Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-02

where the villain turks and lies In wait for
the heroine, the horizon indicating either
cky or water, and the rocky pass showing
a mountain scene To these may be added
multitude Of smaller pieces, such as statu-
ary. gardens, railings and leg drops which
are usually semi-circular in form and are
used in plecing out setting
THE fine art CT scene painting finds its
highest development in the decoration of the
prcscenlum curtain or front drop. This
task calls forth the best efforts of the artist
and upon the result depends the praise or
blame Of an audience. Many drop curtains.
especially those In the great cities Of this
country and Europe. are works Of the highest
art and are the achievements Of men who
have gained world wide fame through the
blending Of colors and execution Of original
and beautiful designs"
Trinity Church ThcatricnIs.
Three or four years ago the young people
OF Unity church, with the assistance of cer-
tain Of the older ones, who had been young.
gained considerable celebrity by the really
admirable way In which they presented the
Howells farces, which were just then com
ing out in Harper's Monthly. After that,
from various causes, the cast Of characters,
which, 1t will be remembered, remained
pretty constant throughout the season, was
seriously impaired and in spite of efforts for
reorganization the Unity club has not up to
this time been conspicuous figure in the
local theatrical field.
Last night. however, a new company, in
which the face of Mr.. II. s. Mann was the
only one familiar to those who saw the
Howells series, presented John Kendrick
Bangs screaming farce. 1.-THE Bcyclers," in
a manner which showed that dramatic en-
cellence with this society is a constant guam
tity, and Is not seriously affected by death,
removals. or the lapse Of time. There have
been professional performances not a few in
Omaha, as the writer can testify from bitter
personal experiences which In point of art
istic completeness did not come within
speaking distance OF this entertainment 1t
Is true that no professionals have yet shown
us how "The Bicyclers" should be done, but
the Hollands are playing 1t as a curtain
raiser, and ar opportunity for comparisons
may be given later in the season. The
Unity people, however, need have no fear
that their offering will be put to shame.
even in such august company.
Mrs. Matheson, who is deservedly a favor
lite in lines of work to which, in view of
her fine abilities, one hopes she will not
confine herself too long. had in "The BIZ
cyclers" part differing in most respects
from others in which she has been seen.
Her success in it would seem to indicate pos
sibilitles, which her admirers have long sus-
pected, in the direction of good results to be
obtained from departure from that class
OF eccentric character business with which
she has heretofore been chiefly identified.
Her performance in this role was distinctly
an advance, artistically, upon her work as
the vinegary splnster in the sketch which
followed, even as that showed vastly more
smoothness and mastery of detail than she
had attained on the occasion of its first pres
entation.
From one end of the cast to the other, all
did well, and quite deserved the enthusiastic
recall they received. Mr.. Herring and Judge
Shields, as the two bicycle fends. were so
good that they need be no better, the latter
showing grasp Of the monocle and fluency
In English dialect which surprised his
friends. Mr.. Short was an acceptable Thad-
deus, Mrs. Montgomery and Miss Nelson
pleased In very small parts. and Mr.. Manu.
who has the making in him OF first rate
legitimate comedian, contributed what was in
some respects the most finished performances
Of the evening.
During the intermission Miss Darlene Coe
played two violin solos-Svendsen's "Ro-
manza" and Mendelssohns "On the Wings
of Song"-very well indeed, the organ ac-
compartment being by Miss Josephine
Thatcher; and the entertainment closed with
the bright little sketch, "Rosberry Shrub
Sec.," which was repeated with the same cast
provided for it's first performance last month,
and in which Mrs. Wheeler, although she
suffered from severe cold, repeated the sue
cess which she achieved on the former oc-