Charles Frohman: Manager and ManMarcosson, Isaac Frederick
General
Charles Frohman: Manager and Man
Marcosson, Isaac Frederick
Frohman, Charles, 1860-1915; Theater -- United States
"Forget it. Don't let's revive the past. Let's get busy and pulverize
the future."
* * *
To the average mind the extent of Frohman's London productions is
amazing. When the simple fact is stated that he made one hundred and
twenty-five of these, one obtains at a glance the immense scope of the
man's operations there. Many of them stand out brilliantly. Early among
them was the Frohman-Belasco presentation of Mrs. Leslie Carter in two
of her greatest successes at the Garrick Theater.
The first was "The Heart of Maryland." It was during this engagement
that Charles bought the English rights to "Zaza," then a sensational
success in Paris. It was his original intention to star Julia Marlowe in
this play. When Belasco heard of the play he immediately saw it was an
ideal vehicle for Mrs. Carter, and Frohman generously turned it over to
him. After its great triumph in the United States, Frohman and Belasco
produced "Zaza" in London.
It was a huge success and made the kind of sensation in which Frohman
delighted. There was much question as to its propriety, so much so that
the Lord Chamberlain himself, who supervised the censorship, came and
witnessed the performance. He made no objection, however.
An amusing incident, which shows the extraordinary devotion of Charles
Frohman's friends, occurred on the first night. While attending the
rehearsals at the Garrick, Frohman caught cold and went to bed with a
slight attack of pneumonia. On the inaugural night he lay bedridden. He
was so eager for news of the play that he said to Dillingham:
"Send me all the news you can."
Dillingham organized a bicycle service, and every fifteen minutes sent
encouraging and cheering bulletins to Frohman, who was so elated that he
was able to emerge from bed the next morning a well man.
Now the interesting thing about this episode is that Dillingham
fabricated most of the messages, because, until the end of the play and
for several days thereafter, its success was very much in doubt. Indeed,
it took more than a week for it to "catch on."
Charles followed up "Zaza" with a superb production of "Madame
Butterfly," in which he used Belasco's beautiful equipment. This
production put the artistic seal on Frohman's achievement as a London
manager. Up to this time there were some who believed that, despite the
lavishness of his policy, there was the germ of the commercial in him.
"Madame Butterfly" removed this, but if there had been any doubt
remaining, it would have been wiped out by his exquisite presentation of
"The First Born." Associated with this play is a story that shows
Frohman's dogged determination and resource.
Belasco had made the production of "The First Born" in America in lavish
fashion. He brought to it all his love and knowledge of Chinese art.
[Illustration: _EDNA MAY_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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