TIIK OMAHA SUNDAY T5EK: OCTOBER 2. 1D10.
Eva Lang
May Yet Star
in a New Play
M
ISS HV A'LANu will probttbly
be soeri no mure In stuck after
thi'i neiiHun, because, according
to tilt present outlook she Is
to .stui lu a pluy en 11 yd "Tess
of tlio Sturm Country." a
u, ...... ucing written by Rupert HuKhes
Hum 1 1 io novel of the nuniu Uy Grace
Miller White.
One writes "probably" because theat
rical futures are, us Miss Lung says, "a
gamble, more uncertain even than the
wheat pit. and with reaped to theatrical
predictions and announcements the only
certain thing is that same uncertainty
attached."
Hut this much is sure at all events:
The novel, aecnrdlnK to unanimous ver
dict, tells a stury which la full of dramatic
Incident and which appeurs to be highly
available as the Imsis of a play; Mr.
Hughes Is a quite competent playwright;
Miss Lang has the refusal of the" part
and the desire to play It; contracts have
been signed and the manuscript of the
play will be in MJss Lang's hands In two
month, from now. Then If the part turns
out as expected, and If all other contin
gencies are similarly obviated, plans will
be matured fur the production of the piece
In the fall.
Jt la an Interesting girl which Miss
Lang will probably depict. . Tesa of the
new novel Is the daughter of a fisherlnan
Jiving on'thu shores of a New York lake,,
a girl Who may be termed an . elemental
character, but nevertheless one of some
novel and well defined attributes.
The story, baldly . told, centers round
her relations with a Cornell university
btudent and her struggles In behalf of her
father, who is suspected unjustly, of
course of murder. This theme la not
in essence altogether new substitute Yale
for Cornell and reud husband instead of
father and one has Mr. Klein's "Third
Jjcgree." But except for thia bare frame
Work all is different. New wine to
Change the metaphor abruptly la poured'
into the old bottle and Tess in no wise
resembles Annie Jeffries any more than
she does that other Tess of Yorkshire
habitat, of whose grief-racked road
Thomas llur.ly told.
Just what and how many parts of the
novel Mr. Iiugli.s will incorporate in
his dramatic version Is not sately to be
predicted, but it ioes seum likely that
lie will use the Incident uf the baby's
adoption. Toss's Cornell lover has a sis
ter involved with another student who
perishes In 1 f rat .-iiilt y house fire, an
incident which the novel write. took from
the destructl ri of the Chi 1'sl houao at
Ithaca in the fall of 1S0B. This brings
her baby into the world fatherless and
with the, mother shamed, if the fact of
birth be learned. The child Is taken by
Tess to the lake-side shack, where she
has her lonely home. Her father la in
Jail awaiting trial.
Suspicion follows the appearance in her
'lome of the waif. Itut It is not for this
that the fisher-girl utters a strange and
awesome prayer for the . gaby's death; It
is because she believes the infant would
be happier dead. Moreover, Tess has some
where gained the Idea that fervent, oft
repeated prayer will gain a favorable
answer, no matter what may be wished
and prayed for. ,
Tills adoption of the child reaps lis
natural harvest, tier lover, ignorant that
the child is his own sister's, suspects Teas.
So does the attorney, also in love with the
girl, and about to assume charge of her
father's apparently hopeless case. So does
her lover's father, a clergyman of narrow
vision. This worthy's interest in the girl la
quickened by still another reason. The laud
where Tess's cabin stands was squatted on
by her father and the minister's attempts
at her. dispossession , ad 6" to - her - already
fairly large store of' woe. , Consider that
her , father seems doomed to the electric
chair; that her lover, even If Worldly cir
cumstances were auspicious, an they are
not, suspects, her of frailty, that her attor
ney has turned against her' and that even
the. shabby roof over her head is an un
certain haven. , ' '
Working up and working , out all these
complications forms the thread of the story
and enough baa been told to Indicate that
the heroine's predicament la not a simple
nor an Insipid' One. Add to this a -really
quaint turn of mind, a brain by no means
despicable, struggling to think out the
puzzling facts of life and love and death
with the handicap of no help nor Instruc
tion, worth mentioning, . a vbreast racked by
suffering, and a spirit withal brave and
undaunted add all this, and the resultant
girl seema to be worth while whether she
be known only In the book or on the stage,
if then visualized for us by an actress like
Miss Lang.
The leading player of the Boyd company
is meditating upon Tess and the future In
a quite sensible way... Deeply Interested in
the character, which seems to offer a part
Worthy of her mettle, Miss Lang Is not
piofesslng, as Is usually done by actresses
about to play a new part In a stellar way,
that this particular character Is the most
fascinating ever heard of.
If, as is likely. Miss Lang leaves stock to
play Tesa, she will carry with her the ex
perience of six years' solid work in which
she has played several hundred rules. Most
of her experience has been In Omaha, where
she began at the old Burwood following a
short summer ergagement at Kansas City.
She was then within a few months of being
18 years of age, and lien playing stock leads
at 17 is probably a genuine record. Miss
Lamr was a pupil in a dramatic school w hen
her talent was first recognized by O. D.
Woodward, , In whose companies she has
since appeared. Her first chance came
when another girl threw up a part an hour
before the curtain .was to. rise on a school
production.' A horse had not been furnished
this girl to ride ' upon, or something like
that was the cause. Thus even in the dra
matic school .stage do actarial vagaries
sometimes but not alwaysmake their ap
pearance. Miss Lang's playing, so far as Omaha Is
concerned, needs no eulogy. She has dem
onstrated time and again In plays uf all
kinds her quite unquestioned ability to
characterise any sort of girl or woman de
manded, to convey a finished picture of
the playwright's vision, to depict most ac
curately all the emotions and feelings, and
when the part permits, to be ravUhlngly
charming and alluring. Given a good play,
a fair send-off, and her initial stellar ven
ture, whether it be next fall or later, will
be an unqualified success.
wr j - tiAfSZzr? . ..L,. - rcy.fp- ' M"PT'' " '-
ter)r,t.yM fa i ' "r';AV ' -sftWi
1, rC-'tA; CRErjroTMgNE AXTO.QBPHg.tJM CIHTOBD TWINS" rm JAKiror .,
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.n.wh.LM in, Kmit Tork.. than soma VCVt '' ' "'' '"Tn V K. ''"L'vi' f "
- v. that you have here," Vi,j " : A, .Tt ''. " L
R' ' ' , When asked if he liked vaudeville,-Mr. YnS ; J-'; . , Y-?'.' Jk. ' " v.fSs.P6
"Vaudeville," he said "Is Just to fill up KITTjV " V ; ; W'Ci V II
ailU r . CI1LU11 801l wlth nothing to do and I wrote this VWUSUr .. , , J' . . . -O.-1 " V.
i''' '-' -v little sketch to use. Miss Bowen and I , AT-TBIj UAlEiT.1 . --J'. 'y'fV- fk
Cfviftarl ir O ITiaKl 51 have been playing together, you know. In . ' '1iVSwf a' ll
OldliCU 111 WHldllrt,, f. t.nva Corn roninanv. I like to do''thli tZTC . - . .mT.- - II
' ' ' " I .u-h but I'm afraid some of It -doesn't : :- ' -" ir' " " "i U
make muon lmpresnon. 11 is noi rxauny -.- '"- ' .'' oA-v . - ,'.v " itw v r
1 1 week at the American knows me n u. . "V" V" "h, X ; -V " . ' .'V
- mure about the theatrical bust- enc. are expecting. It l a ''' f"b' VJrT ,
sna ngni. nui. i enju.v iv . cv.... ... g "jij '
tWt'-gl years ago than mont of the men P'aying is no. naru wo. . I JT I i
I : VrJt ... .H
W I stae-e. It ma v he a far irv from In his dressing room Sunday night Mr. XS III snpori I I --' V . w-..4. -: W'i,. ' ' i
--All this Is true even If this remark wa
mode when ' Miss Lang made-appointment
for a talk upon Tess. . .
"Meet me here," said Miss Lang, who
chanced to "bev standing . over, a heating
register in the theater. - '
"Right here over the register?"
" "Yes," -replied Miss Ijhiik. "This will be
a hot-air' affair, will it not?" '
How
Cressy
Broke Out
SLLOW fever .was the cause of
Will M. Cressy going on the
stage. It may be a far cry from
yellow fever to the footlights,
but this Is the pradoxleal
statement made by Mr. Cressy,
who begins a week's engaument this after
noon at the Orpheum, with his wife. Blanch
Dayne, In one of Mr. Crcssy's one-act play
"It happened this way," relates this vau
deville actor and writer: "I was living In
Jacksonville when a yellow fever epidemic
broke out. I was meant to become a
woolen merchant in New Hampshire. . Well,
the Unitarian church, to which I belonged.
got up a minstrel show for the benefit of
the fever sufferers The minister In the
case was .the interlocutor, while Will
Cressy and his brother were sketch
artists."
That stunt led to more serious ventures
until he secured an engagment at ii
a week and finally married the "leading
lady" who got dippy at what then seemed
a salary "too lovely for any use." That
Is the way Cressy tells the atory of his
past life.
Since then he has eked out a few dollars
along the way and has grown out of the
habit of writing home for money.
Mr. Creasy had a week off this month,
using most of the time coaxing his automo
bile from. Denver to Omaha over the ruads.
When he reached Omaha he placed his
wife in a hotel, his automobile in a garage,
several cigars In his pocket and drifted
over to i the Orpheum theater to ask if
they would have the stage ready for him
when he played here the week beginning
today.
When he grew serious ne confided the
information that he is going to Kngland
within a few months. He stated that he
has contracts with Walter de France to
play Liverpool, Portsmouth. Birmingham
and Manchester, then going to London for
an extended engagement.
Chorus ' Girls Buried in The Bee
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MEMBFRS OF WILLIAM NORTHS MT CINPEREtXA OTRt, COMPANT CIJPPINO NOTICES' FROM TEN THOUSAN3
CofltS OS TUK iltB ON THE BTAGii AT TUB URA-NtJIS. wwo
"llAilLUs J. ROSS, who spent'last
week at the American knows
more about the theatrical bus!
ness In Omaha of twenty-two
years ago than most of the men
who ' are running Omaha's
theaters now. He knows It at first hand
because he was here, penniless, out of a
Job, with a wife and a honeymoon on his
hands and he had to find out something
abouf the business to get away from here.
In his dressing room Sunday night Mr.
Ko?s, clad .as immaculately and fastidiously
in Htreet clothes as he ever Is on the
stage was found reading a New York
theatrical dally.
"See there." he said, holding up the sheet.
Vmy wife Is now at the head of the Tele
graph popularity contest see Mabel Rose;
Fenton, 18.000 votes. My wife Is down on
our 'ranch' near Asbury paik taking care
of some new greenhouses. We've got the
finest roadhouse in the country near there,
leased ou to a man who runs It. My wife
didn't want to go Into this little vaudeville
venture, and tills is the first time we have
been separated in years. The team of Koaa
and Fenton has always worked together.
' That .team started right here In Omaha
back in 187. Yes. sir, came here from Dead-
wood where we were married. I was a
young chap and doing my turn along with
the rest of them in a music hall Joint In
Dead wood when Miss Fenton came on from
the east. If the had known what she was
getting Into she never would have come,
I'm suie of that. She seemed like a superior
fort of a girl right at the start, and I
wasn't slow to see that she didn't like the
surroundings. The pluee.wa.t cheap and
tough, with sawdust on the floor and every
thing disagreeable. I volunteered to take
care of her and turned her over to my
landlady until we weie married. That was
Just four days later, and we started out
for Omaha together.
"The first place I evei worked In here
was a saloon oti Twelfth street, run. by a
fellow named Sandy McKnight. Sandy lad
a few vaudeville turns to attract customers
and he offered me a dollar and a half a
night to sing for him. I was at that for
two or three nights singing to amuse a
gang that hung-around the town until a
fellow named Henry Ferris, a theatrical
magnate of those days drifted in with his
partner. After I did mv turn Karris re
marked to his partner that I knew some
thing about the buntne.s and could be se
cured for the music hall. Those two ran
some sort of a theater down in the lower
end of town, I've forgotten Just where It
was, and I was offered a Job.
'The first night I was on the stage and
my wife sat In the front row, but after that
night we went on together as Fenton and
Kos. The team was formed and it has
hung together ever since. Afterwards we
changed It to I!osb and Fenton. because it
was more euphonious that way. We got
just twenty a week the two of us. Thai's
not much of a salary, but we didn't slay
there very long. We packed up and went
east 'as soon as w e had enough money.
Thai's how I he team was orgunized; to
do a specialty act In an Omaha variety
show when Omaha was a wild western
town. Stnce that we've seen a good many
other sorts of theaters and sneaking of
stage marriages, thia is one that has lasted
"Omaha was a queer place then. Of
course It la natural for a western town to
grow, but few of them change In the same
way that Omaha ha. Just seven years ago
with the Weber and Field's all star com
pany. Mis. Koss and I were here again.
It was a very different place then from
what it was when we left It. and it has
changed almost as much since then aa be
fore. "It hai grown ao much more metropoli
tan. For example. I can step out in the
morning and get a New York paper only
a day old and It seems almost like being
at home. And your atoret. I don't believe
you will find a better department store
PATRONESSES OF B. H. W.
SERIES OF MATINEE CONCERTS
ii.i r Well Known People Who-
Will Support the ew
Musical Kffort.
Success for the R. H. W. concerts is now
certain aa the following lists of patroiiM
and patronesses assure good audiences. Al
though the subscription list Is not closed,
a goodly number have subscribed to a ten
sitting box for the season. Miss Hopper
reports Increasing enthusiasm.
The patrons and patronesses include Mr.
E. M. Andreesen, Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Aus
tin. Mile. Andre. Miss Rose Allen, Mrs. J.
E. Bnum, Mrs. W. K. Baxter, Mrs. Paul
Burleigh, Miss Estolle Brown. Miss Borg
lum. Mr. F. J. Burkley, Mr. V. C. Bcnnet,
Bollln, Mrs. C. L. Brown, Miss Lydla BerK
qulst, Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Bradford, Mrs.
S. D. Barkalow, Mrs. C. E. Black, Miss
Margaret Boulter, Mrs. L. K. Crofoot, Mrs.
O. G. Colling, Mr. and Mrs. Henry G. Cox,
rs. C. C. Cope. Mrs. W. J. Cattin, Mrs.
G. W. Clabaugh, Miss Etta Crelghton. Rt.
Ilev. A. M. Colaneri, Miss Alice Curry, Mrs.
S. S. Caldwell, Mr. mid Mtb. Cowglll, Mrs.
David Cole, Miss Edith Collals, Mrs. J. M.
Daugherty, Dr. and Mrs. D. A. Foote, Dr.
A. D. Dunn, Mrs. Rilpli Booth Elliott, Mrs.
H. O. Edwards. Miss Eunice Elisor. Mrs.
T. 11. Fonda. Mrs. E. M. Fairfield. Mrs.
A. N. Ferguson, Miss Elizabeth Ferguson,
Mrs. W. J. Koye. Mrs. E. II. Fetters, Mrs.
Palmer Flndley. Mrs. H. H. Fish. . Mrs.
Thomas A. Fry, Mr. and Mrs. B. Folda,
Miss Mary French, Mrs. Frank Fitzgerald,
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Freemantel. Mrs.
S. V. Fulloway, Mrs. Porter M. Uanelt, Mr.
and Mia. C. C. George. Mrs. E. C. Grifflu
Mrs. J. W. Griffith. M'.ss Lela GullawaJ,
Mrs. Leo Grotte. Mrs. C. W. Hamilton.
Mrs. F. T. Hamilton. Dr. R. It. Holllster,
Mrs. A. B. Hunt, Miss Grace Hancock, Mrs.
G. W. Holdrege. Mrs. K. B. Howell, Mrs.
Charles Harding, Mrs. C. W. Hull, Miss
Hammer, Mrs. G. J. Ingwerson, Mrs. G. A.
Joslyn, Mrs. Earnest Johnson, Mrs. A. F.
Jonas. Mrs. ('. E.' Johannes, Mrs. Saul Katz,
Mr. and Mrs. Koenlg. Mrs. Howard Ken
nedy, Miss Alice Kennurd, Mrs. G. A. Kee-
llne, Mrs. C. Kirchbraun, Mrs. Fred Krug,
Mrs. Myron L. Learned, Mrs. E. V. Lewis,
Mrs. Thomas Lewis. Mr. Sigmund Lands
berg. Mr Louis Lorlng. Mrs. John Latenser,
Major and Mrs. II. N. Lord. Mrs. C. W.
Lyman, Miss Ethel Morse. Miss Edith Mais
den. Mrs. D. E. McCulley, Mrs. J. H. Mc
Shaue, Miss Mury McShaue, Mrs. E. J.
McVatm. Miss Louise Mcl'herson. Mrs.
Charles Metz. Mr. and Mrs. O. E. MeCune,
Mrs. E. Lee McShane, Mrs. F. It. MeCon
nell, Mr. G. W. Manchester,- Mrs. Jerome
Magee. Mrs. T. J. Mahoney, Mrs. Ezra Mil
lard, Miss Juliet MeCune, Mrs. G. W. Me
geath. Mrs. Arthur Metz, Mra. E. W. Nash,
Mrs. Iuls C. Nash, Mrs. William Newton,
Mrs. G. W. Noble, Mrs. M. T. Patrick. Mra.
Geuige E. Palmer. Mis. Walter T, Page,
Mra. W. S. Poppleton, Mrs. E. P. Peck,
Miss Henrietta Rees. Mrs T. L. Rlngwalt.
Mrs A I Ruut, Mr. U. M. Kibble, Mrs.
C. O. Rich, Mr. W. M. Robinson, Mrs. Wil
liam P. Sargent, Mrs. F. It. Straight. Mrs.
John Stary, Miss Helen Stevenson, Mr. G.
Heabert, Mrs. C. B. Smyth, Dr. and Mrs.
II. C. Sumney, Mrs. Wulte 11 Squire; Mra.
W. B. Scannell. Mrs. Charles E. Sumner,
Miss Mary Sumner. Mrs. W. C. Shannon,
Miss Eunice Stebblns, Mrs. C. II. Samson,
Mrs. W. E. Shepard. Mrs. J. W. Towle,
Mis. N. P. I'pdlke. Mis. A. J. Vierling,
Mrs. D. B. Welpton, Mrs. F. D. Wead,
Mrs. 'C. E. Williamson, Mrs. A. It. Weils.
Mrs. C. M. Will, elm. Mrs. Gurdon W. Wat
tles, Mrs. H. P. Whitmore. Mrs. B. T.
White Mrs. C. H. Wright. Mrs. Raymond
M. W elch, Mrs. Henry W. Yates.
MARRIED MOST INTERESTING
Bachelor Men In Comparison
Mere Chirks let Out
uf the Shell.
Are
The interesting and delightful men are
all married, writes Philllppa Lyman In
the Smart Set. I fuund that out years ago,
about the some time I discovered that
none of the eligible men' of my acquaint
ance would ever do as husbands.
It has made me wonder if good husbands
are born and not made, or whether It is
the refining influence of the "other women"
In their lives that has made thorn so ador
able. Very likely that Is It or else they
had good mothers, who began their educa
tion before they were born. Or Is it I
shrink fioin saying It Is It that we women
have become imbued with that same thirst
for the unattainable that from tilnc Im
memorial has been the undoing of men?
Are the good old days, when a husband
and wife had no thought for anyone on
earth but one another, really gme and is
everyone discontented and groaning under
his matrimonial chains and fetters? Is
the real reason why we attract or are at
tracted by other women's husbands that we
are unattainable or forbidden'.' It cannot
be true! There must be something less
petty than the crying of the child for the
moon behind it all.
There are bachelors downtown, loo, many
of them. But somehow, those whom I meet
seem crude and uniformed In comparison
with the "other women's husbands," Im
mature and untactful. Back In my little
country village.' I used to assist the fly
mouth Rock hen with the hatching of he
chicks, picking off little bits of shell from
the round balls of feathers and helping
in my clumsy way that the chick might
get Its bearings. I am alwaya wanting,
figuratively, to poke off a bit of shell here
and there from the bachelors of my ac
quaintance and watch them get their eyes'
open the poor tilings are so blind whera
women are concerned.
A Cruel MMtnke
is to neglect a cold or cough. Dr. King's
New Discovery cures them and prevent
consumption, 50c and $1.00. Sold by Beaton
Drug Co.
WAR AGAINST BLACK LABOR
I n Ion See Dnnuer of Mercantile)
Mariur (.iiinlt to I lie Wall,
It la Snttl.
WELLINGTON, N. '... (Jet. 1. The Sea
man's I'lilon and Merchant Service Guild
have begun a campaign against the P. and
()., becauso it employs black labor, and, it
rs alleged, pay low wages. The unions de
l l.. .. A. ........ At V... Kt.....
Clare meie in a umii r too new ttv
land mercantile marine will go to the wall
In the competition with powerful outsider
companies. Replying to a deputation pro
testing against the P and O. entering tha
New Zealand trade, the premier, while sym
pathizing with the local companies, pointed
out that the question could not be settled
without consulting with the home govern
ment. It was a proper matter for consld
eration by the imperial conference.
Famous Educated Monkp.v
i!
' v .
rOKUUL T1JE GREAT AT THE AMERICAN MUSIC HALL