DON BLANDING
in the Theatre
Young Donald Blanding's introduction to the theatre was more than likely in Lawton, Oklahoma at performances of the Ramsey Opera House and the Air-Dome Theatre on 'C' Street, both owned by Henry Cassin. This back-country impresario was a small man who dressed flamboyantly and wore glittering rings on his stubby fingers - not exactly your typical citizen in this dusty pioneer town. One can imagine a rapt Donald sitting in the audience as a black-faced vaudeville comic shuffled around the stage to "Camptown Races," played by a five-piece orchestra down in the pit. Or perhaps watching the 'American Pavlova,' a local ballerina who had appropriated the famous Russian dancer's name, and performed with her small troupe at the Opera House. The Cassin theatres introduced a touch of culture, albiet of low budget, to an otherwise deprived town. Cassin's own stepdaughter Billie performed in his shows, and later went on to stardom under the name of Joan Crawford. During the hot summers a huge Chautauqua tent was erected and the locals were entertained by passing performers such as John Philip Sousa and His Band, opera star Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, pianist Ignace Paderewski, humorists and Russian folk dancers.
In high school Donald was a membor of the Oratorical Association, and also appeared in the school's theatrical productions, often playing the leading role. He went by the nick-name "Frow-Frow," and in one humorous production appeared as a ballerina, which was photographed and appeared in the high school yearbook.
He also read the Burr MacIntosh magazine, an early theatre arts periodical, and was attracted to the lively illustrations and photographs. The covers especially drew his attention.
In 1913 Donald began attendance at the Art Insitute of Chicago. To make ends meet, he ushered in local theaters and acted as a extra in Grand Opera. He had a deep love for the theater, but had no desire to go on the stage permanently because of the repetitious quality of acting. While working at the opera house he was able to see and hear the operas and study firsthand the techniques of the great actors - Mary Garden, Geraldine Farrar and Elsie Ferguson.
| Blanding: "Oh, how we enjoyed those plays. I ushered for two weeks to see Elsie Ferguson in The Strange Woman. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world...until I saw Mary Garden. In order to see opera I "supered" and was one of the mob in the big scenes. Sometimes I was a beggar in gypsy rags in Carmen, sometimes an Egyptian Priest in Aida, a soldier in Tosca, a student in La Boheme. What fun and glory it was. No opera ever seemed so wonderful when I was all horsed up in soup-and-fish and sitting in a box later. One night as Mary Garden in Tosca swept toward the stage her train swept across my feet as I stood in the wings. I felt that I had been touched by one of the immortal gods." |
Curiously, it would be the theatre which would indirectly steer his life towards the Hawaiian Islands.
Blanding was returning to the states after a short-lived stint in the Canadian Army. It was a chilly December day in 1916, and Donald had taken the railroad down from Quebec, and was switching trains in Kansas City with intentions of continuing onwards to Oklahoma to visit his family. He had some hours to kill before his next train, and decided to randomly jump on a passing trolley. As it trundled down 10th Street, he saw a marquee on the Schubert Theater advertising a matinee showing of The Bird of Paradise starring Miss Olin Field as Luana (not Lenore Ulric as Blanding has often told.) Blanding bought a ticket, and the Hawaiian production made such an impression on Blanding, that legend has it he went straight to a ticket agent on Walnut Street and bought a one-way fare to Hawaii via San Francisco on the Union Pacific Railroad. The trip cost Donald $90, most of his mustering-out pay from the Canadian Army. He quickly phoned home to let his family know about his spontaneous decision. One can wonder if they reacted with surprise, or had become accustomed to Donald's mercurial movements.
This voyage to the Hawaiian Islands is described in detail by Blanding in his autobiographical book Hula Moons. Twenty-one year old Donald had the good fortune to meet Will Lewers on the steamer, and they struck up a friendship. Will was to be Donald's tour guide to the islands - and his mentor as well - obtaining a job for him at the local newspaper, and introducing him to the Honolulu theatrical groups.
Will Lewers was the son of Robert Lewers, a wealthy building supplies merchant in Honolulu. Will was a professional actor, and had been involved in early opera in the islands, but had left Hawaii in 1897 to seek fame and fortune on the mainland. He appeared in many productions in New York City and abroad, and starred with such notibles as Maude Adams and Julia Marlowe. Around 1915 he returned to Hawaii to work with his father in the family business.
Don Blanding (center) in the 1922 production of
"The Commuters"
Along with several others, Lewers helped found the 'Footlights Club,' a semi-professional theatrical group which performed at various venues. One of the members of the 'Footlights' group was Fanny Heaslip Lea, who acted in and wrote a few plays for the troupe. She was marrried to Hamilton Pope Agee, and was a well-known author in her own right, publishing dozens of books and magazine stories. Also acting in the plays was Leslie Young Correthers, a young schoolteacher, who would join the army with Donald in 1917. The supporting casts of these productions read like a Who's Who from Honolulu Society: Mrs. Walter F. Dillingham, Mrs. James R. Judd, Mrs. Walter Frear, Mrs. Alfred Castle. Blanding was also a member of the Lanai Players.
In the mid-twenties Blanding began writing and directing his own productions, usually for charitable organizations such as the Junior League, the Rotary Club, the Lions, Elks and the W.C.T.U. of Honolulu. Blanding collaborated with an up-and-coming musician named R. Alex Anderson, and together they penned some music which would launch Andersons career in the Honolulu music scene.
to be continued...
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