The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-09-01
FAlRYLAND TONIGHT.
The Production of ssThe Temp
est at the Grand
Will Easily Eclipse Amy Former
Amateur Performance
That Hes Been Given in This City
The Full Dress Rehearsal Last
Night Showed Everything
to be in Perfect Order.

An audience which will probably test
| the capacity of the house will see a
splendid production of Shakespeare
Tempest at the Grand tonight.
The piece was put on last night ex-
actly it Will be seen tonight, in a full
dress rehearsal, and when the curtain
dropped on the last act Miss Georgia
Brown declared the production to be sat
isfactory.
By o'clock last night every one of the
$50 children of the fairy chorus was sitting
on the stage of the Grand dressed in fairy
costumes, the scenery was set, the cleo
tricians were in their places, and all other
details were in readiness for the ascent
of the curtain At 10 minutes past S
O'Clock the curtain went up and the
Tempest was on.
From that time up to IL O'Clock, with
the exception of the intermissions be-
tween the acts. the stage of the Grand
was a continuous panorama of beautiful
light effects, costumes and moving hu-
manity. The spectacular effects were car
ried through excellently, and the Tenn
pest will easily outrival any amateur
spectacular production seen in Topeka in
the past
a prettfes picture can hardly be imagin-
ed that little Melville Wood, the Ariel of
the Tempest as he suddenly descends
through space to the stage of the Grand
in the first act and stands before Pros
pero enveloped in a wreath of light.
With blonde curls and rosy cheeks, dress
ed in a flesh colored fairy costume, he
looks every inch a fairy god. In the last
act he swings out over the heads of the
dancing fairies sitting in star and
wearing electric crown
The Amazon March and the dance
of the Demons in the second act, and the
Dance of the Seasons" the Jester
Dance and the Electric Dance in the
third act are features which win provoke
the heartiest applause tonight. Every
one of the $50 children who take part in
the production shows the result of a
months instruction under the direction of
Miss Brown, and they take their respec-
tive parts with an absolute harmony
hardly to be expected of children
The Tempest will surpass the Mid
summer Nights Dream given for the
benefit of the Unity club by Miss Brown
in this city several years ago, and this
fact calls to mind the criticism made of
that production by George R. Peck, who
was then the general attorney of the
Santa Fe. Mr.. Peck said:
Il have seen this play put the stage
in New York city under the management
of Daily, and 1 say without hesitation,
that this Is the best performance ever
saw. When we think of it, it is not at all
strange that this should be. The profess
sfonal is obliged to rely upon a class of
children for the spectacular dances and
other stage work, who, to say the least.
are not drawn from the best homes of
the city. Miss Brown, on the other hand,
takes the children of the best families
bright and cultivated, and her material
is therefore infinitely better than can be
gathered for such work on the profession
al STAGE
The boxes at either side of the house
have been prettily decorated in the Fes-
tival colors by Mrs. c. S. Sutton, and here
the Festival Queen and the members of
her court will view the initial production
of the Tempest tonight Prior to the
ascent of the curtain the Festival Queen
march, recently composed by Mr.. Roehr,
will be played by the orchestra
While big house is already assured for
tonight's production, desirable seats can
be secured at the box office tonight