Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-27

= Iss9 sgss9S@T
Biiou Theater Oliver Byron
Duquesne Theater. Carleton Opera Company
Grand Opera House............. Abraham Lincoln
AVN Ineater merchans
Williams Academy. Tony Pastor
| Worlds Museum. Ten Nights in a Barroom
Davis Museum m................. Curiosities. etc.
The above are the theatrical attractions
for this week.
| In such extraordinary heat as prevailed
all last week it was not to be expected that
the theaters would be crowded-in fact the
wonder is that they drew as many
people as they did. The opening of
the Alvin Theater was accomplished
auspiciously, and of course, the new theater
| attracted more attention than any thing else
! in the theatrical way. The quality of the
| attractions is steadily getting better as the
season grows, and properly speaking the
season only begins with this week at the
| Duquesne Theater. In the coming week
| "The Merchant" n legitimate drama, at the
Alvin Theater: Carleton's Opera Company
| in Indigo" at the Duquesne; Abraham
| Lincoln" a historical drama, at the Grand
| Opera House; Oliver Byron in 1.-THE
Plunger," at the Bijou, are all novelties here
| with tho exception of the last named.
Oliver Byron and his successful play 'rThe
| Plunger," will be at the Bijou the present
week. Since the initial performance in this
| city last year, Mr.. Byron has done well with
| the play. The scenic effects in the play are
really one of its best features. One act of
the play is the Park Place elevated railroad
station in New York City. Park Place is in
| the very heart OF the great metropolis and
there is scarcely another spot in the world
| that presents picture animated or
| affords view of SO many phases of human
life. The east side OF the Park Place station
is shown: with an illuminated view
| of the New York postofice and the
| famous towering newspaper buildings.
| The story told in the play is one that
interests the audience from beginning to
| end. Miss Kate Byron in her impersonation
| of WfdOlO Clover, it will be remembered,
! gives us a fair type of the Dublin gentle
woman-handsome, refined, eccentric, ,gener-
! Gus to fault, excitable but courageous. She
| is always droll. The plot is interesting. The
| Plasnge1, Oliver Byron, becomes an amateur
| detective in order to extricate his friend,
| Walter GLyndo1l, from the meshes of the law.
| GIyndon is falsely accused or forgery and
| sentenced to a term OF imprisonment. How
ever, the Plttnger finally traps the bona f1de
| forger and murderer with his several ac-
| complies, and all ends happily. Gly71do1
gets the girl of his choice and the Pt1nger
| hypnotizes the widow into taking him for
| better, for worse. At the Saturday matinee
and night the ever popular play Across the
Continent" will be given.
1t is singular that such very thin and nat
| mess as 1.-THE High Roller" should have ever
got upon the stage. Thanks to some pretty
women, who can dance, and to one or two
| clever comedians, who can act the perform
arce comes up to the average of farce COM
edy in some degree, but it cannot live In
| the very hot weather the more trihing o
| show is the better it seems to go, and that
| accounts for the lenient treatment "The
High Roller" has received in Pittsburg
j d. (TilDnrtnnd 1Ottin M0rtimar
''The High Roller from the rocks.
The first comic opera of the season will be
seen at tine Duquesne Theater this week,
| which is the first week also of the regular
| season at this theater. W. T. Carleton's
| Opera Company will give "Indigo,"a comic
| opera by Strauss which has been recently
| played a the Casino, New York, and also by
| the Carleton company in Baltimore. 1t Is
| promised that "Indigo'' will show US some
! music of the light, tuneful order that has
| made Strauss beloved of dancers the world
| over. Some waltz choruses have been es-
pecially lauded elsewhere. AS for the
libretto, F. G. Burnand, the editor of the
London Punch, wrote it, and Mr. Carleton, it
| is said, has improved upon the English YER
sion, and has taken pains to relieve it of
suggestive or vulgar jeStS.
The parts are all in the hands of compe-
tent artists who are well known in Pitts
burg including J. K. Murray, Clara Lane,
Alice Vincent Clara Nisdom, Marion Lang
don, W. H. Fitzgerald, Charles A. Bigelow
and Fred Huntley. The scenery for the pro
duction OF indigo is entirely new and
magnificent in detail. The costumes are
also new and of gorgeous patterns. The or
chestra and chorus have been enlarged and
everything is in readiness for smooth pro-
duction.
There are two society leaders in Carleton's
company who take the parts of Dudind and
Ihlipa respectively. Miss NJ .nnie Washburn,
doh,
more last week shook the social world from
center to circumference, was brought up in
the belief that she was sole heiress to s. OOO,-
0OO She was educated accordingly, and
lived in magnificent style at Montclair, N.
J. Not quite one year ago her father lost
every cent of his vast fortune and the cold
truth stared this petted darling of society in
the face that she must either work for her
living or starve. she took the former
course, and, with the aid of a good voice, Sc
cured an engagement with the Carleton
company.
Mrs. Cronyn, whose stage name is Dorothy
Downing, held social sway in Buffalo for sew
eral seasons, but she had some difficulty
with her husband and Joined the Carleton
company. she, too, has received many So
cial attentions since her debut.
There has been good deal of talk about
the unrighteousness ofmaking the martryed
Lincoln the subject of a drama, but 1 con-
fess that cannot see why dramatists should
be denied the OF the grandest figure III
American history. The play ought to be
worthy OF the subject, of course, but in itself
the embodiment of the chief events in
Lincoln's life in play need not be offensive
to q soul. Nor is it clear why some critics
insist that John Wilkes Booth cannot be
represented on the stage without insulting
his great brother, the actor. So that
"Abraham Lincoln'' the drama by Archibald
Gordon and Mckee Rankin, which comes
to the Grand Opera House this v eek is en-
titled to as favorable IL hearing as any other
historical play, and to be judged un-
der the same rules. 1t is said
to be realistic picture of the
most dramatic episodes in Lincoln's career
naturally finding 4 climax in the assassina-
ton. Other strong scenes are said to be the
signing of the declaration of emancipation
the tragic end OF Booth, and the inaugura,
ton OF Lincoln, which offers an opportunity
for great military pageant III the cast,
which by the way, presents a dozen or more
of the principal figures in the national his
tory of lS0l-5, are several good actors-nota-
bly, Mvron Lef1lngwel. who plays Booth, and
Elmer Grandin as Lincoln The m;lke-up of
the latter Is said to be wonderfully true to
the great original.
The Improvement of orchestral music is
attracting good deal Of attention just now.
and it is high time. The other night in Chi
caro- on the occasion of the production of
"The Leavenworth Case" at the Grand
Opera House, the bad Judgment displayed
in the selection of the music, and the poor
performance of it, jeopardized several
strong and intense situations. How often
the same thing has been noted here. Our
orchestras here are fully up to the average.
but they can be improved, and ought to be-
Asz~..s :