The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-31
TOPICS OF TIE THEATRE.
THINGS THAT ARE PRAIsETORTHY
IN 1.-THE TELEPHONE GIRL.r

Fhe scenes with the Heifo Mnidens In the
first Act Are Clean ana AmusinG-Mr.
Hart Makes n De~ninl-tctrepssa In Vain
search for Plays to Rit Thrir Talents.
The nrst act OF The Telephone Girl passes
In an unusually novel and attractive scene. 1t
10 the central Office OF a telephone system. and
around the room arc the many wires which lead
70 the various stations, In front OF these are
stools on which the girls sit when at work. Tho
result of this iS that for a part OF tho time the
audience at the Casino secs only tho backs of
the chorus. They turn at appropriate intervals
and face the assomblago. Some OF thoir time is
spent in tho customary chorus cvolutions. But
the posing in the picture is novel, and when
the girls sit with their backs to tho spectators,
the apparatus to hold the receivers strapped
over their heads, and their mouths 10 tho trans
mittcrs, the scene Is highly realistic The OBJECT
Is not too mechanical nor too suggestive OF
scientific paraphernalia. and the result is highly
agreeable. The costumes are responsible for
much Of their success. They are all Of light
blue, braided with white to the waist, and n
smart-looking group they make with their
white aprons. The average Of comoliness
10 high. The girls are an exceptionally
spectacular lot, and ono with q pink bow
in her brown hair adds special distinc-
.tion to that which her beauty gains by it.
>uelf. In action and grouping the girls of the
telephone bureau are all exceptionally lively.
OEpEkU LVuOic - M OApSAs ohe VI "a
cal farce, and he is modern in his ideas. e. L.
Rice still clings with tho confidence born Of long
use to the monotonous groupings and ma
nnuvres Of his chorus. Only the dash and vi
vacity which he always imparts to his pcr-
formances arc able to compensate for this con-
ventional and old.fashioned feature. Mr.. Leder-
er's methods are newer. There is one novelty,
however, in tho presidency with which the
young women of the chorus lift their skirts to
their knees whenever there il the least POSSIBLE
;lty Of 1t. Up go the soarlet.lined petticoats
until the black stockings are visible nearly TO
the garter. That swish Of crimson petticoats Is
act ct The color scheme is in exceptionally good
taste and Keeps the Casino well In Its place as
nearest to the London productions Of musical
farce.
OF these is when Louis Mann. as the superln-
tendsnt Of the tssiiephof IN bureau, calls up up The The
S SreTsos e. t ssns a snas believes 81 sTs the tho Warden ade MIS- IS har.
e PIsinT pieassnaiy acesntSated By the SOUND Of
sss tnS,o AID n Hno f1Um T .!'sss Rs1Fa 81 90 S s,SseYly or he g
that Mr.. Kerker doubtless intended tho SINH
larity, and relied on the, popularity of this
the spectators. The amorous office boy, admira.
bly, played by James +, Macdonald, Is q new
touch OF intrigue toward the close of the tele-
phone scene which brings it to . close with
pens When the telephone girl ovOr6ears a pop
S }aSrr dancer sns i.s make Win an t app tseep.r ., w sn in hsr
iigence Office who had engaged a French maid.
She then decides. by presenting herself az the
lover lie faithloSs. This Incident is not thrilling.
possibly. but Il 10 good enough for the end OF q
TSere are clever bits of acting by Sarah Nc.
Wicker. who struggled against the Limitations OF
not much more 'I matsriai 70 WORK on. MI.
SM .scrib.s s1 sss Miss Li Sansssssa msaps hfs ss sSa
n0nin Dresented with 40 little variety as to sIlR-
gest that her talents arc limited to Them: The
t that the eeiiemrsnts arc disieSit 70 ) predict in ad.
vance. But it does seem as II It could have
Miss Lipman'ss shoulder :hruss could not have
s Ss5flsd oS SepsnsI pIAL Ia sS p %fntsr. Per rses w w6e
issnd Mr. Mann's Performance Q tiresomsiy drawn
out and elaborated could mot have seen him
4 Sas The .Ssn last seo Says 81 So |T Msss Gsea from and da Uaer.
loaded that II taxed the patience snss Of o,. the audi sdG
s snSssi a but 1h T. S SussSs q an n ordeal SiI later er.lS'' ANA
: One Of the difficulties encountered BY actresses
who are successful in one play is to find another
which shall exploit their talents to tho Same
advantage. Kathryn Kidder made the an
nouncement last spring that she had been
unable to get a drama SO well suited to her pur-
poses rs MADAME Sans-Gene," and would there
fore write ono herself. She kept her word.
called the piece "Love or War;" and produced
It in the West. 1t was such Q complete failure
that she 10 consequently very Ill, and says that
she will never act again. Georgia Cayvan has
decided to make nofurther appearances until she
ands o play entirely in line with her excellent
talents, and 10 now devoting much Of her time
70 the study Of manuscripts which arc thought
10 answer to her wishea.
Tho words Of the Boon" song in 9Th Bal.
lot Girl" which have boon highly praised. are
not by Adrian Ross. but were written by . New
York journalist.
.-.I uo-k A. Annalg.- tn tlA
Telegraph a. resenting an article In THE SUN
concerning Q sketch in which he is acting at
Keith's. and as abusing personally the sup.
posed author. Mr.. Hart called at this office
yesterday to deny that he had talked in that
way at AL. or that he felt any grievance to war,
declared. was a fabrication;
The Liliputians did not change from German
prepared to. An experiment at a dress rehear-
sal proved that the little actors could not yet
'P II IS our eu ls99aas1 h To omit the week before
christmas from the work and wages Of travel.
taissty Of Door business. Il happened this year
that nye inherent organizations spent their IN.
good social time together.
Ar audience numbering 1.e3s persons must
hear opera raAs at cheap prices. There Was that
number in the American on Wednesday after
o oSoa; VIZ" That ms Is p possibly /, s'f thss chez @Ss ra n.s for oG
music. anywhere In the world. and 1t is indeed q
GargSin; even II InG gusitIy OF tne periormers
theatres in erman where productions of
comic opera are, as a whole not so good. the
prices are not SO low as that.
Mime. Pilsr-Morin, an accomplished interpre-
ter of pantomime. will make her. American
debut as an actress in The Paris Model"
which is to be produced soon. Elizabeth Tyree
has recovered and will appear in The Princess
and the Butterfly" at the Lyceum tonight.
Mary Mannering has been engaged as the leod-
ing actress Of the company for another season;
The play by Clyde Fitch in which Minnie Sc
ligman Cutting will make her reappear nee
e described 8 a new form Of "A Modern
Match" which was acted Ave years ago by Au-
gustus Pitou's stock company here. Cutting
played the principal role then; "A New
10 said to be a new version OF :" Lost "a Hours"
In which he acted successfully several years
ago.
Gertrude Coghlan. who acts with her father
In The Royal Box" is sonewha older than
she is ordinarily said to DO. She Is now about