ris a sort or literary l.ouserleantnE
thfrt the Sothern-Marlowe company
encage-* in on its present tour, a
brushing away of cobwebs and a
'?evHatk'ii <>f Shakespeare in spick
ami" "span brightness. embellished, per
haps, but not mutilated. Shakespeare Is
no longer the supreme test of the popular
favorite on t'te stage. Many an actor Is
successful on whom doublet and hose
would appear absurd. Shakespeare has
many traditional handicaps. There is a j
inisiv impi essii >n in the minds of many
of us that the true and essential quality
of the bard of Avon is represented either
b\ .1 sepulnhral voice repeating '"1 nm thy
father's pirit," or else by a wild, rati
t-o'js shout <>f "Me kingdom for a liorse!"
?Jt
, Mr. Sothern and Miss Marlowe have
'altored with < xrellent taste and with
pja tieal finesse to put the poet, whose
greatest admirers have allowed pedantic
zeal to make them his worst enemies,
upon a basis of frank human under
standing. The auditor of the present
generation i? maae to feel something
akit Jo eotempornneous interest. So |
constant are the traits of mortal being I
wliieh these plays so vividly set forth'
ibat thi.- is easily done when real ability
consents to discard scholastic affectation.
The lover yearns for the words of a
Borneo iu express his devotion today no j
Itsts than in the Elizabethan time, and J
the fact that Katherine is not :i militant
suffragette does not pr.-vent her from
bfcirg a recc ?gnizable type in sonic of our
most modern households. So close to
current intelligence does a frank and
confident portrayal of Shakespeare come
that these presentations tend to \ indi
cate the uninformed but discerning audi
tor, who, after seeing one of America's
celebrated stars play Mantlet, enthusias- 1
th ally called lor "Author!" j
*
. I.ike Mi*. Favershain, whose success in i
"llerod" has been one of the wonders of J
the theater, Mr. Sothern developed from
light comedy into a commanding ulaee in
classic interpretation. Air. Soth-m is
probably weary of bein^ reminded of
"T.ord Cbumley." but his triumph in that
Piece was so important an episode in his
career ihut it cannot !)e ignored or for
gotfen. Tiia: he lias not lost, his facility
in a. lighter vein wa* demonstrated hi his
I'ttruchio.
v
When in circles of chatty discussion that
question of eternal conversational po
tem > arises, "Whom do you consider our
greatest actor?" Sothern's name is sure
to find ardent championship. In many in
stances a great producer or a great stu
dent is accepted as a great actor because
he is the central and dominating figure of
an impress.ve display. To conquer pub
lic opinion by intellectuality and scholar
ship is surely as great a thing as to win
it by physical graces or personal magnet
ism, gifts often bestowed by fortune's 1
erratic beneficence on personalities not
otherwise admirable. To analyze the
qualities which have enabled Mr. Sothern
to attain his present eminence might be
interesting, but scarcely important, since
he sucreeds in giving the public at one
and the same time what it desires and
what it ought to have. Tiiis is a proud
distinction,^sufficient to silence caviling.
I
, *
To observe the appearance of Miss Mar- j
lovtfe in Shakespearean roles after her ?
presentation of "The Goddess of Reason" |
is like seeing her step from tog into sun- \
light. Several plays in which this great
actress has appeared have been saved
from dullness by her marvelous reading.
Her Juliet burd ns her with no handicap
and will rank as a model and a standard
of comparison for many years to coinc. j
* . ? i
Kvrle Bellew's appearance m 1 lie
Builder of Bridges" may be taken as a,
hopeful evidence tbat he has been finally j
established in a line of characters above j
and apart front roles of tlimsy romance,
such, for instance, as "A Gentleman of i
Fiance." Mr. Beilew is an actor of
native elegance of manner and graceful
repose. It is refreshing to see him as a
gentleman of the present day, who can
. perform deeds of fine chivalry without
swashbuckling or homicide.
?
Mr. Sutro, the author of the play, whose
literary factory has enjoyed a large pat- i
ronage in the dramatic mart, makes a
demand on credulity as great as that
presented by Mr. Gus Thomas in "The
Witching Hour." although it is less spec
tacular. In most plays the plot has
what might be called a dead center to
o\ercome, a point which requires
imagination or emotional momentum to
prevent the machinery front coming to a
halt. This occurs in "The Builder of
Bridges" when the first betrothed of the
woman rushes unbidden into an as
sent blag."1 of people with most of whom
he i* on distant terms, and bawls forth
ti,e details of business of the most private
and delicate nature. It would require a
great deal more enthusiasm and mag
netism than the casting of the role pro
vides to excuse this affront to the crudest
sense of propriety on the ground of eager
and reekles* impulse. The play is in- j
tfresting, and ha.* a wealth of charming :
epigram in its dialogue, and it seems '
strange, even culpable, that this jar |
should be permitted to occur in its other- {
wise polished, efficient mechanism
*
The Columbia Theater has had a num.- !
ber of engagements which tend to indi
cate the presentation of standard suc
* esses rather than current novelties as
the j?ohcy of that house. "The Man of
the Hour" is one of several economic
drama* which have found favor, it dis
cusses questions of municipal govern
ment. but With so much deference to
^eait interest and hetoics that the moral]
becomes obscured by the melodrama, i
Mr. George Broadhurst, like Mr ?'harlesj
Klein, believes that a play should have i
some topic of general public interest as j
iti Inspiration, and both these writers '>
have enjoyed a measure of attenton and
esteem sufficient to vindicate the theory
on which they proceed.
PHILANDER JOHNSON.
DAMROSCH AND VON BUELOW.?
Walter Damrosch dwells with particu
lar fondness on the time when he was
received with so much kindness by Hans
von Buelow in Frankfort. Famous as
von Buelow was for his caustic wit and
cutting sarcasm, it was his human side
t'nat he showed to the young Damrosch.
whose father had been his friend. Dur
ing this visit, however. Damrosch was
not without opportunity to observe the
well known traits of the master. Once
whec the two were out for a stroll there
appeared before them a fellow who hatt
presumably at some time been intro
duced to von Buelow. Striking an atti
tude before him, he said jauntily, "Good
morning. Heir von Buelow; I'll wager
jou don't know who T am." Von Bue
low eyed him from top to toe an in
Stani and exclaimed with vehemence.
"You've won your wager."
HAI.F A CENTFRY AN ACUOBAT.
"Whilc I am a native of Manchester.
I England," says William Hanlon, tlie!
I genial veteran of the spectacular stage,
| "and the son of Irish parents, 1 have al
i ways claimed to lie a thoroughgoing citi
1 zen of the T'nited States.
">ly father, Thomas Hanlon, was an
actor on the English stage, ami ;i 11 of his
six hoys?Alfred. tJcorge, Frederick,
he a hrllliaiit ? vent Mi I lammcrstcin,
who will HccompaiiN Ins stars to Wash
ington. ycstcrdax in New \ ork expressed
himself as highly gratified with the out
look. "Althoush." he added. "1 have ??1 -
ways had such faith in Washington that
I am not surprised at the interest shown
in niv first visit as tin impresario
to the National Capital. especially
with such stars and such a repertoire as
I am presenting. What of t ic future? I
will talk about that later."
Music lovers and the public generally
have bv this time thoroughly informed
love. The role of the monk is assumed
by another great "singing actor," the
eminent French bar tone, Maurice Re
naml. The tenor will he Charles Dal
morcs. M. Marcel Fharlier will conduct)
the performance.
Mine. Tetrazzini w 11 have an oppor
tunity on Wednesday afternoon of show- j
ing not only her beautiful voice, but her
unusual power of emotional expression
as the heroine in Verdi's "Traviata." As j
every one knows, the Violeita of this ,
opera is none other than the heroine of !
Dumas' famous play "Camille." Mr. j
Mct'ormack will be the lover Alfredo.!
octssaatsatf JtffeHKiN
Fred
JIanlon
Ti TGHELLUftRRl 5 -AS) IfejSALA
Richard I^uhler Ben "Hue,.
Thomas. Kd ward and William?became
acrobats and gymnast;;. In !M7, when 1
was but seven years of ape, three of us,
Ueorge, Edward and myself, with John
Lees, an Knglish artist of rniicli ability
in his then somewhat novel profession,
went to France to present a new act of j
trapeze and bar combination, together
with a posing feature by Mr. l.ees. and
ali of winch proceeded from the fertde
brain of our preceptor and patron.
?Our ads were new to the natives or
the various countries wo visited and we
had appreciative audiences. At Ismalia
we gave a special exhibition before the
Khedive Abbas Pasha. lie was a fat,
jolly sort of a potentate, who was keen
enough to see all tin- good points in ourj
tricks and performances. In India the!
Rajah of Oud? took a fancy to us boys, j
dressed us like princes and kept us with
him for several months.
"Since lw.V.?, anil that is fift> years, we
have spent the greater part of our time
and devoted the Kreatcr amount ?>f our
efforts as artists to the American amuse
ment-loving people. Some thirty years
ago or more the 'Voyage en Suisee' was
written by some French dramatists of
minor reputation, and who were greatly
aided, I might say, by Offenbach, the
composer. We have 'showed' the 'Voy
age* in mauy countries, and among those
who first saw the piece at close range, in
Paris, was Kins Edward, who was then
the Prince of Wales. The prince had his
accustomed viewpoint on the sage behind
the scenes.
"After touring France for a brief sea
son we crossed the frontier into Spain, in
which country we encountered many ad
ventures, such as the forming of most
delightful acquaintances with persons of
noble rank, and continuing down the scale
to the fighting of brigands in the Span
ish mountains.
"From Spain we continued our wander
ings into Malta, thence to Turkey and
Hgypt and to India. At all these places,
which seem something of a remarkable
route for young English travelers, as I
look back upon it, we met with much
success."
Belasco.
The advance sale of seats indicate?
that the Manhattan grand opera season
this week at the Jielaaco Theater will
^ 7
IVkonei
ItJWER.
"VifeUTfLR T^amro&gh:
themselves as to the operas to be given
this week and the personalities of Jhe
artists who will lake part in the per
formances. However, for those who have
not already made up their minds what
the" want to hear, a brief resume is of
fereil Opening with Donizetti's "Lucia,"
which deals with ihe story of Walter
Srutt's "Bride of Lammfrmoor," Wash
ington will Monday evening hear for tiie
first time Mme. Tetrazzini, who has been
described as "the world's greatest colora
ture soprano." Her piece de resistance
In tiiis opera is of course the mad scene,
in which her vocalism and cadenzas are
said to be nothing short of marvelous. In
the cast with her will be the popular
young Irish tenor, John McCormack, and
a young Italian baritone, Giovanni Po
lese, besides Henry Scott, a well known
American basso. M. Giuseppe Sturani
wiii I'ondui't the opera.
Miss Mary Garden, who was born in
Scotland, but came to th's country when
a mere child, will make her Washington
debut in Massenet's beautiful opera
"Thais." which was neglected by the
American impresarios for years. Mr.
Hammersteln first produced it in
America three years ago. Tt is a story
of a monk of the desert who sets out
to save the soul of the most, beautiful
and most notor'ous woman in Alex
andria. He leads her into the pathway
to sainthood, but in so doing imperils
his own salvation by breaking his vows
and surrendering his heart to a human
pride is rebuked, for thr> miraculous coni
in-; to life <?f the Virgin statue and h?M*
acceptance of the Little Juggler's simple
offering of the best that was in him
proclaims him the worthiest ??f the com
pany and teavhes them tliat they have
entertained a saint unawares. The char- 1
acter of the monastery cook, the most >.
human and tender-hearted of the breth
ren, will be taken by another eminent |
French baritone. Hector Dufranne, |
whose singing of the "Legend of the
Sagp Bush" is a notable feature of the
opera. The prior will be the French
basso M. Huberdeau. Others in the cast
afforils the great soprano an opportunity I
of showing a?iu'v\ sid ? of her talents. It ,
.s distinctlj a comedy role The peasant
lover will be Mr Met"' rmack. M G lbert <
has tl:f role of Ser^t. Sulplce. In
"Pagliacci," \\iu<h tells the tragic story
of the clown who, discovering h itiself to
be deceived t>y his wife, awaits his oppor
tunity tn slay hrr during the action Of j
h's little play and unmask her sweet
heart and avenge himself on him, Wash
ington will hear for thf first time the i
so-called "new Taragno." N cola Zerola.
an Italian t"nor. M. Samtnareo. M. Zero
la, Mme. Walter-Villa and M. Crabbe are
the Italian baritone Mario Sainmarco,
will be the father. M. t3tura.nl will eon
duct.
Wednesday evening Miss Garden will
appear in the title role of Massenet's
operatic miracle play, "Le Jongleur de
Notre Dame"?"The Juggler of Our
Lady." or. as it is more popularly called.
"The Little Juggler." Here Miss Garden
personates the pathetic figure of a little
wandering mountebank of the middle
ages, who was induced to enter the mon
astery to save both nis body and soul.
Ho llnds himself unable to dedicate any
talent to the service of the Virgin, and
as a last resort offers the Madonna an
exl ibition ol' his pitiful tricks and songs
to the horror of the brethren of the
monastery. As he falls exhausted and
dying before the shrine their spiritual
JiiRMciJfeMILTQIi
^UKLBSQUEi
will lie the young Belgian baritone Ar
mani! Crab be, Henry Scott ami Al. Du
vernois.
"The Tal?'s of Hoffmann," a fantastic
opera, and the only serious one left by
Offenbach, based upon three lov. stories
by 10. T. A. Hoffmann, who live I in the
early part of the last century, and has
been called tue Kdgar Allan Poe of Ger
many, will be given Thursday evening.
This will present to Washington Una
Cavalieri, who will appear as Uiulietta,
the Venetian light o' love, with whom
the poet Hoffmann, who will be personat
ed by M. Dalmores. had one of his luck
less amorous adventures. Mile. Trentini,
one of the most popular members of the
Manhattan Opera Company, will be
Olympia. the mechanical doll, in the first
tale, and Antonia, the consumptive
maiden, in the third tale. Renaud will
have the triple role in which Hoffmann's
evil genius jfppears?first, an Alsatian
peddler; sccond, an Italian aristocrat, and
lastly, a witch doctor.
M. Carlo Nicosia will conduct.
The operatic season will close Friday
evening with a double bill?Donizetti's
"Daughter of th<? Regiment," followed by
Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci"?the former old,
the latter modern. Mme. Tetrazzini will
be the central figure of the Donizetti
work, whose story of the young vivan
diere, who lalls in love with the peasant
and who afterward becomes a line lady.
GHaungey Ol,cott
in Hie cast. M. Sturani will condui t both
operas.
The evening performances are an
nounced fur s o'clock and the matinee for
- o'clock. Auditors are requested to be
in their seats promptly.
"Ben-Hur." the spectacular classic, will
open a week's engagement at the New
National Theater tomorrow night. Each
of the many reasons tiiat this powerful
biblical drama has been before the pub
lic has served to emphasize its hold on
popular ilitercst, and it may now be re
garded as a permanency. The extent to
! which the management went in making
the original production was a matter of
' wonderment even to theatrical promoters
accustomed to spend a fortune on a sin
ble scenic equipment. The announce
ments indicate no-diminution of the colos
sal scale on which the presentation, was
originally designed. A company is an
nounced which, including the crowds fig
uring in tableaux, numbers lion people.
The remarkable scenic device which per
? iniis a realistic leproduction of an ancient
? chariot nice employs twelve horses. In
! transferring the story from the covers of
i a novel?one of the record-breaking lit
erar> successes of its day. and still a
cherished library classic?to the stage
great skill was shown in arranging the
situations and climaxes to secure dra
matic effect. A carefully selected com
pany has this important element of the
performance in its keeping.
Ohauiice.N Olcott in "Ragged Robin" is
the attraction this week at the Columbia
Theater. The play' this season was
written by .Mrs. Olcott and Rida Johnson
Young, Mrs. Olcott furnishing the tales
of Irish fairies, the leprahaun, peat bogs,
banshees and will-o'-the-wisps. "Ragged
Robin" is the name of a blue flower, as
every wanderer in the Held knows, and
"Ragged Robin" in this play earns the
nickname by wearing a blue posey in
his buttonhole. This Robin is a minstrel
of the h'ghways until lie comes into his
rights, which include many acres and the
title of Sir Robert Ilarcourt. He is best
loved when he is ragged, like the flower
TTew National.
Columbia.
he w>ars, for then he pours from lid
throat a veritable* torrent of melody.
Oleott would remain "Ragged Robin"
throughout the play It he an.I lis hungif
clog did not sleep beneath the Ilia -* in
Andrew tlrattan's dooryard at Inishan
nun. The fairies ?-onie to him (hftv early
in the morning and awaken lilm and lie
goes to their well and drink* from a
gourd. It is the Kith of May, and who
ever drinks from this well on the l??th
of May will soon lie wed to the tirst
vision of loveliness who puts the gourd
to her lips. This time it is Margaret
Grattan who ,-ools her thirst, and Im
mediately she and Kobin are in love.
But again the path of tnip lo\e ha? it
rough places, and a villainous foster
brother steps in and marries the beautv
whj drinks at the well. But tin- banshe.
moans and flies past Andrew Grattan
door on the even of the weddhiR ami
everybody knows' that the bride wi'l
have a hard row to hoe. When tills
banshee rides on the wind t ie atidien< e
heroines shivery and goo>e-t1esh> as
a youngster listening to a spook stor\
on a how lintf w Titer night, and "Ragged
Robin," too. knows that there is trouble
ahead and cails his dog and set" out
upon the highways.
Three years later lie returns and And*
Margaret a widow. There is a famine in
j the land and Margaret has become a dig
ger of pe.it. Ragged Kobin is rich now
' and he cornea to ber relief, and, of course.
, they live happily ever after -as all tol?s
j :n fairy tales do.
Chases.
Chase's eleventh anniversary will be
j festively conunenwttt 'd this week wit .
a special bin. comprising All>ert Whelan
William H. Murphy. Blanche Nichols
and company. Nellie Nichols, the Thre*
Krnests, the Melnotte Twins and Clujr
Smith. Krna and Jenny Gasch. l,"e. Allen
and Lee land "Buffalo Races" by the
I American vita graph.
Australia is the native heath of Mr
Whelan. As a suave, smiling comedian
he is sa d to he in a class all his own
The extra added attraction is the Mur
phy-N"i< hols in "Tiie School of Acting. '
; a travesty on barnstorming actors.
Nellie Nichols appears In topical song*
and stage "take-oils." The Three ISrnest
are another of tiie special bill. The Mei
| notte Twins and flay Smith will be
heard in a nonsensical number and tiie
Gasch sisters in a German novelty. I.ee.
Allen and Lee will join in a terpsichorcan
treat on woo I and ice. The vitagraph
number will conclude the hill.
Academy.
Lovers of the 1 {anions* tri< k and spec
tacular pantomimes will he given an en
! tirely new entertainment this season iti
j "Superba." which open? an cngagemen
! at the Academy tomorrow evening. The
j production is new in every respect ex
cepting the old enticement and delect -
able mystery characteristic of a Hamon
performance. The story of "Superba
has been rewritten by Herbert Hall
Winslow and furnishes an original set
ting for the specialties, songs and tricks
Fred Hanlon will again be s?>eii
Pico, the clown, and will be assisted by
William Hanlon lid. The specialty fea
tures include Hilda Carlo and her twelve
??Military Suffragettes." and Bess Ross,
a singing and dancing souhrette; "The
Cocoanut Dance" and other novelties.
One of the novelties is a conservatory
j scene with a magnificent arrangement or
? flowers that appear to be alive and
blooming. Another is that of "Old
Glory." in which a novel electrh al bat
tleship effect is offered. The first tab
leau shows the "Origin of Our Navy."
the second the "Modern Oreadiiaught '
and the third the "White Squadron."
The third act is given over principal I v
to a spectacular African Jungle s~ene in
which Col. Roosevelt is surrounded b>
I denizens of the tropics. The "I'seful
Man" is among the new trick novelties,
a gentleman froi# whose person Pico ex
tracts almost any article he desires, end
ing with a rapid-fire gun with which he
routs the jungle dwellers.
New Lyceum.
| "Watson's Rib Show." with the origl
: nal Billy Watson, will begin a week s
engagement at the New Lyceum Tlieater.
? commencing with tomorrow's matinee.
The bill will include vaudeville, comedy
i anil two new burlesques "The .lolly Mis"
Clover" and "Bashful Venus." in which
I Mr. Watson will again assume his char
acter of Philip, the head waiter.
Majestic.
The Majestic Theater has an attractive
program for this week. The high-class
vaudeville includes the Four Musical
Cates. featuring Frank R. Cate. cornet
virtuoso; Walter H. Cate. saxophone solo
ist, and Fred O. Cate. playing solos on the
mastodon saxophone; William Burt and
company, in a sketch entitled "Cattle
land"; joe Hart, character comedian, and
t-reda Haubiei. singing and dancing
comedienne. The lastest motion pictures
form a part of the entertainment.
Hammer Symphony Orchestra.
For its first Sunday night concert a
program of French compositions will be
presented by the Heinr ch Hammer
Symphony Orchestra at th?* Belasoo
Theater tonight at popular prices. Th*
I flattering reception a -corded the artistic
work of this new organization at its
j two afternoon symphony concerts prom
{ ises a gratifying future for it. Mr. Ham
mer who hegan his career as a con
! duct or at the age of twenty years. has
been successful as a conductor of sym
' phony orchestras and choral soclet es In
Germany, Sweden. Holland and Switzer
land. Having become recognized in
Kurope as a conductor of the first rank
Mr Hammer was selected to form and
i to conduct ihe New Philharmonic and
Municipal Orchestra of Goeteborg in
? Sweden. The program will be as fo!
I lows: . .
Overture. "Phedre." Massenet; "Om
phale's Spinning Wheel," Salnt-Saens.
first suite. "M gnon." Thomas; violin
j solo, intermede. "Thais." Massenet.
1 Mr Chris Arth; suite, "Sylvia." Delibes
\t the Belasco Theater next Friday
afternoon at 4:45 will be presented by
i this orchestra the third concert in its
i series of Beethoven symphonies. The
program Consists of the third symphony
i (Eroica, E fiat major! and the fourth
symphony <B flat major>. So successful
was tills newly organized orchestra a:,
its two previous symphony concerts that
a large audience is expected on this oc
casion.
Wright Kramer Travelogue.
At the Columbia Theater toniglit "Our
Own Hawaii" will be the subject of an
illustrated lecture by Wright fcramer,
i Burton Holmes* fellow-traveler and as
' soclate lecturer. The Honolulu of todav
is vividly pictured, and by means -.-f
finely colored lantern slides and motion
pictures Mr. Kramers audiences will
make little tours to Waikiki, to Maui an*
its crater of Haleakala. to Hilo and to
the active volcano of Kilauea.
Academy Concert.
Sondheimer and Helmuth have l>e<?n
a train secured by the management
an additional appearance at the Sunday
night concert at the Academy. Cassidy
and Moran will be heard In a comedy
act of new songs, with monologues. Be
sides these combination acts the man
agement has provided a program of mo
tion pictures.
Auditorium, Pictures and Vaudeville
The popularity of unique motion pic
tures and refined vaudeville acts at the
New Masonic Auditorium has induced
the management to make extra efforts to
provide an entertainment unexcelled atj