Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-11-22
N THE PLAY HOUSES.
Attractions During the Past and Com
ing Week in Local Theatres.
Excellent Companies Booked for
Thanksgiving-The Past Six Days
Were Dull-Gossip About Stage
Favorites, and Other Matters
Pertaining to the Stage.

There were no really first-class at
fractions in the local theatres during
the past week, with the exception OF the
evening Of comedy by local talent at
the Opera House Monday. The
six days were dull. The Humane So
ciety benefit was a fiattering success,
however, both as to the box Office re-
ceipts, and the artistic merit of the
performances. It is customary to deal
lightly in the way Of criticisms with
home talent" entertainments, but this
conventional forbearance might be ig-
nored in discussing the merits Of the
work of the well-known Wheeling Ia
dies and gentlemen, in the three one-act
plays which constituted the Evening
of Comedy" at the Opera House. The
work of Miss Henning, Miss Reed, and
Messrs FranZheim, OFT, Morgan and
McMechen, would have done credit to
many more pretentious Therspians. The
success of the affair is largely due to
the painstaklng efforts of Miss Hen
mig, who conducted the rehearsals and
directed the production.
Manager Feinler offered his patrons
during the week, a farce comedy, My
Dad the Devil" and an Irish melo-
drama Garry Owen" The farce was
fair, and was enacted by competent
company. It gave general satisfaction
to patrons of the house. Garry Owen"
is fair representation of a class Of
plays which have long since lost in
terest with habitual theatre-goers. The
Irish melodramas are nearly all alike,
and while they might have been money
makers years ago, they should now be
classed with Uncle Toms Cabin, ."
"Ten Nights in a Bar Room" and SIM
liar plays which are seldom forced
upon any but rural towns.
The similarity in all so-called Irish
melodramaS is so marked as to sug-
gest the thought that there was an Or
iginal Irish melodrama, and all since
have been imitators. They all have for
the hero a daring, reckless, hardy
young fellow, poor as a church mouse,
but honest. He loves the heroine, n
buXom lass. with a fondness for green
skirts. who possesses among other ac-
complishments, the ability to sing and
dance. She is also loved by a wicked
squire, who has a decrepit old Sound
rel as his tool. For two acts every
thing goes wrong. to the accompani-
ment of false accusations, British red
coats. evictions. the ruined mill, the
village church and graveyard. but the
innocence of "Lanty' is declared, the
Squire is discomfitted and all ends well
in the last act There is too much
sameness about this class Of plays, but
il must be said to their credit that they
are morally clean, and teach whole
some lessons.
"a Booming Town" is a new must
cal farce comedy this season in which
Smith & Cook are the stars. A land
agent in order to boom the town has
engaged Buffalo Bill and Dr. Carver
to give an exhibition, but for some
reason they disappoint him. In order
to make good his promise he engages
two tramps to impersonate Buffalo Bill
and DR.. Carver, who are known as
Weary Walker and Willie EverwOrk,
but at last they are discovered. In
the second act they impersonate two
doctors in order to open up the first
drug store, and in the third act manage
to get mixed up so that they elope
with Vera and Ada who do not know
that they are making a mistake. The
fun all through the play is based on
the two tramps Disgusting themselves
and impersOnating these different
characters. This attraction will come
to the Grand next Monday Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday, with mat
inees Wednesday and Thursday after
moons.