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BY G. E. M.•'The theater that was ready.”That is the title that might very well be applied to the new American theater, which was so successfully opened by the Lawrence players last night, with James Hackett and Mary Mannering's groat success, The Walls of Jericho.”I have seen other theaters opened, and all of them have been practically ready when the curtain went up. but never before have I seen a theater where everything1 and everybody were absolutelyready on opening night.I went around to the stage entrance early in the evening, figuring on picking up a story of the hustle and bustle of an opening night. I couldn’t find the hustle and bustle.Every scene was in pi ice. every rope was ready, every bit of wiring was adjusted, and instead of being on the verge of nervous prostration In the rush to get ready before the call of curtain,” the stage hands were sitting about telling fish stories and swapping baseball fodder.Down in the dressing rooms, where the actors and actresses were making up, 1 found everything in the same quiet and unconcerned mood. Not a bit of hurry, not a bit of excitement, not a bit of nervousness.In the orchestra room beneath the stage I found Fred Hoppe, the musical director, chatting with the boys of the orchestra, with as little concern as though opening nights were an everyday occurrence. And, by the way, Fred is somewhat ofa veteran, he having opened three of the leading theaters of the city, the Auditorium, the Spokane and last night the American.Overture,” called Del Lawrence, as 1 came up from the music room, and the members of the company trooped out of their dressing rooms and gathered in the wings in riend-ly little groups. Miss Dimple Kel-ton wandered calmly about the stage, giving a little pat here, and a pull there, putting a woman's touch to the draperies.The only one who showed any excitement was Lee Morris, who was having trouble with his htgii choker collar, and I heard him mutter most fervently: Confound adress suit play, anyway!Lee likes the country life plays, where he can wear a hickory shirt.The orchestra played the overture. the final bell rang, the curtain arose, and then such a wild outburst of applause! The beautiful big auditorium fairly rocked, and well it might, for the scenic settings of the Walls of Jericho as staged by the I^aw’rence players are exceptionally rich. The real outburst of enthusiasm came, however, after the final curtain, when many of those who had witnessedthe performance, hurried behind the scenes to congratulate the players upon their success, and for almost an hour an informal receptionwas held.And on the car, going home, everybody was still singing the praises of the Lawrence company, the theater management and of the New American theater, the theater that was ready.”
Newspaper Details
Spokane Press
Spokane, Washington, US
Mon, Dec 26, 1910
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Kokomo-Howard C.
IN, USA 15 Nov 2020
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