The Portland daily press., 1886-09-07
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
nrNuAN THOMPSON.

Denman Thompson, as Joshua Whit
oon,h ;, will he at Portland Theatre next
Friday and Saturday with his new play In
which he has been as popular as he ever was
in tbe old. Speaking of 'The Old Home
stead y the Providence Telegram says;
1.-THE play does not aspire to plot, on. one
Waiting with good old honest Uncle Josh;
f Rii is merely Sequel, or like reading con
tinnation of an interesting story. In the
old play we left Uncle Josh Just recovering
from the shock of the arrest OF MS son Ior
robbery and his innocence pelng pliTdyeff a+ber
SAYS in the opening of the new play, huDe
was high spirited, and there was them that
pointed the finger of scorn at MN, anu ne
wouldn't stand it and went to new ioIh.
The old man does not hear from MS son, anu
fears he has fallen into bad company ana SO
takes a trip to New York to find him, ana IL
is upon this visit, the finding OF the way
ward boy and the final happy reunion az the
old homestead that occupies the tlI I5 81 sne
four acts of the play of 1.-The Old home
stead" Uncle Josh, while ne retainss o ms
old-time homely sayings, simple rnstlclty
and big hearted sympathy. is not as 'klnKy
as in his former trip to Boston, as tnough.
the trouble about bis son, although not
weighing him down completely, still throWs
a vein Of sadness about him, although the
sorrow at times, and in the second act MS
quaint sayings kept the audience in rear
from beginning to finish. The characters
associated with Uncle Josh in the old-tlme
play still figure in the first and closing acts
of the new one. Cy Prime, with his Jack
sonian vigor and firm reliance on the back
ing of the mythical defunct. Bill Jones,
Aunt Matilda and Reuben Whitcomb, seem
like old friends, and the introduction OF
character, Seth Perkins, a distinct rural per-
sonage, ready to quarrel with Cy Prime at a
moments notice, adds to the realistic pic
ture life in the country"
THE RoBERTs-GARDINER CIRCUS.
The Nick Roberts-G Gardiner circus gave
two performances yesterday, containing
many fine and novel features which quite
captivated the audiences The circus is a
small one, but has with it some we'll trained
performers. The ring riding is particularly
good, and well worth seeing The bare back
Jockey act was done without a slip and Mil
bred Gardiner, with her trained horse Pea
cock, showed herself to be perfect master
of the spirited animal. Frank A. Gardner
drew forth great applause by his leaping,
which is one of the strongest features of the
show. The trapeZe acts were exciting, and
the two cont0rtionists turned into all sorts
of shapes with the greatest ease. One good
thing about the performance were the new
with great appreciation. AS whole the
performance is more than worth what is
charged to see it, and is deserving of good
audiences today and tomorrow.
ROLAND REED.
Mr.. Roland Reed appeared in his comedy,
"Cheek," before good sized audience at
Portland Theatre last evening. 'Cheek" is
not as many would infer simply skeleton
of comedy to give Mr.. Reed a chance to APP
pear in his specialties, but thoroughly in
teresting one with good plot and many in
teresting situations. The company is good
one, the leading members assuming their
parts in an especially fine manner. A fea-
ture of the entertainment was Mr.. Reeds
Pocket Edition of the Mikado," in which
he was assisted by Miss Patrice Mr.. Reed
was the original Ko-Ko, and last night sung
and acted the various songs of the opera in
a manner that took the house. Tonight will
be his last appearance here and "Humbug"
will be the attraction
NOTES.
John L. Stoddard will deliver several lee
lures in the Stockbridge course this season.
The Howard Athen8um Star Speciality
company opens at Portland Theatre, Sept
20, and then plays on the eastern circuit.
Faust and MarquerSte," by DR.. Haas, to
be produced by Miss Celia Alsberg, Mr..
Lewis Morrison and their powerful company
Sept. 10, in Providence r. l., for the first
time in America, will be under the patron
age of the Governor and Mayer, and the en-
tire net receipts of the house handed over
to those officials for disbursement in aid of
the unfortunate sufferers of the afflicted city
of Charleston. This is a commendable act
on the part of this company, which we hope
to see others initiate.