Birmingham state herald., 1897-01-10
A MOMENT WITH
 THE PLAYERS
T. L MCGOWAN & CO.
1920 Second Avenue.

The current week will bring us a gall axy of stars. The play that MT. Wilton Lackaye will present here tomorrow even- ing is study in hypnotism, and it has been so favorably commented upon, and MT. Lackaye is so well-known as an actor of the rarest power that we are expecting something entirely out of the ordinary. The story tells of Dr. Belgraff, who spends his time working in the hidden laboratory. The heroine of the play has been a witness to the murder of her brother at the hands of Belgraff, and it is necessary, in order to save himself, that her mind be kept continually subServi- ent to his will At the close of the play his sway over the girl is suspected, and the spell is broken just as she is about to convict her former lover of her brother S murder under Belgraff's will. Belgraff, realizing that his power over the girl is gone, takes his life into his own hands and dies by poison.
 MT. Lackaye makes his entrance to the stage through a trap-door leading up from a secret cellar.
 The supporting company, which in cludes Miss Marie Wainwright, is of the highest character.
 Tuesday evening we will have the pleasure of seeing that beautiful and tal- ented young actress, Miss Eugenia Blair, and it will be an easy task for her to charm the assemblage that will greet her.
  and her art has placed her in the ranks of American stars.
 She will be followed by Miss Maggie Cline in her new play, ''On Broadway which is being so highly praised by the press and public. Miss Cline has re- versed matters in leaving the vaudeville for the legitimate, as there recently have been number of acess.ons from the reg ular stage to the vaudeville. MT. and Mrs. Sidney Drew are appearing in vaudeville, and MT. Milton Nobles and Dollie Nobles are to appear in the vaude- vile houses of New York and Chicago. T have been much amused" announces Mr Milton Nobles, in the Mirror, lat the arguments, pro and con. advanced by performers and newspapers as to why Legitimate artists should or should not appear in vaudeville theaters. How very young some of these writers must be, not to know that many of the brightest and most successful actors of both sexes who have graced the stage for the past quar- ter of century are graduates of the vaudeville stage. And that same school continues to grind them out" In re- ferring to the specially people" he all ludes to the time when Nat Goodwin was doing his turn at the vaudeville. It con- sisted of comic songs and limitations of prominent actors.
 ues:
 Closing in Washington I came to the Bowery, then under Freligh. The com pany included, of course, Mrs. w. G. Jones, Frank Tannehill, Maurice Pike, J. B. Brown, Millie Sackett Polly Booth, etc. At the Bowery, however, there was no olio. From there went to Hooley' s in Brooklyn. Mart Hanley was the man. ager of the house, and during the week we entered into partnership by which he became my manager. The first en- gagement under Hanley's management was at the Volk's Garden theater, on the site of the present Peoples theater. Bill ly Pastor was manager and there was a big olio, which included Scanlan and Cronin in an Irish sketch. Pastor en- gagged four or five legitimate actors, fill ing out the cast with the speciality peo- pie. And so 1t came about that the first dramatic character which w. J. Scanlan played was the Irish lawyer, O'Gall, in '"rhe Phoenix"
 Ibsen has almost completed his drama and the work will no doubt be given to the public in the near future. The drama is in four acts and is entitled "Jean--Gabriel Barkman." 1t is said that the leading character is financier and something of politician as we'll His efforts to accumulate wealth are in spired from his desire to develop the natural riches of the country, and that his power may be felt along other chan nels. He wants to be known as the great Jean-Gabriel If Ibsen has put himself into the play he has gloomy future, foI this Jean-Gabriel in order to carry out