The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-10-18
John I. PERFORMS WELL.
The Improvement in His Acting
Astonishes and Entertains
a Large Audience.

The people who trained John L. Sulll-
van for the stage have had much better
luck than those who trained him Tor the
ring and il John the big Fellow" had
made as much improvement in his fight
ing as he has in his acting there would III
all human probabilities have been no
necessity for placing after the words
.Champion Of the Wcrld' on his bills the
humiliatlng couplet twelve years:
Those who went TO the Academy OF Music
last eveuing with ludricous recollectlous
of the manner in which Mr.. SULLIVAN
talked about "me mudder" aud the dir.
ficulty he had of keeping ont OF the way OF
his W feet, when he took Il snpprolnate
part in Honest Hearts and Wlinng
Hands, were much surprised at the lead
ing part he filled and the manner 10
which he did his work. OF course Sulil-
van is a long way from being an actor.
His gestures are crude and ne does not
seem 10 know what to do with MS nands
when he has not a pair of s1de pockets
into which to thrust them. Still. he has
learned to move about the stage easily, II
not gracefully, aud he speaks MS lines
aistinctly and gratnmatically. the play
is called ..The Man From Boston" aud
has not much about it to recommend IL TO
popular favor.
~ e doCTRe ONestDus l. Ia II PD
the Howard football team, without whom
the team cannot win. Dick Darrell and
Tom Barckley, two sports. have per
heavily on the game against Georges
team. Knowing George to be honest.
they take him to Il gambling house. drug
him and make him think he has given l.
o. Us. $4,000, his losses. They offer TO
give him his notes If he will sell the game.
and il he won't they threaten to expose
him to his father. He, Of course, refuses.
and they go to his father and tell HIM
that his boy has agreed to sell the game.
| The old gentleman drugs him to keep
| him off the field. The match m on
| and Georgia is too i'll to play. The Yale
men are about to claim the game
when Sullivan as Captain Harconrt, the
man from Boston, who 10 visiting the
! Ofertons, comes upou the scene and taxes
the place of George. The game goes Oh.
| And such a g ,mel 1t should be seen tn
be. appreciated. Seven men In regulation
football qarb line up on each side or the
stage yelling the we'll known college yelis
as though they were afraid they wou!d
wake tue baby. The referee lays down
the ball as tenderly as though it were an
os rich Egg and John picks it up. Then
the me come together aud john moves
among them like the blind man in blind
man's buff for 8 few minute and the i'm
meise throng of four spectators tells you
John has scored a touch down. Then
4 COMES Tile hlCh I RjdI. "A yOhhS A1h
lies on his stomach aud holds the ball out
! regulation style. John gently pulls up
the Leg of his nice white duck trousers
aud touches the ball with his toes.
It disappears in the wings while
the immense crowds of spectators cheer
n,adIy. Georges fnther casts him of.
and Captain Harcourt takes him in and
wis the gratitude of May Fielding,
G. urge's sweetheart. When he does So,
May kisses Sullivan twice. while John
looks as though he would like to have
that part cut out OF the play. Sullivan
thwarts the william and restores George
10 his fathers affections. Thus tar 1t has
been u little dubious as to what the play
means. But that is cleared up in the last
act. George there tells May that the
good Captain HarcourI Is not the broker
they all think he is. He is a public char
acter who is known the world over, and
who has been most foully illuminated.
II ne raised his voice above q whisper. it
was Immediately heralded over the world
that he had beaten a woman or whipped
an old man, If he drank Il little, un-
~scrupulous newspaper men wrote Sian
Gerous stories OF his great debauch.
$50 he determined to go out into the
world aud under an assumed name show
people that he was the warm-hearted
generous man we know him"
"Who is uhis great manf" May asks,
and George grandiloquently ex-
plains:-
"John L. Sullivan, Champion Of the
World for twelve years."
Whereat the gods almost lifted the root.
The play ends with a great glove contest
between John L. and jack Ashton which
was only equalled In fervity by the foot
ball match in the second act.
Sullivan made two speeches during the
evening. In response to the cheers and
applause which greeted his first appear
apce he said
Ladies and gentlemen, | thank you
one and all for this hearty reception
which shows that ] am still in the heart
of Jersey City," The second speech was
when he came out in RUG costume to bat
tie with Ashton. Stepping to the foot
lights he stumbled through some words
whiei showed that the Big Fellow Is
generous whatever faults he may hays
sCorbett Is champion now" he began,
s'pnd I wish MIN all the LUCK possible. l
was champion once and am a b OK mum
Der now. / may be champion again"
The applause that interrupted him at
this point and lasted fully tive minutes
and brought to his face the only smile
seen there during the evening. When
4 the applause ceased he went on.
"But | am a back number now, and
wish you a good luck" The support
given Mir. Sullivan was indifferent. The
best members of the troupe by all odis
were Grace Ottillie and Bobby Mack.
They sang and danced admirably aud
kept things from getting m0notonous
when John was off the stage.