Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-01-29

While in Australia, Mr.. Leavitt will
[endeaver to arrange time for some of
his numerous attractions, and also
help along negotiations now pending
for the management of theaters in
that csuutry.
Recently published statistics of the
various places Of amusement in the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
show that London has fifty theaters
and the provinces about 200. The
holding capacity of the London thea
ters is about TO- 900, while the capital
invested in them is little short OF
$40, 100000. They give direct employ
ment to about 10000 people. In
this estimate the music halls are not
included, and of these there are
about 475.
Joclyn, Charles Coghlan's new play.
in which Rose Coghlan is to star, is
romantic tragedy, with the scene laid
in France during the Huguenot's time.
The villain conspires to get possession
of the heroine, and kills her brothers.
She endeavors to escape, diguised in
male attire. He detects her; they
fight duel, and he mortally wounds
her, but she manages to kill him be-
fore she expires. This is the play
Mr.. CoghlaD wrote for Mrs. Langtry.
1t is announced as original, but sounds
familiar and French-like.
The following is a list of panto-
mines done. December Goth at the
London, Eng, theatres: Drury-lane,
Puss tm Boots; Covent Garden, Jack
and the Beanstalk; Surrey, Sinbad and
the Little Old Nan of ihe Sea; STAN
dard, Fee-Fi Fo Eum; Marylebone,
The Frog Who Would a-Wooing Go;
Britannia, King Tricher;; Grand,
Wilmington and His Cat; Sanger's,
Blue Beard; Sadler's Wells, Bluff
King Hal, Pavilion, Robinson Crusoe;
Elephant and Castle, Jack the Giant
Killer; Greenwich, Little Jack and the
Big Beanstalk.
Up to Garrick's time the explicit
stage direction; "The Ghost OF Banquo
rises and sits in Macbeth's place."
had been religiously obeyed, and the
effect plainly rendered before the
eyes of the audience. Since that
opinion has been divided, as the
actor, misled by the commentators,
appears to think he has the option of
playing the scene either in the
original manner or according to
the tenets of modern philosophy.
This is a huge mistake. Shakes
peare does not lend himself to modern
methods of illustration, as we can
very plainly see by the ill done in law
ishing excessive scenic detail upon
drama, essentially one of the vaguest
background. Phelps at Sadler's
Wells MAY, 1S44) and Charles Kean
at the Princess february, 1859,
wise in their generation, stuck 10y
ally to the Shakespearian mandate.
In Kean's revival the method pur-
sued in the mounting Of the banquet
scene was generally considered to
materially augment the effect. The
rudely-garbed roysterers feasting at
the table were set off at the front and
sides by series of arch-supporting
columns, attached to which were the
torches, whose unearthly chickering's
gave the scene its necessary wierd-
ness. The ghost of Banquo
made its first appearance through
an aperture in a table in the back
ground, situated beneath balcony of
minstrels; subsequently one of the
more prominent pillars became trans
parent and revealed the shade in its
interior, Wrote a contemporary !:
.'The effect of the apparition is per-
fectly novel, as far as our experience
of stage matters extends, and has
evidently been inspired by a poetic
feeling. There is me'hing more
than melodramatic mechanism in the
invention and contrivance of such an
incident. The dazzling illumination
of the head avoids much that is un-
pleasant in the usual representation
of the gashes on the brow, and pre-
serves the sublimity of terror proper
to supernatural appearance. 1t is
altogether in taste.-[The Gentleman's
Magazine.