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20 DRAMATIC THEMES New Bills at the Playhouses of . the City. Review of the Past -amid Promise 1 of the -Future. . •■;• "Trilby" is upon us, and there is no foretelling what new and terrible form the "Trilby" craze will assume during the coming week. The most ominous feature of the case is that San Francisco is nothing if not original, and it would be considered a blot on her escutcheon to rest satisfied •with the outward and visible manifesta tions of Trilbyism which have been in vented and patented in the East. At present there do not seem any new Triibyisms left to invent, that can be practiced with safety outside an asylum, but the coming week will put local origi nality to the test. If the play catches on, as it has done elsewhere, Trilbymania may be expected to rise to an acute stage, and Taffy, Little Billie and the Laird. observations taken in the East have shown that when this is the case it always breaks out in new and unexpected places. The de velopment of the coming week may, the re fore, be awaited with interest, not untinged with anxiety. An exceptionally good performance was that given Of "Diplomacy," at the Colum bia Theater last week. The leading parts, particularly those of Beach and Pdchraan, were in rhe hands of actors who made them artistic pictures, and even the minor characters were finished studies. The propertyman made the performance of "Diplomacy" remarkable by some rather clever compromises, which showed that he desired to give the French coloring and at the same time did not intend to lose his hold on local interest. For instance, in the English embassy in Paris the newspaper which the xmhappy j husband snatched up in his despair and i affected to read in the lull glare of the footlights was unmistakably a French journal, for the people in the stalls could j read the type of that politest of languages, though they were a little staggered to see tnat the British diplomat was consoling one of the most trying moments of his life by studying Le Franco-Californien. Perhaps j the propertyman wished to convey the j impression that if Dora'a conduct forced | her husband to fly to happier climes he could not do better than turn his steps to California. It was a patriotic inspiration, too, to « THROW UP YOUR HANDS 1 "-&KAJSD OPJIRA-HO USE. decorate the Parisian office of her Britannic i Majesty with three large and handsome j maps of the United States. Great rareties ! they must have been considered in Paris, | too, for everyone who is familiar with that giddy capital knows tliat the outside world j cuts very little figure in its geographies, j You can buy "France in Provinces," j "France in Departments," "France With j Railroads" — canals, mountains, hedges and ditches— if you choose, but anything I outside of France is always represented as of microscopic dimensions, scarcely visible to the naked eye. Such little touches of local coloring apart, the staging of "Diplomacy" was fin ished and handsome, as is always the case at the Columbia Theater. Milton Nobles' drama, "Love and Law," is full of thrilling incidents and the inter est never flags. Mr. Nobles took the lead ing part at the Grand last week with ease and naturalness; he also took all the best | points for himself and left the other char acters without a solitary joke among them. ! One forgave him, however, be acted so well. Charles Swain, as a Dutch policeman, cut but a sorry figure, and yet as an Irish man he has more than once been the pride of the force. Even his love-making was brief last week and his attention to his du ties was so great that he was almost in time to secure the burclar. Les lie made the mildest and gentlest of burglars. It was well for him that he had an opportunity of becoming honest, for he would never have made his salt at burgling in these days of competition. Edmund Hayes, on the other hand, was a villain of almost too deep a dye. Coulter Brinker, usually so much at home in his parts, seemed ill at ease in the disguise of a wealthy man of noble birth. A life of freedom and action is evidently more to his taste than the part of the walking gentleman. Miss Hall looked well as an Italian girl, though it was a mystery why she should possess the complexion and general make up of a coral-seller at Capri when her parents were English and she was born in London. Miss Thrupp fairly brought the house down with her dancing and singing, and tue audiences contributed tneir share to the performances by enlivening them with plenty of applause. There was a full programme at the Orpheum last week, and every item, old and new, was good in its way. Among the novelties was the poolroom of Haines and Pettigill, where you are "robbed while you wait" and shot several times before you can get out. McMahon and King gave some truly wonderful specimens of plantation danc ing, especially the lady, whose gyrations, if not very graceful, were so rapid and daz zling as to make the beholder feel that the whole room was going round. Hines and Remington, although new comers, might be classed among the novelties as their rep resentation of the "Pawn Shop" was en tirely different from their former sketch. Dryden and Mitchell introduced a novelty, to wit: A little dog, which one of them sold to the other for $50, and then basely stole back again. The audience was as en thusiastic as ever over the clever Weston and Hubert musical item. There has always been a poetic license about Italian opera which in these days of sordid realism is positively refreshing. THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 3895. | As long ago as 1700 and 1711, when opera j was a new fad in London, the critics U3ed ! to lash themselves into a state of fury , over its incongruities; and in spite of it :' all Italian opera has flourished and its in | congruities have flourished with it, even i unto the present day. Here are a few remarks thrown off by Addisos in 1711. No one can deny that except for a few unimportant details they might have been written about the touching love scenes between Miss Ida Valerga and Martin Pache in "Ernani" at the Tivoli: "The king or hero of the \>iece generally spoke in Italian and his slaves answered him in English. The lover fre quently made his court and gained the heart of his princess in a language which she did not understand. "KUSiiDAU" AT GEOVEB'S ALCAZAiv-lHh GYPSY CAMP. One would have thought it very difficult to have carried on dialogues after this man ner without an interpreter between the persons that' conversed together, but this was the state of the English stage." Is it a digression to mention "The Bo hemian Girl" when one is on the subject of Italian opera?. The work has been played successfully in Italian under the name of "La Zingara," though the Tivoli company mean this week to give it to us in English, "free from all adulteration." For the last year and a half sensational paragraphs have cropped up periodically about the writer of this work — '"Balfe in a poorhouse," "The composer of the 'Bo hemian Girl' penniless," etc. The paracraphists really ought to have learned by this time that twenty-five years ago Michael William Balfe went where there are no poorhouses, and where pen nies do not pass current. A Balfe of the second generation has been passing through the hnancial crisis. Michael William died in peace and prosperity twenty-five years ago, and the beautiful tablet to his memory in Westminster Abbey bears these appro priate words, which Pache will sing to morrow in the "Bohemian Girl": There may perhaps In such a scene Somerecolloction be Of days that onco have happy been, Then you'll remember me. But he never expected to be remembered and placed in a poorhouse twenty-five years after his decease. "It takes a wise man to make a fool" is a saying that some of the performers at Grover'B Alcazar might have applied to themselves with inward satisfaction last week. The utter absurdity of the dialogue and situations in "Chip of tne Old Block" made the whole thing depend upon the cleverness and wit of the actors, and Miss Plaisted, Mrs. Fanny Young and Misses Scott and Lothian held up the four corners admirably. Fanny Warren and Francis Powers were also quite equal to the oc casion. The one-sided love-making of Major and Jerusha was one of the best bits, and the bachelor menage, where the old salt hung his dough on the clothes-line, was received with rounds of applause. In the midst of this comedy run wild, the little pathetic duet between Mage and Pixey was quite touching. Mage's part was only dumb show, but it was just as telliner. The dancing was another feature in this b right and frothy entertainment. Tho Baldwin Theater. Paul M. Potter's dramatization of Dv Maurier's much read novel "Trilby," interpreted by A. M. Palmer's organiza tion, will be presented for the first time on the Pacific Coast at the Baldwin to-morrow evening. So many compliments have been paid by the Eastern journals to this pro duction, and especially to Lackaye for his portrayal of the hypnotizing Svengali, that considerable curiosity has been felt by the theater-going public in the advent of the pi ay. It is said that when Potter first suggested dramatizing "Trilby," his idea was con sidered an impossible one, but he succeeded in making his work a success by taking the hypnotic element and weaving the play about that, preserving as intact as possible the Dv Maurier sketches of characters, and infusing the Quartier Latin atmosphere into the play. "Trilby" has been running for months in New York City, where it is still in the height of popularity. In Chicago the production was equally successful, and the organization that opens at the Baldwin to morrow Bight might still have been in the Windy City had it not been for previous bookings. This organization is one of the strongest that have been brought together to present the piece, indeed Wilton Lack aye's interpretation of Svengali was one of the main features of "Trilby" in the East; E<lith Crane has also proved one of tl;e most successful of the many Trilbys who Miss Crane as La Svengrali. have deluged the stage lately. The cast of characters will be as follows: Taffy Charles H. Rtegel The Latrd Charles Canflsld Little Blllie Brenton Thorpe Svengall Wilton Lackaye Gecko E. W. Morriabn Zou Zou Ignace Martinettl Dodor E. llomayne Simmons Antony Victor M. d<> Silke Lori iuit Edwin Brandt Key. Thomas Bagot .William Herbert Manager Kaw Frederick A. Thomson Phil i}>pe Morel Beane Trilby Miss Edit h Crane Mrs. Bagot Miss Rosa Rand Mme. Vinard Miss Jenny Reifferth Angele Miss Evans llonorine.... Miss Lucille Nelson Mimi Miss Monta Elmo Musette Miss Josephine Bennett Pauline Hall and her company give their final performance of "Dorcas" at the Baldwin Theater to-nif ht. They will re turn to San Francisco early next* season to present a new opera. , Columbia Theater. The farewell week of the Stockwell play ers opens at the Columbia Theater to-mor row night with Pinero's screaming comedy "The Magistrate." Margaret Craven goes East with the Stockwell Company, and will therefore not appear again in San Francisco for some time to come. "The Magistrate" will also be the vehicle for the farewell performances of Rose Coghlan, Henry E. Dixey, William E. Beach, Maud Winter and L. R. Stockwell. Several benefit performances have been arranged for this week. The opening night will be devoted to the San Francisco Nursery for Homeless Children. On Thursday the California Associated Cy cling Clubs will attend in a body. The Bostonians open at the Columbia Theater to-morrow week with "Robin Hood." The production to follow is "Prince Ananias," an opera written by Victor Herbert, the leader of Gilmore's band. Its music is described a^ bright and sparkling, and the plot is said to be an ef fective one. The story relates the adven tures of the King of Navarre, who has never smiled, and whose austerity goes to the length of lining any of his subjects who indulge in that levity. The court of this austere monarch is invaded by a band of adventurers, consisting of an outlaw, a vagabond poet and some strolling players. The situations in the opera are based on what befalls them at the palace. Among the singers who will appear dur ing the present engagement are: Henry Clay Barnabee, William H. McDonald, Jessie Bartlett Davis, Helen Bertram, Eu gene Cowles, George Frothingham, Harold Blake, Frank V. Pollock, Jerome Sykes, Elizabeth Bell, Leonora Gnito, Cora Barna bee, Peter Lang, C. E. Landis and Joseph ine Bartlett. On the opening night of the Bostonians there will be a new drop curtain at the Columbia Theater, representing a scene in the Yosemite. Grand Opera-Honae. The second week of the Milton Nobles season at the Grand will open to-morrow evening with "From Sire to Son," or "In the Shadow of Shasta." This is perhaps the best piece of the Nobles repertoire. It is a California story, written by a man who is thoroughly acquainted with his subject, and it possesses a good many of the touches of nature which have made Bret Harte's Western stories so popular. The entire action of "In the Shadow of Shasta" is not confined to this State. In the third act a tour of Europe is begun, which starts in Venice and ends with the fourth act in Germany, the thread of the story being continued meanwhile without interruption. Three new sets of scenery have been painted for the production. They consist of a fine view of Shasta, an effective Ven etian scene and an old castle on the Rhine. A stagecoach, drawn by a team of thor oughbreds, will be one of the features of the California scene. The cast will be as follows: Alfred Armitage, under the assumed name of John Oakley Milton Nobles Mabel Armitage, wife of Alfred, . ■".':■ known as Mabel Oakley. — Ufanrt irHn.Ti.ii Mabel Arraltage, daughter of f Maua EanaHaU Alfred and Mabel J Mrs. Amanda Stockup, proprietress of Yuba . Hotel Julia Blanc Aurelia Stockup, her daughter . . .Florence Thropp Mrs. Waldaur, wife of Waldaur..' Sarah Stevens Anna, a mail to Mabel. Josephine Davis Dr. Marmaduke Mandrake.. .. ..Frank Hatch Hamilton Mandrake, his son, attorney-at law. H. Coulter Bnnker Peter Grimes, postmaster and express agent at Yuba Charles W. Swain Jonas Hardy, apambler Kdmond Hayes Job Cadwalder, Sheriff of Yuba County. Cal. Fred J. Butler August Waldaur J. Harry Benrimo Abe Isaacs ■ Frank JN'euman "Bud" Me Klnstry George Nichols Parsons, servant to Waldaur William Henri Bill Yocum, driver of Red Dog stage .Sam Cole Miners, Drivers, Vigilantes, etc. At the Alcazar. To-morrow evening will inaugurate the first performance of a romantic drama, under the new management at Grover's Alcazar. The play selected is "Rosedale," which has always been a favorite in San Francisco. New scenery is being prepared for this play, which lends itself particularly well to scenic effect. Some novel displays of colored light will be introduced into the gypsy camp scene, and careful attention will bo paid to all the ballroom acces sories. In the cast of "Rosedale" Leonard Grover Jr. will appear as Bun burry Cobb, a part with which he has already heen successfully identified. Hereward Hoyte has been selected for the role of Elliot Gray; Miss Jennie Kennark, tbe leading lady of the company, will take the part of Florence May, and Miss May Noble will be the Rosa Leigh. The balance of the cast will include Francis Powers, Charles E. Lothian, Mrs. Fanny Young, Miss Lillian Clayes and Miss Ida Park. Tivoli Opera-Houae. The Tivoli company will desert grand opera for this week and give its attention instead to opera of the ballad variety by representing Baife's ever-popular "Bohe mian Girl." In this production the full strength of the regular Tivoli company will be util ized. The role of Ariine, which has been a favorite with so many prima donnas, will be alternately sung by Laura Millard and Alice Neilson. Mabella Baker will sing the Gypsy Queen; Martin Pache, Thaddeus; John J. Raffael, Count Arn heim; W. H. West, Devilshoof, and Arthur Mesmer, Florentine. All these artists have before played the sbine parts throughout the East and in the West with success. Presentable scenery, correct cos tumes, appropriate accessories, and a care fully trained chorus and orchestra will tend to make the production as perfect as possible. On Monday evening, October 7, Verdi's opera "La Traviata" will be sung, with Mile. Ida Valerga in the role of Violetta and Martin Pache as Alfredo. As most people are aware the plot is founded upon Dumas' story "La Dame aux Camellias," and the title-role affords excellent acting as well as singing opportunities to the prima donna. California Theater. The California Theater will open its sea son on November 4 -with the presentation of "Charley's Aunt." This play has been unusually successful, both in America and Europe, and during its engagement at the Baldwin last season it drew large audi ences for three weeks. ."Charley's Aunt" will only remain a short time at the California. Following it will be Jacob Little's melodrama, "The War of Wealth." At the Orpheum. The Orpheum's programme for this week will include three "star" features, all imported from Europe, the special stel lar attraction being the Sisters Millar, who are well known on the other side of the Atlantic. They are said to be pretty serio comic*, dancers and instrumentalists. John lliggins, one of the new perform ers, is advertised as the champion long distance and trick jumper of the world. He holds the championship of the world in a standing hop, two strides and a jump, covering the distance of fifty feet. This remarkable gentleman can jump into a basket of eggs without breaking a single one, and he can clear two horses 16)^ hands high, standing siae by side, in a standing leap. His act is considered the greatest athletic novelty that has yet been introduced to Orpheum audiences. Louis Fialkowski, ''The Universal Man," imitates' birds and animals in a manner that has won him great distinction in Mos cow, the town from which ne comes, as well as in other parts of Europe. In addi tion to the above new performers a num ber of last week's favorites will be retained on the programme. Frau Klafsky's Arrival. The New York Herald says: The un announced and unexpected arrival in New York of Frau Klafsky, who is to be the principal dramatic soprano of Walter Damrosch's Opera Company next season, has a story back of it, of course. Frau Klafsky will have nothing to do for two months to come, and she is here in defi ance of the contract rights of Mr. Pollini, her manager at the Municipal Theater of Hamburg. Her departure from Germany W. H. MoDONALD OF THE BOSTONIANS. was secretly made, and in all probability to prevent legal interference with the pro jected American visit. It seems that she could not agree with Mr. Pollini on the division of the money which she expects to make here, and so took French leave of him. Since he is a member of the German Society of Managers, whose principal pur pose is to punish singers who break their contracts, it seems more than likely that Frau Klafsky's European career is at an end, unless she shall be willing to pay the very stiff penalty which will be assessed against her, and buy her way back into the good graces of Mr. Pollini and his col leagues. She says he wanted half of all her American earnings, and the statement will seem plausible enough to those who know the Hamburg manager. Dramatic Xews in Brief. The Tavary Opera Company last week opened the beautiful new Montauk Thea ter in Brooklyn, N. Y. The Bostonians have changed the title of The Sisters Millar at the Orpheum. their new comic opera, "Mexico, " to "A War-time Wedding." Sims Reeves, the celebrated English tenor, was remarried last week after a brief period of mourning for his former wife. Mr. Reeves is 73 years of age. Minnie Palmer's new musical comedy, "The School Girl," written for her by Messrs. Manchester ana Maurice, was received with particular favor at Cardiff on its first presentation. Sarah Bernhardt intends to appear in THB " OLD MILLDAM. A COPY OF JOSEPH. JBPFBBSON'B LATEST Oil. PAINTING. [From the Monthly Illustrator,] the title role of a new play by Mme. Judltfr Gautier, entitled "Princess Victorieuse/* treating of an episode of the conquest v$ Annam by the French. Rose Coghlan will go to England on th« close of her engagement with the StockA well stock company. Her husband, John T. Sullivan, will remain in America to fill his engagement with "In Sight of 8t» Paul's/ 1 The London Referee says of the produo tion of "Alabama" at the GarrickTheateri It is a wholesome breezy play, bringing the scent of the magnolia over the footlights and ahoundine in those touches of tru« humanity and real pathos which occasion ally extract the tributary tear. It is worth noting that "The Widow Jones," the title of McNally's play for May Irwin, is the name of an imaginary charac ter in "The Love Chase," of whom the heroine, Constance, is made jealous. M. Baduel, the new manager of the Porte St. Martin, will inaugurate his season at that house early in October with a produc tion of Paul Deroulede's versified drama, " Messire Dueuesclin," in which M. Coquelin will play the principal role. The house was not half full on Irving'f^ opening night in Montreal because the speculators had bought the best seats and Montreal people refused to buy if them, although the speculators hawked tirst-clasi seats about the sidewalk at half prices* Irving did not like the empty seats and re« fused to make a speech. "The Widow Jones," says the New York Herald, "is indeed no play at all. It ia all by-play and not of the most edifying kind" unless Miss May Irwin is on the stage. She and her song, 'The New Bully,' have become as popular here aa anybody in town." An Actor Who Paints. Joseph Jefferson is a gifted artist with the brush, as well as on the stage. The current number of the Monthly Illustratoi contains reproductions of some of Mr. Jefferson's best efforts. The subjects are sylvan and are handled with the gentle grace that would be expected of the genial impersonator of dear old Rip Van Winkle. Found Unconscious. Herman Kruss, the driver of a milk wagon, was found in an unconscious condition on the sidewalk, at Pine street and Van Ness avenue, yesterday morning. He was taken to the Re ceiving Hospital, where Dr. Werl expressed the opinion that he was suffering from opium poisoning and the necessary remedies were applied. Wnen Kruss regained consciousnesi he denied having swallowed opium, but could not account for his lapse into unconsciousness. He lives with his parents at 622 Lombard street. Whist Club Opening. Owing to the slowness of the work oo the Bohemian Clnb building, the opening of the Trist Duplicate Whist Club cannot take place Tuesday evening. The club will not open for a few days yet, and then due notice will be given of the opening.