Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-05

| BIJoU THEATER.. ........Emma Abbot
GRAND OPERA HOUSE,. .Mark's g International
HARRIS THEATER. "Held by the Enemy
ACADEMY OF MUSIC. Williams Orr's Meteor
HARRY DAVIS MUSEUM. ......... .Curiosities. Etc
| WORLDS .Curiosities, Etc
The above are the theatrical attractions for
| this week.
The past week has not been very profitable
to theater goers, however well the managers
have come out. Miss Ellsler has been seen in
two plays of no very remarkable character, and
she has nevertheless added to her large reputa.
tion as clever, high-principled actress. II she
could only get hold of a strong play, with a part
nicely compounded of pathos and humor in
equal quantities, for herself there is no reason
why she should not achieve great success.
Oliver Byron and his wife have played tn
larger audiences than ever before, and at Har-
ris' Theater Fort Donelson" has scored a real
success as military play of intense interest
very well played.
1t is fact that the public would bewail more
If they realized it that good stage managers are
wonderfully scarce. Hardly play has been
seen here this season which has not suffered
agement- Miss Wainwright's production of
Twelfth Night" owed not a little of its
artistic success to the first-class stage manage
ment of Mr.. E. T. Backus who, il will be re-
The late Dion BoucIcaut was wonderful
stage manager, and actors tell me that nobody
gould conduct rehearsal as skilfully as he.
In Boucicault, Of course, were combined a
curious variety of talents, and as actor. author
and manager it is doubtful if we shall ever see
his like again. Mr.. Bronson Howard, the best
as a stage manager He is very
careful of scenic details, and incidental
business. 1t is said that as soon as he has COM
pleted a play in manuscript he goes through
fhR 1fv1Ac ,s,,fa AH1a% 49, l1
before him. A little stage is fitted up with
scenery and is supplied with figures, which he
moves about as the sense of the speech makes
necessary, and the movements thus decided on
he sets down in the manuscript Of the play.
When he comes to rehearsal he takes his place
in the first or second row of the orchestra in
stead OF on the stage, as great many stage
managers do, and proceeds to move his players
as previously he has moved his little dummy
figures. This may appear somewhat mechan-
lcal but 1t is the only way to get exactly the
effects desired and to secure the pictures.
Billy Crane, the comedian, said recently
''Mr Howard's patience at rehearsal is one of
the most wonderful things ever saw. re-
member particularly on one occasion how he
worked with player for something like two
hours, striving to have line delivered so as to
convey the meaning that he intended, while the
rest OF the company stood around and wondered
at the amount of stupidity there was in the
world. Finally the player came down to the
footlghts, evidently having struck an idea, and
made the following speech: Mr.. Howard, 1
don't quite understand what you mean, but
will you allow me to show you the way in which
I-accent I-think this might be playedT Mr..
Howard assented at once and the player re.
sumed the scene. When the line was reached
the player said it precisely as Mr.. Howard had
been asking to have 1t delivered ever since the
BEGINNING of the two hours. Everybody looked
at Howard with smile. Mr.. Howard smiled
too. and said: Yes, that will do very well.
Your idea is very much better than mine.'
'By joye, 1 never saw such self-restraint in
my life. 1t was simply sublime" ,
-x#
A recent issue of the Chicago Herald con-
tanned the following: 1.-THE author of u. s.
Mall is c. jerks. Just who c. jerks is we are
unable to say, hut it would not be a great sur
prise to learn that the name is only an alias and
that the author is in real life Hobart Brooks,
the Washington correspondent Of the New
Haven Register, who is the manager of the
company and who was aided by Max Ihmsen
correspondent of the Pittsburg Post"
Mr.. c. jerks is not Mr.. Hobart Brooks, nor is
Mr.. Hobart Brooks in any sense whatever the
author of the ~. S. Mail" Plttsburgers know
very well that George c. jerks wrote the "U
S. MAIL" but now that the farce has scored an
unmistakable success he may expect to hear
that everybody connected with the production,
actors, managers and hackers, has prior claim
to the authorship. This is always the way.
The author of a play must be prepared to ac-
cept the role of the father of a newborn babe
as soon as his offspring begins to coin money.
the baby arrives-well, the author amounts to
less.
Mr.. Fulton, the capable advance agent of the
of the Marks Internationals. told me this story
yesterday:
Lieutenant Frank Travis. late of Her Ma
jesty's navy. now mystifying by his ventrilo-
quial deceptions the audiences of Marks In.
ternationals. is very versatile young man.
A devotee of science, in an amateur way, he
has gone, naturally. into the quasi-scentific,
partly mystic, researches attendant upon a
study of the but lately acknowledged mysteries
of hypnotiSm. Lieutenant Travis delving in
the realms of what has hitherto been con-
sdered occultism and consequently foolish
ness, has been resultful, inasmuch as he has to
q degree acquired the power of subordinatng
the wills OF others, hypnotic subjects, to his
own. His experiments have excited no end of
wonder and some amusement among his
friends but his development was not sufficient
to serve the fun-making purposes of the Lieu
tenant. So en- route from Liverpool to New
York. on the 1nman Liner, City of New York.
he took confederate into his confidence and
after three or four hours seclusion, the duo
was well prepared to astonish the habitues of
the smoking solon of Captain Watkins floating
palace.
The confederate was Henri Cazman, Cheva-
lier of France, necromancer and shadowgraph-
ist to the Shah of Persia. also of the Interna-
tionals. Equipped as they were. with mutual
understandings the two dropped into the salon
by different entrances, and the willy Travis
seating himself near some steamship acQuaint-
ances (English, of course) proceeded to dis
course upon the recent discoveries of the
French savants concerning the possibilities of
the sixth sense" The acquaintance a stancb
Briton with four clubs and two country houses
on his carte de visite, doubted. The lieutenant
persisted. Cazman was interested in piquet
game on the other side OF the room. The
Observation-Disclosures wagerer, the lieuten-
ant, took him." and by mutual agreement the
Chevalier Cazman was designated as the object
of the experiment Travis addressed him in a
tone of command. Cazman, insulted, arose to
resent, but stopped, stony, in his tracks. Travis
said. in the same tone of command, "You
are a dog-over, the table,, quickp And
are Syna voI table at Surt
you must fall" continued Travis, in his
mandatory tone Cazman dropped stiff to the
floor. II say, that's brutal don't you know"
excitedly exclaimed the Englishman He'll
hurt himself falling that way; bring him about.
can't you?' Travis said he could, and made a
few magical passes, which restored the hyp-
paid for the small bottle and three glasses we're
served instead o! two as agreed. But he warlly
avoided Travis during the rest of the trip and
was heard by Cazman telling friend, Hes
dangerous sort of chap, you know. He might
as easily have made him give up his money as
do that Jump" The enlightenment came to
his bewildered mind only when Sandy Hook
had been passed and the acquaintances of a
pleasant week were about to be Separated
rxH
So
The Duquesne Theater is in fair way to
completion at an early date. The building, as
far as the exterior walls are concerned. is prac-
tcally finished, but not until the roof is on can
the contractor set the opening date with per-
feet certainty. But the theater ought to be
open before Christmas.
IS
The theaters present q great range of at
fractions this week. from Emma Abbott in