Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-31
UP At THE BAY.
Theatrical Matters Of General
Interest.
The Last Of Jane and The Cos
soon.
Blue Jeans Has Created Sensation.
Carroll johnson Scores suc-
cess In White Face
Work-N0tes.


the last of Jane and The Gossoon, but
Blue Jeans stays on yet another weak.
You will see all three in Los Angeles.
The Baldwin attraction, Jane, is very
funny farce and is preceded by Chums,
an exceedingly bright curtain-raiser.
Chums is an illustration of Charles
Frohman's luck. Not that he has not
long business head but luck is on his
side besides. When the prize in the
New York Herald one-act play competi-
ton was awarded to Hearts a number
of New York managers went after it,
Frohman among the number. But T.
Henry French put in his bid first, and
got it, and while it is conceded to pos
sess much literary merit, it has never
theless turned out fiat failure, go far
as any acting qualities are concerned.
Losing the prize play Frohman did the
next best thing and secured one of the
pieces that had received honorable mem
ton, Chums, by Thomas Frost. And it
has turned out to be one of the best
curtain-raisers that has seen the light in
many day. 1t is well constructed and
we'll written. The situations are very
funny and are naturally led up to and
the dialogue is very bright. Jane, the
principal piece of the bill, is almost
pure farce and gives Johnstone Bennett
opportunities in the title role that have
enabled her to become famous. It was
taken from the same French source as
Lend Me Your Wife, but the only re-
semblance between the two plays is that
the central character in each is young
man who finds it necessary to provide
himself with some one to pass off as his
wife at very short notice. The develop
ment of the plot is entirely different in
the two pieces. / think Jane will
please you and you cannot help liking
Chums.
Blue Jeans has created q sensation at
the California, and is doing very large
business. 1t is play of Hoosier life,
extremely well played and illustrated by
handsome scenery and remarkable
effects. There is an interesting story,
number of clever characterizations and
country band that will delight you.
The principal characters are played by
Lawrence Hanley, Laura Burt and
Lillian Lamson, the latter California
girl. Laura Burt,s June is one of the
most delightful performances imagin
able. The thing which more than any
thing has made this play famous is the
saw-mill scene. This is very realistic.
The stage is set to represent the interior
of mill, with real circular saws, saving
boards, which gang of men bring and
take away. Near the end of the act the
hero and his engineer have fight, in
which the former is knocked senseless
and falls across plank which was placed
in position to be sawed and had been
left there as the men knocked off work
at the blowing of the noon whistle.
Then the engineer starts the machinery,
the saw revolves and the plank moves
onward, carrying the hero towards the
teeth which cut into the wood with the
familiar buzzing sound. The heroine
has heen locked up in the Office but
breaks the door down with chair and
rushes down the steps and across the
mill just in time to save the hero from
the saw, with barely an inch to spare.
The scene is very thrilling and works
the audience up to a tremendous pitch
of excitement, but it is not the only
thing in the play, which is one of the
best of the kind / have ever seen.
x*x
Carroll johnson is at the Bush playing
The Gossoon. It is an Irish play, and
was written by E. E. Kidder. who wrote
The Poor Relation and Peaceful Valley
for Sol Smith Russell. 1t is much bet
ter than the usual run of Irish plays
written nowadays, and has consistent
and very well told story. johnson makes
hit in the title role, and gives a very
enjoyable performance of the stage Irish
man, songs and all. No one expected,
when he left negro minstrelsy for Irish
comedy, that he would be 30 successful
as he has been, but he has sufficiently
proven that he knew what he was about.
He is clever, handsome and delightful
singer, his rendition of Sweet Annabel
being a gem. The character he portrays
is little out OF the common, being
CHEEKY, happy-go-lucky young Irish
squire, instead of the out-at-elbows
young scallawag usually selected as a
subject by the people in his line. He
has an excellent company and gives a
good performance. He is well seeing,
and am sure you will like him.
~
Olivar Doud Byron is at the Alcazar,
and is giving The Plunger, supported by
the stock company The Black Hussar
has scored hit at the Tivoli and will
run another week.
Work is rapidly progressing on Stock
wells theater, and there is no doubt
that it will be completely finished by
the LIST of July, full week before the
date set for the opening by the DAILY
company. The decorators are at work,
the theater will undoubtedly be one of
the handsomest and one OF the most
perfect on the coast.
x*x
The attractions at the San Francisco
theaters for the week beginning May
30th will be generally excellent. Francis
Wilson will be at the Baldwin with The
Merry Monarch, Blue Jeans will cele-
brate it's last week at the California,
The Fast Mail will be at the Bush J.,
Oliver Dou Byron will present Hew
at the Alcazar, the Black Hussar will
be continued at the Tivoli and Emma
Juch will present Pinafore at the Grand
opera house, with big company in her
support.
x*x
Emma Juch will make her first ap.
pearance in comic opera as Josephine in
Pinafore at the San Francisco Grand
opera house next week.
Gloriana, The Lost Paradise, Frank
Daniels, Donnelly and Girard, Reed and
Collier, The Ensign, Tuxedo, Haverly's
Minstrels. Marie Hubert. Frohman