St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-03-12
THE WHITE SQUADRON"
A Famous Play for the MetrOpol-
itan This Week.

At the Metropolitan theater tomorrow
night one of the best mounted plays
ever seen in this city will begin a
weeks engagement. 1t is useless to
undertake a glowing eulOgy of The
White Squadron" The enthusiastic
reception which it received in Chicago
the past two weeks at McNicker's thea
ter demonstrates the caliber of this
spectacular romantic naval drama.
The White Squadron" has national
tone, and appeals to all theater-gOers.
The American flag is so brought out
and so glorified in the play that the
patriotism of every American who sees
it is raised to the highest pitch. Now
adays il is refreshing to see an Amer
lean manager who has sufficient nerve
AMI confidence in the American public
TO invest SO 0)0 in a production which
contains as Its central idea story of
American patriotism and bravery.
The scene opens in Brazil. A man
Of-war from each of the principal ma
tons in the world arrives in the harbOr
Of Rio Janeiro to protest formally
against the holding Of their various citi-
Zens by Organized bands Of brirandS in
Brazil. Victor StauntOn, the command
Pr of the United States steamship CHI
cagO, is expecting instructions from
America By the cruiser Yorktown. Gen.
de ROmaciO, of the Brazilian army (whO
is secretly the leader OF the banditS),
who fears the American officer, inter
cents the orders. PaulO Silveria, who
is the lover of the generals daughter, is
sent in command of an escort to llama
train of silver from the interior mines 10
RIO. PaulO discovers that the general
is the bandit chief, but Is deferred from
betraying him through love for his
daughter. In Act takes place
the congress of navieS, during
which Santos, a Moorish slave, belong
ing to the general, enters, yOked to an
immense OK. At the end of this act
StauntOn denOunceS the general to the
naval officers assembled. Previous TO
this StaunIUn has made an engagement
with FOnSeca, the director general, TO
meet him on the Parahiba the next
night, and he will point out to him the
leader of the bandits. Act is in the
Brazilian mountains. The general has
sent his bandits, disguised as soldiers,
to oStensibly guard the second llama
train of silver. and so perform his duty
as military protector. FOnSeca, accom-
panied by Staunton, goes to the mount
aims in disguise and cOnfrOntS the gen.
eral in the very act. Staunton, also,
with the aid of his tarS, effects the
escape of several Americans who were
held prisoners for ransom, among whom
are his sweetheart and sister.
The company is one of unusual eX-
eellence, and includes Robert billiard,
whose attractive personal, physical and
mental qualities have placed him in the
very front rank of heroic actors. AS
ISOLATED with him in the cast are Will
lam Harcourt, May Wheeler, Elmer
Grandln, Jessie beagle, Edwin Bar
bOur, May Maskell, Eugene Sanger,
Lillian Leach, j. j. Coleman, Ernst
hastings, j. E. LAWYER, Murray Woods,
and other equally clever people. To
properly present this great spectacle the
company carry four carloads of scenery,
costumes, properties and other access
GOries. During the action of the third
act over $50 SupernumerarieS are used.
"The White Squadron" with its bold
ness of conception, its wOndrouS third
act, its Intermittent dramatic strength,
and its picturesqueneSs, makes it a
work that should be seen by every stu
dent of the drama, or by those who
enjoy powerful novel sensation from
dramatic effect.