The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-01-10

furnished a large aud fence at the Columbia
| ihea'er last niSht with any amount of fun
sAu tFotlc- There are few pieces Ct the
same order that ara fuller OF chances for a
good company. and this production OF The
iIonlgai Father is in The hands Of capa-
| ole people There is 4 tramp a policeman,
a dude and a number OF other people. ali
Of whom are indigenous to the eoil OF farce
comedy, and they keen at the funniaktnr
| from the beginning 10 the end Of the per
ioFihance. pr pretty girls there are rye or
SIX. in this beyy, Miss Irene Franklin is
the leader. and in a hoydenlah. roIlickipg
way she sets tile pace Tor her lovely ulay-
mates. More than half the time the Mot
OF the piece goes out of sight altogether
ana on MS ruins rises a host oil performers
with songs and dances and limitations This
part OF the performance is entirely salts
| factory, the audience last night was OF that
opinion, Tor II went OFF into storms of an
piause for the best features.
Hilary Boil In New York Press; 1t ia
not agreeable to relate that during the
year this country has produced no actors
who promise distinction tn art. We find
no possible successors to Ada RehaD. .Ioh,
Drew, James Lewis, Viola Allen. Henry
Miller, Herbert Kelley. Georgia Cavvan
Virginia Harmed, Nat Goodwin .Tosoph lof,
ferson, W. II. Crane. Mrs Yearnaus Mari.
Bates ". IL. Sotllern W. J. lie Muyne. w
j. ferguson, Agnes Booth j. n. Stoddnrt
Mrs. Walcott or Maud Adams. 4 war
mat passes without bringing forth new
actor IS notable and Disappointing.
player, however gifted. leaves nothing be-
mud but memory. Harris fostered oner,
aud melo drama in England. Abbey estab
lished opera ana introduced fine ART IL,
America, and both have enduring monu-
ments But who save those that Witnessed
their performances can remember the droll
VII OF Lewis. the fine feryor OF SalyIni
and the miracles of Hermann?
The American tour OF THE Sign of the
Cross" viii terminals prematurely. Here
we have an illustration of the uncertainties
Of the drama as business. Out OF this |
play Wilson Barrett is making a great for. |
tune In England. The clergy of London |
acclaimed 1t as a proper religious melo- |
drama, ana people not accustomed to 90 10 |
theaters At all have for months crowded to |
see IT in that city. Several companies ara |
travelling through Great Britain with II
IL was sent to America with a good cast
and duplicate OF the original scenery
bur It failed TO get support in New YorI, |
from others than habitual fraquenters OF
theaiers, and mot enough OF them liked il
to yield month of profitable continuance
Our clersymen were invited to witness the
performance bu; few did so, and only one
sermon was preached on tho subject
THE drama" says Novelist ZanrwiIi
did not begin as an artistic product Tho
drama begdn IN tho religious choruses at
the festivals of Baochus. and It seems
likely to cpd In the music hall chorusos
OF the moddrn temples Of Bacchus. As you
know. WOMAN may he thrilled 10 sublime
tears by Chopin or Schubert and yet pay |
her music Mistress only shilling an hour
while the gallery god. who kicks his wife
Is often the most rapturous applauder OF
tho quixotic ethics Of molodrhma. Our
English code considered actors as rorues
and vagabonds and the odor OF birthstone
sun cIings to the stage, despite the In
cense o! photographic flattery We possess
no great national drama. Elijah can never
appear on our stage except In evening
dress, Greek dramatlsts trained their own
actors. English actors trained their own
II has been settled that Lillian Russell IA
to take her personal charms and meiodiou.
voice to Australia. She will play in the
intlpodes under the supervision OF Will
ANS & Musgroye, giving her entire roper
ORE of operas. Miss Russell Will start
rs soon as possible after her Casino engage
nent Is ended and the prospects are that
she VIII not be seen in this portion OF the
world for a long time. George b. McClal-
an who represented Nat Goodwin during
he latter's tour OF Australia, is credited
with having engineered the deal, He re-
-urned from Europe recently. and with him
'ame Mr.. Musgrove. Several consultations
we're held with the diva. and the long
Journey was finally decided upon.
Tho venerable Mrs, John Drew Is going
into nielodrama. She has been engaged
.or ''The Sporting Duchess" Mrs. Drew
viii probably make the title character con !
iiderably more like the English original !
from which 1t was drawn than Agnes Booth
ever did. Rose Coghian had the oppor- ,
unity to play the role but refused 1t on
he grounds that It would be beneath her
professional dignity to appear in a drama
y this class. Mrs. Drew has professional
dignity. II any woman on the American a
stage hss. The English woman who Is |