The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-05
EDrsoN's NEXT WONDER.
VIII SIT in a New York Theater nnd
Enjoy "a London Play.

VIII SIT IN new AoFN IhehteE anu
Enjoy London Play.
From the New York Herald.
Edison, the wizard. has said II, and It
will be, The day is coming when we will
sit in a New York theater and enjoy a play
or an opera at London, Paris or Vienna.
Edison has predicted stranger things, and
they have come to pass. II am certainly
not going to give up till am successful. -
he says of this. land every experiment l
make brings me appreciably nearer the
mark" So we may look forward with
some confidence to the realization of this
wonderful scientific dream.
Such a development Of the combined
powers OF the kaleidoscope and phonograph
Is indeed far from improbable. Both
these mechanisms have produced marvels
familiar to us all. 1t requires little i'm
agination to foresee a combination of the
kaleidoscope on a tremendous scale, with
a multiplicity Of greatly improved phono-
graphs capable of transferring an entire
play TO a big screen of a city theater.
Let us project ourselves for few min
utes into the future, and see what ae-
cording to Mr. Edison, we will some day
enjoy.
There is a play. we will say, running In
London that a New York manager thinks
would be a splendid attraction here. The
players have a long engagement there The
metropolitan public want TO see the play
while IL Is new and creating a sensation
so the New York manager reproduces II
by the means of Edlson's mechanical de-
vices.
The stage Of New York theater is en-.
tirey cleared. even the scenery being re.
moved. A huge white sheet is stretched
from the flies 20 the stage II covers
tho qfaOp qonnp1 lilo fraunapga
white curtain. The regular drop curtain
rolls down over IL.
Behind the white curtain are placed
number OF monographs, with immense VI
brating horns, capable Of multiplying
sound 100 times. One of these phono.
graphs is for each actor II there be ten
players In the cast then ten monographs
are arranged behind the curtain. Each Is
loaded with the dialogue Of that partcu-
lar player.
In the gallery. out Of sight TO the audi
ence, is a huge kaleidoscope, containing
Hundreds Of yards of film, upon which IL
the whole play. actors, costumes. scenery
and everything. The theater 10 then dark
ened.
Suddenly there is a flash OF electric light
and the curtain goes up on the hrst act.
There II Is. az perfect as life. You don't
realize that you are looking at a white cur
tain. You see what looks like a real stage.
II Is the picture Of a stage of a London
theater. There are the scenery, the
houses trees and pathways. The chairs
look so real that you would almost dare
sit In them. and even natural colors are
reproduced.
The orchestra Is playing softly and from
the wings walks out an actress, not by the
jerky fits and starts OF the kinetoscope
but with SOW, easy-like stride. She
walks over 70 a table and picks IN A
oh At ATr gttII 81 n
color. y She turns toward the audience
and speaks. Her voice Is clear as a bell.
You hear every word az distinctly as n
you were listening 10 the living woman.
The hero then comes on the stage. You
can hear his footsteps as he walks along.
He greets his sweetheart. The moment
his lips begin 10 move you hear his voice
The Photographs and kaleidoscope are
timed 10 the fraction OF a second. The
characters on the stage are life size and
their voices are natural. You are look
ing at the pictures OF the real players; you
recognize them at once, and you are lis
tenng TO their own voices, as natural as
n Il were themselves. Instead OF their pic
lures, actually before you.
The play runs on TO the end OF the first
act. when a climax Is reached and the cur
tain goes down I'm the regular way The
theater Is instantly illuminated again and
che next act proceeds.
But up Ia the galley the twOi klneto-
scope operators are working with great
rapidity. keeping track OF the film that IL
running through the apparatus at lightning
speed. on this iim viii be over 375 900
separate and distinct photographs. each
one OF which Will IN turn be thrown upon
the white sheet az the rate OF forty-eight
a second-so fast that they appear 70 the
eye as one moving. realistic scene. with
out break or bemlsh.
The Photographs are operated by cleo
tricity, being connected on the same cir
cult that works the kaleidoscope, thus