The record-union., 1892-05-18
ADJUSTMENTS.

1.-The Power of the Press is the title of
drama to be produced at the Metropol-
itan Theater on Friday and Saturday
evenings and at a matinee Saturday at
ternoon. 1t is said to be a good play, well
staged, and one that is bound to catch the
public. The title, however, is mislead-
ing, as the press figures in it in very
small degree. The scene of the play is
laid in New York, and through the six
acts great variety is given. The action
goes from the first scene in a tenement
house to Sing Sing, thence to the Man
haitian AthleticClub house, back to a
tenement-house district, thence to ship
yard in Aastoria, to a corridor in a New
York hotel, thence upstairs to the apart
ments of an actress, thence to private
banking Office, from there to South street.
thence to a wharf on that thoroughbred
next to the cabin of a bark and thence to
the deck. The story is powerful tenn
perance lecture. Shephen Carson, a ship
carpenter, marries Annie Hosford, and
in so doing incurs the enmity of Tur-
ner Morgan. The latter introduces him
into bad company, makes him a drunk
ard and finally lands him in Sing Sing
for burglary he never committed. The
rest OF the play is devoted to Stephens
efforts to establish his innocence, which,
of course, he succeeds in doing in the last
act, and yillainy meets its merited pun
ishment. The scenery is feature The
shipyard at Astoria, the wharf scene and
the picture on the deck when the villain
is captured are all clever specimens of
stage art. The cast is a large one. Few
of the thousands who have witnessed
1.-The Power of the Press have realized
that the play is but a reproduction of
actual events which happened in New
DIRK City few years ago, and that its
afo IRON tn1.G mr. hn =
life studies by the author, Manager Au-
gustus Pitou.
Mr.. Pitou in reading leading New
York daily paper few years ago was
struck by the recital made therein of GER
tain evidence presented before the Gov
ernor of the State going to show the inno-
cence of a prisoner recently released from
Sing Sing, after having served an unjust
sentence of seven years in that institu-
ton.
Curiosity led him to follow up the story
and the persons it concerned, and bit by
bit he built up the real story OF the lives
of the characters which he has brought
into the play he has called .'The Power of
the Press, Pin honor of the service done in
cause of humanity and justice by the daily
paper referred to.
All traces of the identity of the various
characters have, of course, been de-
stroyed in Mr.. Pitou's dramatic work,
but the various men and women who
were interested or implicated in the case
referred to were sketched with such fidel-
ity that many who saw the play during
its long New York run were able to iden-
tify them.
The lifelike character of the scenes is
thus easily explained, and the stage set
tingS are equally true to life, as they have
been made and built from Photographic
reproductions of the localities visited by
Mr.. Pitou in his researches for the ma
terial used in the play.
The services of George Jessup were
made use of by MIR. Pitou only after the
play was carefully outlined, and it is
singular fact that, after the two authors
had completed their work, the name of
THE Power Of the Press was written
out by both, as the individual choice of
each gentleman, without previous con-
sultation or discussion.