CHRISTIE MACDONALD
[Illustration: Copyright, 1896, by Aime Dupont, N. Y.
CHRISTIE MACDONALD.]
After eight years of soubrette experience Christie MacDonald
unexpectedly came into prima donnaship in February, 1900. A light opera
called "The Princess Chic," book by Kirke LaShelle and music by Julian
Edwards, had been living a quiet life at the Columbia Theatre, Boston,
for several weeks. For some reason or other it did not seem to go just
as it should. It was a good opera at that--much better than the average.
Mr. LaShelle's book told a story with a genuine dramatic climax, and Mr.
Edwards's music was charming,--simple but melodious. There was action
enough apparently, but the performance dragged. It lacked snap and
vigor.
The prima donna role in this opera was one of great difficulty. It
demanded an actress as well as a singer,--a woman who could be
swaggering, audacious, and masculinely incisive as the Princess,
masquerading as her own envoy, timid, modest, and shrinkingly feminine
as the make-believe peasant girl, and finally queenly and royal as the
Princess in her proper person. The plot of "The Princess Chic," by the
way, paralleled history in a curious manner, and the story of how it was
written was told me by Mr. LaShelle:--
"To begin with," said he, "'The Princess Chic' was not taken from the
French, though there was a French vaudeville with the same title. I got
the idea of the opera fixed in my mind after seeing Henry Irving play
'Louis XI.' during one of his visits to this country. You remember in
that drama where the envoy from the Duke of Burgundy and his clanking
guard march into Louis's presence. The envoy throws his mailed gauntlet
at Louis's feet and exclaims, 'That is the answer of Charles the Bold!'
or words to that effect, at any rate.
"That kindled my admiration for Charles the Bold, and I have been
admiring him ever since. Consequently when I wanted a comic opera and
couldn't get any one to write it for me, I said to myself, 'Here's a
chance for Charles the Bold.' I forthwith started in on what is now the
second act of 'The Princess Chic,' and wrote backward and forward.
"Now comes the odd part of the whole business. I had to have a woman for
my opera, so I invented the Princess Chic. I had to have a plot,--I'm a
bit old-fashioned, I know,--so I invented the intrigue of Louis XI.
plotting to cause a revolt among the subjects of the Duke of Burgundy. I
seemed to be getting along first-rate when it occurred to me that it
wouldn't do any harm to delve a bit into history. So I delved.
"You can imagine my astonishment when I found that I had unwittingly
been duplicating to a startling extent historical fact. I discovered
that there actually had been a Princess Chic. I learned that Louis XI.
had thought to cause trouble in Charles's domain, and by this means to
open a way for the seizure of that province for France. The Duke's bold
move in arresting the King and holding him captive until the King agreed
to a treaty that suited Charles was new to me, however, and I grabbed it
quick.
"Now you have the whole story of 'The Princess Chic.' Somebody has
accused me of coquetting with history. I deny all coquetry. 'The
Princess Chic' is to all intents and purposes genuine history, much
nearer fact than many a historical drama that makes more pretences of
sticking closely to the truth."
However, history or no history, the opera did not act as it should, and
Mr. LaShelle decided to try what the effect of a new prima donna would
be. He wanted Camille D'Arville, but she was not available; and by some
marvellous stroke of good fortune he hit upon Christie MacDonald. How he
happened to do it is a mystery. Christie MacDonald was, of course, well
known as a very amiable little lady with a decided fancy for short
skirts and for frisky and vivacious characters, that sang prettily and
danced nimbly. Never for a moment had she been associated with the
dignified prima donna. Nor had she ever been guilty of seriousness.
Moreover, if the whole truth were to be told, her voice--though sweet,
delicate, musical, and skilfully controlled--was by no means strong.
Decidedly Christie MacDonald had other things besides a voice to make
her attractive. There was her personality, magnetically feminine, her
temperament, so sunshiny and happy, and her face, not exactly pretty,
but immensely attractive when fun lighted it up with smiles.
Therefore Christie MacDonald's Princess Chic came as a great surprise.
At first, she was apparently feeling her way in the role. She was, in
fact, a model of discretion, but save in one particular her acting
lacked force and conviction. As the peasant girl, in this three-sided
impersonation, she was from the first exquisite. Never was the subtle
attack of a modest maiden upon a susceptible man's heart more daintily
or more fascinatingly exhibited. Under every circumstance Miss MacDonald
was simple and straightforward in her methods, and absolutely free from
affectation and self-consciousness. How thoroughly delightful that is!
Singers, in particular, are the victims of conventional mannerisms,
smiles that are meaningless and as a result expressionless, curious
contortions with the eyes, and strange movements of the hands. How much
they would gain by mastering the difficult art of artistically doing
nothing!
With so much that was good in evidence during her earliest presentations
of the Princess Chic, with her faults those of omission rather than
commission, it was only natural that Miss MacDonald should improve
greatly as she became thoroughly familiar with the requirements of the
part, and as she gained experience in acting it. Especially did she seem
to catch the spirit of the Princess Chic masquerading as the handsome
young envoy. She developed a most entrancing swagger and the most
captivating nonchalance. Her voice, too, which at first seemed almost
too light for Mr. Edwards's trying music, was heard to a much better
advantage later; and in spite of its want of volume, it had a strange
insistency, a peculiar penetrating quality, which enabled it to balance
admirably the full chorus in the ensemble climaxes.
Before she adopted the stage professionally, Christie MacDonald gained a
little experience by taking small parts in several summer "snap"
companies in her home city of Boston. Her parents were not altogether
pleased at her theatrical aspirations, and even after she had been
enrolled in 1892 as a member of Pauline Hall's company, she was
persuaded to give up the engagement in deference to their wishes. Just
at this critical point in her career, however, she chanced to meet
Francis Wilson, who had "The Lion Tamer" in rehearsal. He heard her sing
and liked her voice so well that he offered her a place in his company.
The temptation was too strong to be resisted, and Miss MacDonald
established herself under the Wilson banner. At first she was given only
a small part in "The Lion Tamer," and at the same time understudied Lulu
Glaser in both "The Lion Tamer" and "The Merry Monarch." The next season
she played Marie, the peasant girl, in "Erminie," and during Miss
Glaser's illness, Javotte. When "The Devil's Deputy" was brought out
for the season of 1894-95, she created the role of Bob, the valet. She
was a capital Mrs. Griggs in the pretty Sullivan opera, "The Chieftain,"
her singing of the topical song, "I Think there is Something in That,"
being especially popular. During the summer of 1896 she appeared in
Boston in "The Sphinx," making a pleasing impression as Shafra. The
following fall found her again with the Francis Wilson forces, playing
Lucinde in "Half a King." That summer she filled another engagement in
Boston as the Japanese maiden Woo Me, in the not-too-successful opera,
"The Walking Delegate." It was a dainty part and charmingly done.
The next season Miss MacDonald was engaged by Klaw and Erlanger for the
Sousa opera, "The Bride Elect," with which she remained two seasons, and
this was followed by her appearance in "The Princess Chic."