been given her, had in nowise turned her head, in so far as her acting went and that she was able to simulate the same utter lack of affectation, which was her greatest charm. Her voice was even still more honeyed in its musical sweetness, and her every action was the acme of artless grace. And America welcomed her back with more heartiness than it had wished her godspeed.
Wnile many flattering offers of marriage have been made her, she remains Edna May. Before she went on the stage she was the wife of Fred Titus of cycling fame. Although he remained here while she was in England, the knot was never untied until two years ago.
The New York Times - March 27th, 1904
AMERICANS FIGURING IN ENGLISH STAGELAND
London Looking for Visitations from Our Stars.
"THE CINGALEE" A BIG HIT
Strange to say Mr. Erlanger Thinks the Theatrical Trust is All Right - Shakespeare Far from Out of Fashion.
Foreign Correspondence THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, March 19. — American theatrical managers have been well represented in London lately, both Charles Frohman and Mr. Erlanger having been here within the month. Mr. Erlanger has arranged to transport the latest Drury Lane pantomime, "Humpty Dumpty," to America.
In view of Mr. Erlanger's business rotations with the theatrical trust, it will surprise nobody greatly to learn that he approves it. "In America," said he, "I confess there are a few people that oppose the trust, but we never quarrel with them, and we are always ready to help them when they ask our aid. The sooner the theatrical business of England is put on a similar basis, the greater will be the general prosperity for all concerned."
Mr. Erlanger thinks that the American trust is very useful to the English stage. "An English manager," he said, "instead of dealing with twenty or thirty managers in America, now deals directly with one, and this results in a great saving of time and money. It used to take Sir Henry Irving nearly six months to arrange a tour in the United States. Now it takes an hour. The last time Mr. Charles Frohman aranged to bring Sir Henry Irving over to us, a cable was sent to New York at 10 o'clock in the morning; At 11 o'clock we replied back that we had fixed up the tour - the tour he is now bringing to a close."
Although Mr. Frohman was in London only a short time, he managed to accomplish a great deal. Arrangements have been made for a number of American stars to visit England in the near future. John Drew and Fay Davis are expected to be among the first of the visitors. There is much interest felt in another American production which Mr. Frohnwn has promised to bring over. That is E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe in a series of Shakespearean revivals, which is expected in june.
England, by the way, is getting quite a dose of Shakespeare just now. A run of "Romeo and Juliet" has just closed. Beerbohm Tree's repertory company is playing Shakespeare in the suburbs and provinces with a success that shows the "bard" has not lost his hold yet. Moreover, Mr. Tree speaks of producing "Timon of Athens" in London, though rather vaguely, it is true, and another manager, J. H. Leigh, Brings out in April "Two Gentlemen of Verona," and later " Timon of Athens," at the Court Theatre.
It was in a Shakespearean play that Miss Viola Tree, a daughter of Beerbohm Tree, made her successful debut the other day. Her first part was, appropriately enough, Viola in "Twelfth Night," which her father's company played in Edinburgh. Two other interesting stage debuts have also taken place recently. One was that of Jean Stirling MacKinlay, who made her initial appearance in "When a Man Marries," and, to quote one of the critics, "leaped into fame at one bound." She is the daughter of Antoinette Stirling, who was a well known singer in New York some time ago. The other debutante was a daughter of Henry Arthur Jones. Mr. Jones has now three daughters who are actresses, and they are all playing in his comedy, "Joseph Entangled."
The music halls have several novelties just now. Among them is an American Indian actress, said to be the only one, in a play written by herself. Her name is Go-Won-Go-Mohawk, and her play is guaranteed to be a true portrayal of Indian life and not "a vehicle for the introduction of heroics and pistol shots."
Another new feature in one of the music halls, which is also said to come from America, is the Kickapoo dance, which has attained great popularity in Paris, and is now introduced in England. It is described as "a conglomeration of the tarantella, St. Vitus's dance, the cake walk, and weird shrieking Indians, combined with a distinctly picturesque costume and setting."
The new play at Daly's is making an enormous hit. The critics praised it unanimously, and on the first day after it was produced the advance sales were estimated at over $10,000. George Edwardes, the manager of Daly's, has made himself popular by his treatment of the first-night crowds. For a new piece it is not uncommon for crowds to collect outside the pit and gallery doors before noon to wait for the evening performance. At Daly's at the first night of "The Cingalee," the crowd was admitted much earlier than usual, and was treated by the management to free tea to refresh them after their long wait. The Queen was also present at the first performance, and received an impromptu tribute to her popularity when the occupants of the pit sang the national anthem in her honor during the entre-acte.
The New York Times - August 8th, 1897
OUR ACTRESSES ABROAD
Julia Arthur on the Benefit of English Stage Experience to Americans.
STANDARDS OF ART COMPARED
Little Difference in Essential Methods, but a Broader Experience and Self-Confidence Are Gained — Not a Means of Advertising.
Among Ihe pre-eminent American actors who have visited England and worked hard to make success is Julia Arthur, an actress whose right to a place among self-made women is now acknowledged on both continents.
"I worked for everything I have obtained, and I am proud of it," is her greatest boast, and the truth of it is borne out by her naturalness and earnestness, and is shown in her quick, impetuous movements, her intense manner, and the honest expressiveness with which she says it. Julia Arthur is endowed with a peculiar beauty, of a rich, dark type and indicative of a highly strung temperament; in fact, a woman who feels deeply, who has the mentality to think intensely, and who lives actively. These characteristics presented themselves forcibly to a reporter for the New York Times who called upon Miss Arthur at the Holland House yesterday, and it was interesting to notice that the same characteristics possessed by Miss Arthur belong to the character of Clorinda, idealized by Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett in her novel "A Lady of Quality," upon which is based the play in which Miss Arthur will open her season as a star at Wallack's Theatre, Nov. 4.
When asked the value of an English engagement to an American actress, Miss Arthur said "That does not seem to be fairly understood. I think that it appears to be the impression that fame has been reached by an actress who meets with success in England, and that American actresses are more appreciated there than here. But this is not so.
Benefits of Going Abroad
"The benefits that result to an American actress there are no greater than the results to an English actress who comes to this country and makes a success. Should such an English actress come here — one who had not been previously remarkably successful in her home — and meet with a following here, she would, of course, have a greater prestige on her return.
"When I left here I told some of my friends the reason that I went to England was that some of the critics expressed themselves as thinking that I lacked finish and that my work in some cases was crude. That gave me a desire to study abroad where I thought the standard of art was higher, and I was proud to enter a school of acting which is looked upon as standing at the very fountain head of the British drama.
"I am safe in saying that I did find an intrinsic value in my visit there. I found the benefits to be these. It throws one on one's own resources more, it broadens the mind, it fixes the determination, it sharpens the ambition, it gives a greater variety of experience and more self-confidence. This does not apply exclusively to an American actress going to London. I believe that in exactly the same manner it is beneficial to a foreign actress to come to America to study.
Actresses and Critics
"Yes, the American actress is greatly in evidence on the English stage at present, just as the English actor was in evidence on our stage a few years ago. American actresses are all, I think, remarkably spirited and talented, and have been admired by the English critics for their fine appearance. All the American actresses in England at present, with possibly one or two inexperienced exceptions, are fully deserving of the compliments they receive.
"With all deference to the English school of acting, as it is called, I do not think it in any way better than the American. In fact - I may be prejudiced in favor of my country — I fail to find any great difference, though perhaps the English school sketches its colors in a more subdued tone. The actor and actress of both countries strive for the same result — that of duplicating nature — and so there can be no essential difference between their methods.
"I find, however, that some people think the value of going to England is to obtain advertisement. I think this is wrong, just as wrong as it can be to subject any art to advertising purposes. If an actress is not desired all the advertising she can get on the other side will bring her no advantage. I may say that this fact impressed me so much that I did not even get to know a single critic in England as long as I was connected with Sir Henry Irving's company. I am aware that this statement may be considered extraordinary, in view of the manner in which it is sometimes supposed an actress should become known.
Rules For Success
"What methods do I use in study?"
"A few years ago I wrote out a few rules for myself, which I thought would prove valuable for an actress in pursuit of success. As closely as possible I have tried to reduce the rules of success on the stage to scientific principles, attempting to reason out what are the stopping stones to theatrical greatness. Every now and then I have taken out these rules, and, though I wrote them when quite young, I have never had cause to alter them. I have read them frequently in England, and I find that the same causes for success or failure are to be noted there as here. So that is an additional reason for saying that the stages of England and America are closely allied.
"In England as in America, it is necessary, aye, imperative, for an actress to have a motive, an object, an end, an aim before her. It is necessary for her to be unsparing in her efforts and to be natural in her methods. She must, whenever she would play a part or read a book, say to herself. 'Now let me enter into the very heart of this character; let me be it in temperament, spirit, feeling. Do not let me to make the character mold itself to me.'"
| Author: Don Gillan, www.stagebeauty.net. |
| Primary Sources: Various period newspapers (as mentioned and others). |
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