Los Angeles herald., 1890-10-13
Grand Opening of the New
Los Angeles Tonight.
Hearts of Oak To Be the Great
Attraction There.
Next Week at the Grand Opera House
With CarletOn's Company.
Points on Plays and Players from Many
Places Near and Far, With Something
About New Plays.

Mr.. James A. Herne, the noted actor.
will open the new Los Angeles theater
on Monday evening, with his beautiful
play, Hearts of Oak. The piece is a
picturesque, realistic drama, dealing
with the domestic lifeo New England,
fisher settlement as it actually is,
quaint, humorous, pathetic, lovable,
ever ready to risk their lives in saving
others. The hero of this play, Terry
Dennison, is a big, strong, good natured
man whose whole life is devoted to
others. Though ignorant in book learn
ing, Providence has endowed him with
sympathetic nature. He is a bachelor
blessed with good uncle and aunt, and
is we'll fixed with this worlds goods,
and has adopted two waits, whom the
sea had given up during terrible gale.
Terry brings them up to learn the
duty first above all, which in one in
stance is wrong, the case of Chrystal
who learns to have Euby Darrell, her
companion, who from small boy went
to sea, never forgetting to pledge his
troth to his little sweetheart. While
Ruby is away on one of these voyages,
Terry is urged by an old fisherman
named Owen Garroway, to believe that
Chrystal loves him, and Terry, who has
grown desperately in love with her, be-
lieves in the old man and marries her,
not on account of love with her but
duty. She explains to Ruby why she
accepts Terry and they both decide to
make the sacrifice. Ruby again goes
to sea and is not heard of for four years,
but in the meantime Terry's and
beautiful child. One evening Ruby
the shock is almost too great for Chrys-
tall but she braves it through but the
next day they meet and acknowledge
their love for each other and are
overheard by Terry and Owen.
The scales at once drop from Terry's
eyes. and he realizes that she loves one
and married another. He at once made
up his mind that it was his duty to
leave home that they might be happy in
the future. After many years he, when
he was given up for dead, returns
blind and helpless. Wandering into
the old church-yard, he seated himself
ON the base, of his own monument to
hear. the prattle of his own child, who
takes him for some poor beggar, telling
him in her childish way of his own
death and Of her mothers marriage to
Ruby, which was to take place that day
within the little church. The simple
story of the child fell so heavily on his
ears that he swooned away, but was
recognized by Owen GarrOway. He
called for help and they carried him to
the hull of an old ship, which Owen had
fitted up as home. As death was
fast approaching, Ruby, Chrystal and
little Chrystal, with faithful old
Owen, all make his last hours
on earth as comfortable as possible.
Considerable interest attaches to the
local engagement of u. S. Mail, the
farce-comedy that achieved such sue
cess in the east, and which has just
closed highly successful season of two
weeks at the Bush street theatre, San
Francisco. This is the play which it
will be remembered caused some agita-
ton in the white house. One of the
proprietors of U. S. Mail, Hobart
Brooks, of Washington, is married to
Mrs. Harrison's favorite niece. Mr..
Brooks distinguished relatives were
shocked at his descent" into the the
atrical business, the story goes. This
1eellng was ueepeHeO INTO one OF QlS-
pleasure when it was learned that a
character in the play was an ami
able "take-off,'' facially, at
least, OF Postmaster-General Wanna
maker. Relations between the two
families were reported to have been
strained for some time, but "Baby Nc
Kee" pinned for his little playmate,
'.Baby Brooks" the heir OF the Brooks
family, and the trouble has been salts
factorily adjusted, it would seem. The
adjustment was rendered comparatively
easy by the fact that the so-called carl
cature of PQstmaster-Ge General Wanamak-
er is very mild indeed, though Samuel
Reed, his prototype in the play, ''makes
up" wonderfully like the Philadelphia
merchant. "U. S. Mail'' will continue
for four nights at the new Los Angeles
theater, commencing Thursday, Octo-
Der 49, and ending Sunday night, in
Guiding Saturday matinee. The com
pany is exceptionally strong. and the
same one that has made the piece such
great Ego" elsewhere. New songs,