Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-15

The above are the theatrical attractions for
| this week.
| The improvements in the Biiou Theater and
the Opera House this season are very well in
their way, but there are still some more to be
| made Why cannot we have programmes
which will fulfill their primary function, and
| give the public at glance correct idea of the
| scenery and the characters of the play? For
instance, when the "Shane-na-Lawn" was per
| formed on Monday night last at the BIZ jou there
was not word about the scenes; not hint as
to the time the Shdne-nd-LdDn hourished, and
as a consequence it is certain that the audience
was not little befogged. 1t costs no more to
have programmes printed so as to inform the
audience than to have them arranged SO as to
misinform not inform at ALL The fault with
the Opera House programme is that Its sk1mpy
form and mean appearance are unworthy
theater claiming to be frSt-class.
The theaters are still feeling the effect of the
warm weather, though the managers are not
complaining very much. "Bric-a-Brac" en-
joyed about as much success as it deserved,
and that was nothing tremendous. Mr.. Scan
lan'S Irish plays attracted very large audiences
at the Bijou and he has created very good
impression in Pittsburg. The DISPATCH has
already spoken in high terms of Mr.. Scanlan as
delineator of the sunny side of Irish charac.
tiers, and only one word of advice to him shall
be added here. Mr.. Scanlan will do well to re-
member the stage more and the audience less.
1t is natural failing in Mr.. Scanlan, induced
by his personal popularity that he should for
get at times that he is tmpersonating char
acter in drama. But it is a railing that is apt
to grow dangerously big if not checked.
<xE
Once again it has been proven that the sing
ing of songs in drama supposed to picture
real life is detrimental to dramatic continuity
and dramatic art The Irish plays Mr.. Scanlan
gave last week were neither OF them remark
able in a positive way, but such dramatic inter-
est as they possessed was blemished and broken
almost every time Mr.. Scanlan sang. You see
a man in real life doesn't stop to sing ballad
at critical points in his career-for the songs
usually come before or after climax.
And yet we would not ask Mr.. Seaman to
omit the songs. Though his voice is no great
shakes, he sings with feeling and certain
buoyant sympathy with his subject, and to the
average man and woman his singing is delight
ful We only record our impression that songs
are out of place in dramas that pretend to
picture life as it is or was q hundred years ago.
h.h
ENOUGH .has been said about the ~. 8.
MALI for the present. Mr.. jerks, the author,
came back to Pittsburg yesterday, and says it
is now running smoothly, and every night i'm.
proving in some new feature or other. 1t ought
to be in perfect condition when it reaches
Pittsburg next week.
THE company which brings woman Against
Woman" to Harris Theater this week con-
tains two or more actors of considerable abili-
ty, Miss May Wheeler, who plays the leading
female character. starred with success in
hardly needful to say that Edmund Collier is
an actor of power, WHO has been leading man
to John Mccullough and Mary Anderson, and
lately star himself. HEPBURN JOHNS.