The San Francisco call., 1897-08-22

DO vou know where The Heart, OF
MARYLAND will be ten years hence 2"
asked a blase plavgoer the other night,
curing the progress o! Belaseo's New
Romantic Play at the Baldwin. you
never guess riddles2 This is not a conun-
drum; it is a mere matter of the eternal
fitness OF things. The Heart of Mary
land in Just about ten years will be one
of the good old stand-bys of the meIo-
drama houses. BY that time ii will b.
literally lntcrspersed wita up-to-date
song and dance turns. l should not be
surprised 10 see the sensational beifry
episode advertised something IL this way:
Great swing for life! New and startling
effectsl The management begs TO an
nounce the special engagement OF Signora
Hercules, the record breaking strong
woman and wo-ld-renowned trapeZe art
ist. Signora Hercules viii execute double
somersault between each swing OF t he bell,
and will catch the cIapper again before it
has time 10 strike Yes, the bloom is on
the rye Just now, but when il wears off
you will lind that the new romantic play
Is too essentially noisy to hold its place III
the affections of 81 50 audiences. From
Shakespeares time downward it is only
the groundlings who have really enjoyed
having their ears split"
Blase comment apart, the bolfry act
really is a dangerous vaudeville turn"
Mrs. Leslie Carter seizes the clepper of a
huge bell and swings madly to and fro in
midair with all the grace and daring of
skilled trapeze artist. l only wonder that
admiring old gentlemen and nervous
old ladies have not clamored ere
this to a net spread beneath
the heroine while she does her flying
trapeze act. Her hands may be fastened
with straps to the clapper of the bell
and she may have all an acrobat's cool
nerve. but one day something may break,
or Mrs Carter's much-taxed nerve may
desert her-and America will mourn one
OF her most gifted and delightful act
resses.
Mrs. Leslie Carter is the beginning, the
middle and the end Of Beasco's new
romantic play-the Alpha and the Omega.
Not only that, but she is the greatest
trium pm, of art that CALIFORNIA; "Dave"
has yet achieved. In my opinion and the
opinions OF a good many other pc ople
Belasco the author of 1.-The Heart OF
Mary lani" Is eciipsed bv Belasco the
dramatic instructor. His charges for les
sons come rather high, as his recent law
suit with Mrs. Carriers "angel" pro-
claimed TO an interested world, but if she
is a good everyday sample OF the talent
he can manufacture out of raw material
by all means let him henceforth devote
all his energies 10 the making of ac:-
resses Good ones are rare, moie rare
even than plays of Belaseo merit His in
struction is we'll worth all the beating,
hair. puIling and expenditure of filthy
lucre it cost Mrs. Garter, if he really
made her," as he says. Let him for-
swear play-wriIing and give lessons, in
stead, and perhaps we shah see no more
of the players and reciters who have
s'neither the accent of Christians nor the
gait Of Christians or pagans and VINO
with their strutting and bell owing Sue
ceed only in initiating humanity abom-
inably."
Mrs. Leslie Carter is celiciously human,
with all the passion OF a red-headei wo-
man, added iolthe grace and naturalness
OF an actress by the grace OF God perhaps
she acts more by that grace than the
grace of Belasco after all. Her energy is
some thing phenomenal. Work Why.
never saw a wo man work so hard. Long
fellows industrious village blacksmith
was a loafer pared 10 h,r. For