Newspaper Page Text
Saturday, January 18, 1913
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Two Nights
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SO HERALD
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MISS VIRGINIA FELTZ
A World of Happy Comedy Milwaukee Free Press.
A Feast of Laughter Minneapolis Herald.
I Laughed Even After I WenljTo Bed Allan Dale.
Cast and Production
NIGHT,
MATINEE,
IBM! Ill M I 'ii'iii' fffililMiYMTilfWIrtrW" '
"Joseph and
Pafereant
New York Views Another
Spectacular Plav in "A
Good Little Devil."
(Br Emory B. Calvert.)
New York. K. Y., Jan. IS. There
seems to be no abatement in the activ
ity of the New York play producers.
bile the mournful word is passed up
and aown Broadway that things have
.jne to smash "on the road." and the
jresh contingent of idle actors and
actresses which arrives almost daily
lrom outside points seem to confirm
the report, the local theatrical mill
prmds merrily on. And there have
been several goodly grists brought to
that mill during the -week Just passed.
A
The most notaDie productoin was,
doubtless, "Joseph and His Brethren,"
at lie Century theater. This produc
tion has been hailed out not only as a
magnificent pageant, but a drama of
great merit. Another great play of
the spectacular, at least of the ultra
scenic order, was "A Good Little Dev
iL" produced at the Republic by David
Eelasco.
Both of these plays will, doubtless,
take rank with the big hits of the sea
son. One of the most important
things In their favor was the favorable
auspices under which they were
launched. They came along a a time
when the theater goers were bordering
on a state of nausea through having
had dished up to them unsavory messes
of the underworld in the more than nu
merous and excessively various crook
mamas. The two plays mentioned were
swept in on the high tide of reaction,
j.nd while they would have succeeded
inder anv circumstances, there is
nothing like a booming start, even for
an inherent winner.
-The Tragedy of Nan." Here is in
deed a tragedy. When John Masefield
-vrote "Nan." he seemed to have for
gotten thai there is such a thing as a
"mile in the world. Nan's father was
inged and slip puts a period of her
own earthly career by committing a
murder and then taking her own life,
"t is not a cheerful play.
The play was produced at the Lyceum
.,.,. Monday afternoon by the Stage
Society of New York, and afforded
julte a pleasant an1 tearful afternoon
tnr- the woiii.n
The iJ"a is that Nans father had been
fiSERLE H. NORTON Announces
Rida Johnson Young's New York Comedy Success
ONE WHOIlE YEAR
IX ONE THEATER
IX NEWJCOIIK.
SIX MOXTIIS IX CHICAGO
SIX MONTHS IX" BOSTON-
DON'T MISS
THIS OXE IF
YOU LIKE TO
L.VUGH
Direct From New York.
$1.50, $1.00. 75c, 50c
$1.00, 75c, 50c
His Brethern"
and Drama of
A the top Is Pauline Frederick, vrho fc playing In "Joseph and HlsBreth
ren" at the Century. At the too on the right Is Viola Dane, who Is playing In
"A Poor Little Rich Girl" at the Hndson theater.
At the bottom on the left are Robert Edeson and LoIIta Robertson in
'Fine Feathers'' at the Artor. At the bo ttom on the left is Miss Alice Gentle,
who Is starring In "All for the Ladles" at the Lyric
convicted of stealing a sheep and had
been hung for it. Nan was living with
her uncle and aunt. The aunt had been
in love with Nan's father, but) he had
jilted her. Therefore the aunt despised
Nan.
Nan is a much more comely girl than
her cousin Jenny, and when Dick Gur
vil turns, from Jenny, who ne had boon
f courting. anU wins the love of Nan, the
aunt tells tne young swain tnat Xan
is a "charity" child and that her father
was hanged for stealing. She adds a
little potency to the story by telling
him that if he will marry Jenny the
girl's father will give him money and
take him in as a partner in his busi
ness. The argument wins Dick, so
Jenny has her innings again.
Then in the last .act, at a dance, a
town official informs Nan that it had
been discovered that her father had
not stolen the sheep and he gives her
$250 to atone for the wrong done her.
When Dick sees the gold his affections
return to Nan. But the girl is not to
be taken in so easily. She puts him to
a test and discovers that it is only
the money he wants, so she stabs him.
While the company are looking with
awe on the dying man, she jumps into
thp ,-ivr-
The role of Nan was played by Con
stance Collier. She Invested it with
art and convincing force and at times
rose to splendid dramatic heights.
A. E. Anson, as Dick, did the best he
could in a most thankless part. Miss
ahw O'Dea and Walter Leonard Howe,
! as the aunt and uncle, were very ac
! reptable. Miss Marx Barton did well
with the part ol jenny.
"The Spy" is another drama, made
over from the French and Introduced
to the New York theater goers at the
Empire on Monday night. Being French,
it is scarcely necessary to say that it
has a wife who is in love with another
1 man, or thinks she is.
As produced in Paris the piece, which
i5 by Henry Kistamaecker, was called
La Flambee." and Is a sort of French,
"4n Englishman s Home" There is no
s milanta- in plot between the English
aud the French plays, to be sure, but
S Htt
THIS
IS THE STORY YOl" READ
IN THE MAGAZINES
ET! OX SALE AT
RYAN'S DRUG STORE
Is Great
Highest Art
thev both were written for the same
purpose, to wit, to awaken patriotism
in the hearts of their respective fellow
citizens.
"The Spy" has a few tense moments,
but on the whole there is little to com
mend it. at least to American audiences.
Perhaps some day American managers
will awake to tne lact mat tne maae
over French. play can almost never bi
made palatable to the American taste.
and that in the translation, what is re
ally good in the piece, has been lost
In this play Monique Felt is the wife
of a French lieutenant colonel and her
love for him is "dead, dead, dead." But
it Is very much alive for a Paris barris
ter. Marcel Beaucourt. The two decide
to go to the husband, lay the matter
before him and ask him to be a gen
tleman and get a divorce. But before
they have time to hold this little con
ference the husband rushes into the
arms of his wife with the announce
ment that he has killed a man. The
lawyer, seeing his opportunity to kill
two birds with one stone, is about to
turn Felt over to the authorities,
when the latter informs him that It
was a foreign spy he had killed and
that he had done it for the sake of his
country. Fireworks the welling up of
patriotic fervor into the hearts of the
wife and the lawyer, and the decision
of the wife to stand by the side of her
husband, who is suffering for his coun
try's sake.
The play moves along smoothly, and,
as said before, has many Interesting
situations and dramatic moments in it,
i ihe material of which it Is made
"flimsy and unconvincing.
V?.e role ot the wife was played by
Edith "Wynne Mathlson. Being one of
the most accomplished actresses on this
or any other stage, she played with au
thority and power.
Cyril Keightly was the husband. He
played with spirit and sincerity, but
he has a number of mannerisms which
mar his effectiveness.
Julian L'Estrang played the lover in
his characteristic manner direct and
earnest
"Fine Feathers" is another strong
SCENE IN LOTTERY MAN
IT TOOK NEW YORK A WHOLE
YEAR TO LAUGH THE LOTTERY
MAN OUT OF TOWN.
ORDER YOUR SEATS EARLY
YOU WANT TO SIT DOWN.
IF
dramatic potion from the pen of Lu
gene Walter. It hasn't the "punch' in
it that "Paid in Full" and "The Easiest
Way" had, but still it is considerable of
a drama.
"Fine Feathers" had its premier at
the Astor theater on Tuesday night, be
fore a large and expectant audience.
The American playgoers have come to
look for strong dramatic meat from
Walter, and while the new play is. a
powerful drama as a whole, there was
tnnph in it which seemed foreign to the
! author. There was not that directness
! which characterized his othef plays
I just mentioned. In them ne went 10
I his objective point with the swiftness
of a rifle shot. But In "Fine Feath
ers" the action drags at times. This is
especially true of the first act.
The story of the play is of a young
married man on Staten Island. He is
working, in an assayers office, earning
SS5 a week. His wife is discontented
with the everlasting grind or poverty.
Then the tempter comes. He is a great
contractor. He wants the young assay
i?t to pass favorably on a cement
which the contractor Is to use in the
J building of a reservoir. It is a cheap
I cement, and thousands of dollars can
I be saved on the contract if it Is used.
I The honest young man turns down the
tempting offer of $50,000 and hi3 wife
' leaves him. She will not live with a
1 man who condemns her to a life of pov
erty because of foolish scruples. He
loves his wife more than honor. He
accepts the bribe and the wife returns.
This foundation is laid In the first act
in a halting manner. But from then
on the action moves with compelling
force, marching on to the retribution
,-ith the grim Inevitability of a Greek
tragedy. , ,
The bribe money does the pair no
good. The husband goes in for specu
lation and disaster after disaster fol
low in quick succession. The young
husband i in the shadow of the pen-
Herniary for issuing an overdraft when
i he knew he was stone broke. Then
comes the final catastropne. xne nam
breaks and there is a terrible loss of
life. Then the voung husband shoots
himself, which is the final act of the
Tlie new note in this drama is the
attitude of the wife. It has always
been supposed that wives encouraged
their husbands to be honest at all cost,
but here is a woman who demands of
him a departure from the strict code
of ethics. .
The play, like all of this authors
pieces, will cause much discussion,
which will redound to the benefit of
the box office.
"A Good Little Devil" is a play built
up from fairy stories that Mme. Ros
tand and her son Maurice used to tell
to each other as the boy was growing
up. It was produced at the Republic
theater Wednesday night by David Be
lasco. It is a most beautiful child
phantasy and It was produced with all
the delicate art and technical skill
for which Mr. Belasco has made him
self famous.
The play is of such a gossamer qual
ity that it must be seen and felt, for It
is impossible to adequately describe it.
! There is a garden scene of the most
! , &l 1 ....! I .. a .... ...... ...,.,1, n w nnl,.
enCnanilHK luvcuucaa, unc ouiu .; V4j-
the master of stagecraft could have
achieved.
The story itself is one that the mind
of every imaginative child has fed
upon. It is a story ol fairyland, and as
fairyland has but a few simple rules,
there was no great thought back of the
i play, but there was a world of beauty
j and sweetness.
In this garden the fairies and the
I gnomes come to work their charms, to
! restore the sight of Juliet, the little
blind girl, who is there waiting for her
sweetheart. Charles. But Charles had
a mean old aunt who wants nothing in
the world buf money, and when she
can't get it she takes her spite out on
her little unhappj nephew. But to
prove that this is fairyland, it.devel
opes that Charles Is an heir to a no
ble title and has been looked for by
the king and queen. Then he leaves
his blind Juliet to mourn alone in the
garden while he goes to court to re
ceive the smiles of the beautiful ladies
there. But the good fairies intercede
for Juliet. After restoring her sight
they bring Charles back to the garden.
Many years have elapsed since the two
had seen each other, but the spirit of
his boyhood returns to Charles and his
old love for Juliet takes possession of
him. And even the ugly old aunt soft
ens and everyone is happy.
Miss Mary Pickford, known as the
"Maude Aaams of the movies," played
the part of Juliet in a girlish and most
appealing way. Ernest Truax was the
boy Charles, and being a man in years,
he knew just how a little boy ought to
act. The Wicked One was played by
AVilllam Norris. He scored more heav
ily than any other member of the com
pany. Miss Wilda Bennett was a
beautiful queen Mab. Nothing could
be more airily sweet than was she as
she flew and fluttered about with the
other fairies, who "cooed" as they flew.
This touch added to the etherial char
acter of the scenes and was one of the
happiest touches Mr. Belasco ever im
parted to a production.
"Joseph and His Brethren" is a re
ligious play not to be shunned. It af
forded the pleasantest surprise of the
New Year. It is, of course, built around
what is perhaps the most familiar story
in the Bible. And Louis N. Parker, the
author of the play, has shown his fine
artistic sense and literary acumen by
adhering strictly to the story and
using, wherever possible, the simple,
yet sublime text of the scripture. But
he seems to have been so imbued with
his theme that hi3 own text carries
that same simple strength and dlgnity
and there is no glaring gap between his
lines and those he has taken from
Genesis.
This magnificent pageant was pro
duced at the Century theater on Satur
day afternoon by the Llebler company.
It is decidedly worth while and comes
as a refreshing balm after the rather
depressing "Daughter of Heaven" and
"The Garden of Allah."
It Is not only a pageant, greater than
Ben Hur, but it Is a drama of the high
est art. Much of Its success is due to
Brandon Tynan, the Joseph of the play
It would perhaps be impossible to find
an actor better equipped for this roie
Rida Johnson Young's
invited as to a feast."
... One Whole Year In One Theatre
Positively the Greatest Cast Ever Seen Outside of New York City
Every magazine has told the story of this Most Genuine Comedy Success and
K , . here it is. t
Company and production direct from New York and Merle H. Norton's personal
guarantee is back of it. t I
Play a Sure Thing Take a Chance with "Lizzie."
Prices Night, $1.50, Entire Lower Floor; Balcony, $1.00-75c
Matinee; $1.00 Lower Floor; Balcony, 75c-50c.
Seat Sale at Ryan's Drug Store Jan. 22.
Curtain, 8:30.
!L
than Mr. Tynan. He made one feel that
he was the Joseph of old. He has the
intelligence, the fire, the spiltualistlc
v. nhvciroi rrspR for this role and
I his playing of it is a treat to the senses.
The spienaa acting ut .amo v..,
as Jacob, was also an important ele
ment In the success of the play. In de
picting the old patriarch Mr. ONeil
rose to heights of more grandeur and
spiritual beauty that exceeded anything
he has done throughout his long and
varied career on the stage. It was the
embodiment of all that was best and
worthiest of the old school acting.
It may also be stated in truth that
Howard Kyle, as the sinister elder
brother, Simeon, never did anything
half so well in his life. He made a de
cided individual "hit"
The play begins almost where the
story does. And it moves along, smooth
ly, rapidly, dramatically, towards the
climax, embodying all the elements of
the narrative with all Its cross currents
of passion, hatred, avarice and love.
The only liberty Mr. Parker has taken
with tSo story was to give Potiphers
wife a name. It is Zuleika. This role
was played by Miss Pauline Frederick
in such a way as to cause one to won
der how Joseph escaped her wiles.
Running through the play is the real
love story of Joseph and Asenath, the
daughter of the high priest It is sweet
and' convincing and provided all the ro
mance that was necessary.
The play contained four acts and 1.
scenes. It was a moving spectacle filled
with color, dancing girls, slaves, music,
mobs, warriors, priests, soothsayers and
magicians, yet the pageant as such, nev
er for a moment dominated the play. No
higher tribute could be paid to the art
of Louis N. Parker than that
The first act held one by Its deep,
reverential sincerity and patriarchal
di"nity, but the most effective scene was
the last the one in which Joseph re
veals'hlmself to his brethren, and the
meeting with his father. This meeting
between Jacob and his son Joseph, the
first born of his beloved Rachel, was
CMr. Parker strays a little from the
story in making perhaps a little too
much of the pursuit of Potipher's wife
after Joseph. She is not content aftet
he has been thrown into the dungeon.
No. she must visit him in his misery
and degredation and mock him
and his sweetheart, Asenath But Zu
leika is found out in the end. by her
husband, and there, in the shadow of
the Bi'ramids. she sears out her eyes
and her hideous shrieks of agonyi pierce
the upper reaches of the theater and
supply the only discordant note In the
enMFsesPOHVe Oliver played well, bat
looked a bit too young, as Rachel. Oth
er members of the company who did
well were Frank Losee. Emmet King.
Frank Woolfe. Lily Cahlll and Dorothy
"Joseph and His Brethren" has a long
career ahead of it .
Arrangements have been completed
for the presentation of the MessrJ.
Shubert's big New York success, "The
Lottery Man?' In El raso at an early
da"The Lotterv Man," a new comedy,
is by Rida Johnson Young, and will
be presented at the El Paso theater
January 24. with Herbert Thayer In
thThealcen?rai figure In "The Lottery
Man" Is Jack Wright, a news gatherer.
Played by Mr. Thayer. He is a warm
fripnd of Foxv Payton. who owns the
Paper! and when hi gets a Wall street
d Wright goes to his chief for
money, promising as security. In the
event of failure, his pledge to turn
Into the paper one of the biggest stor
ies New York has ever known. As the
tin fails. Wright is compelled to make
good. This he does by offering him
self as the prize in a lottery which is
to be conducted by the newspaper.
Naturally the coupons anpeal mostly to
women and the campaign among the
thousands of contestants waxes warm.
Shortly after Jack has offered himself
as . the human prize, he falls In love
with Helen Heyer. which fact causes
him to regret his entry Into the
scheme.
The New York press was unanimous
In pronouncing "The Lottery Man" a
comedy of unusual merit
I ne Domestic Coke.
Southwestern Fuel Co.
MERLE H. NORTON
Announces (Proud of it, too) ;
"A laughing symposium to which amusement seekers are
The Winnipeg Tribune.
&
B9B& F
Carriages, 10:45.
MONDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT
SEAT SALE TOMORROW AT RYAN'S
Prices: - - Night, $2.00 to 75c; Matinee, $1.50 to 50c
tt
BUNTY" AND
K...
AS THE CARTOONIST
IN "BUNTY PULLS THE STRINGS"
In New York ...
f 0000000000
J
SEES THE CHARACTERS
flK FRIENDS
