“Al mio collaboratore e amico Sig. David Belasco: greato ricordo
Giacomo Puccini”
VIEWS OF THE FRENCH DRAMATISTS.
Belasco, in his “Story,” gives some account of the attitude of the French authors toward his adaptation of their play, to which, undoubtedly, they were indebted for profit and reputation they would not otherwise have obtained:
“During the summer of 1900 we took ’Zaza’ to London. Before opening there I went to Paris to visit the authors, Berton and Simon. They had been paid large sums for the American rights of ’Zaza,’ and as the success of ’Zaza’ in America led to its revival in Paris their profits were enormous. Naturally, I was a welcome guest and my weekend visit was very agreeable, as it was made to the accompaniment of a song of praise—of superlative gratitude. What I had accomplished was remarkable! Superb! There was no other man, etc., etc. In the meanwhile I was wondering what they would say when they saw the manuscript of ’Zaza.’ They came to London for the first night, preceded by a huge hamper of flowers for Mrs. Carter. The opening was a brilliant function. The late King Edward, then Prince of Wales, was present; also King George, then Duke of York. I remember the military bearing of Clement Scott in his scarlet-lined coat, and the rough and ready appearance of Bernard Shaw, in his soft shirt and crush hat. What the latter thought of Mrs. Carter found its caustic way into the columns of ’The Saturday Review’; what the audience thought was told by the growing enthusiasm as the play progressed; what Berton and Simon thought was shown by a certain coolness in their attitude toward me. Their enthusiasm died a natural death after the Second Act, and the more demonstrative the audience the less pleased were they. At the close of the Third Act they left the house, telling me in heated terms that I had ruined their climax and it was not their play at all. Curiously enough, they did not see the humor of the situation. My version made their fortune because it made the woman possible to an English-speaking audience. The authors were in the odd position of quarreling with their bread and butter (an unusual situation for playwrights). They grew angrier and angrier as the play gained favor with the public, and their royalties were increased week after week. Those were strenuous days. However, they calmed down, and in the course of time Monsieur Berton asked me to forget the letter of denunciation he wrote to me from Paris.”
“WITH SPEED FOR ENGLAND.”—ANOTHER SUCCESS IN LONDON.
The success which Belasco had gained with “Madame Butterfly” in New York was so great that, had he chosen to do so, he could have successfully prolonged his season there, at the Herald Square Theatre, throughout the summer of 1900. But his plans for producing “Zaza” in London were complete and he was bound “with speed for England”; he determined, therefore, to carry his little Japanese tragedy with him, having it in mind to show theatre-goers in the British capital, simultaneously, two vividly contrasted specimens of his theatrical resource and power. At first, he was disposed to transport the company, headed by Blanche Bates, as well as the production,—that is, the scenery, dresses, “properties” and effects. But when he sought to do this it proved to be impracticable: the only arrangement that he found it feasible to make was one with his partner in the “Zaza” venture, Charles Frohman, who, at the time, was successfully presenting, at the Duke of York’s Theatre, London, Jerome K. Jerome’s comedy of “Miss Hobbs.” With Frohman, accordingly, Belasco arranged to bring forward “Madame Butterfly” as an “afterpiece” to “Miss Hobbs,”—and as it was manifestly injudicious unnecessarily to maintain two stars at one and the same theatre, Belasco decided (to the lively disgust of Miss Bates) to cast the player of Miss Hobbs, Miss Evelyn Millard, at that time a popular favorite in London, for Madame Butterfly, depending on himself to train and guide her through the performance of that part. This self-confidence was fully justified,—the little tragedy being received with profound admiration both by the press and the public. It was acted at the Duke of York’s, April 28, with this cast:
| Cho-Cho-San (Madame Butterfly) | Evelyn Millard. |
| Mr. Sharpless | Claude Gillingwater. |
| Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton | Allan Aynesworth. |
| Yamadori | William H. Day. |
| Nakado | J. C. Buckstone. |
| Suzuki | Susie Vaughan. |
| Kate, Mrs. Pinkerton | Janet Evelyn Sothern. |