Evening star., 1897-06-05
a Few Amusements Still Remain for
Washington People.
TIE LITTLE TYCOON" NEXT WEEK
Anew Play by the Columbia Stock
Company.
SOME INTERESTING GOSSIP


Little Dodge" As Sir Hercules Mr.. Lip
man is required to hypnotize his wife, i'm
personated by Miss katherine Grey, and In
order to perfect himself in the scene he
took to studying up the matter. Having
never seen Wilton Lackayes mystical
manipulations of .'Trilby" Mr.. 'Lipman was
obliged to go at the subject de novo, which
he did by hunting up all the authorities
he could find on the subject. He has haunt
ed the Congressional Library between daily
rehearsals and evening performances. and
as result is conversant with the, theor-
les of Mesmer, DIR. Bernheim et al as the
average student of psychology. Moreover.
his researches have bred in Mr.. Lipman the
Idea that he himself is possessed of hyp-
ECtic power. The only obstacle in the way
OF demonstrating his ability in this line is
the lack of subjects. He has repeatedly
tiled to persuade Miss Grey to throw
little realism into the scene by indulging in
genuine hypnotic trance. but she pro-
fesses TO be afraid that he could not wake
her up in time to go with the play. The
rest of the company declare that Lipman
looks like Charley Coote about the eyes, so
when he tries to fix them with his basilisk
stare they simply laugh for the idea of
Coote as Svengali is luoicrous. But Lip
man declares that some night during the
performance he will catch Miss Grey nap
ping ana prove to her as well as the public
tEat he is hypnotist of rare powers.
But few of the many friends of Mr..
Maurice Able, the clever member of the
Castle Square Company, are aware that
ne possesses talents other than in the comic
opera lire. Mr.. Able is one of the clever
est OF sketch artists. Between the acts
at the Lafayette last week Mr. Abbe hap-
pened to notice one of the pretty girls of
the chorus sitting in a very graceful atti-
tude on a piece of stage property He
hastiiy procured pencil and paper and in
kss time than 1t takes to tell 1t he had
sketched n remarkable likeness of the
young woman. She was not aware that she
had been posing until Mr. Able handed her
the result of his work OF course she was
delighted and showed the picture to all
The other girls of the big chorus of the
company. and then Mr. Abhe found that, in
the language of the bowery "he was I'D
eealnst It, Every girl wanted her picture
drawn, and Mr.. Able was too gallant to
refuse The result is that between the acts
al s,tas tne La1ayette every night this week Mr..
Anpe dresslng room has been crowded
with handsome girls. some in tights and
some IN short skirts. all scrambling to be
the next to have her picture drawn.
The plans of the Columbia Stock Com
p"ny are already projected far into the
II lure In fact. Mr.. Henry Bergman. the
active and efficient stage manager al
ways has his wcrk at least three weeks
ahead. This means that while the MEM
bers OF the company are this week playing
Superfuous Husband for instance
they have by this time become letter per
feet in His Little Dodge" the play for
next week. and already have in hand their
parts 10, the succeeding week In the
meanwhile. Mr. Bergman is reading and
studying out the parts. properties stage
business and every little detail of the play
Tor the fourth week ahead of date. How
ne manages to keep these matters going
and at the same time direct rehearsals
daily and play a part every night. is one
OF the mysteries Of the profession. Actors
who sigh for the honor of adding the title
stage manager TO their name should con-
sider Mr. bergman as with wild eye and
diSheveled hair. he performs his great ac:
OF doing three four things at once. DOS
sihly ir might serve TO dampen their am
bition in this particular line. but it would
certainly make them more tolerant of the
stage manager. whom all feel bound to
criticise and correct Returning to the sub
Ject OF PLAYS which Mr.. Bergman and the
Columbia management have already lali
out His Little Dodge" will be followed
by another comedy of the Paultons au-
thors of "Niobe:" then they will put on
another PLAY of the Hollands and still later
Is possible that Sol Smith Russelrs
Peaceful Valley" will be revived For ID
climax of the season they will produce an
original play of Washington life the CEN
hal character of which will be the cele-
brated Beau" Hickman. All old Washing
tcnians who remember this queer genius
Will he interested to see him again. even If
he Goes assess them for -. 80 or a.
cents. according to their proximity to the
stage
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE
1t Will he like reading an old letter to
many Washingtonians to witness the re-
yfval of Willard SpeDcer's Little tycoon
next week. and its presentation by the Cas-
tie Opera Company at the Lafayette will
be a most delightful surprise to its ad-
mlrers. for while the music and lines will
be closely followed, there is so much that
is new introduced that the production will
be distinctly marked for originality. The
play also affords abundant opportunities
for magnificent scenic display, and this is
more thar. taken advantage of, the settings
being rich in colorine and new. Spencer
for a long time entertained art ideals
which differed radically from the mass CT
operetta makers who were seeking the bub-
bic. fame. He believed that it was possible
to entertain the public with a form of
music drama that should not offend taste
or morals. He gave his ideas concrete
form IN The Little Tycoon" (which has
now. through the length and breadth of
the land, celebrity for endurance. Thou
sands who have not forgotten Violet, or
Miss Hurricane, or General Knickerbocker
or Lord Dolphin. or Teddy, may drink In
again Mr.. Spencers melodies. There Is
much scope In the opera for the Comedians
and Raymond Hitchcock, as General
knickerbocker. will have full opportunity
to delight and amuse the pa :rons of the
Lafayette Miss Grace Golden, Violet,
will not want for encores, especially when
she sings Love Comes Like a Summer
Sigh" Joseph Sheehan, always popular
week. playing Alvin Barry. W. G. Stew
art will be Rufus Ready; Arthur Wooley.
Teddy; Reginald Roberts. Lo:d Dolphin;
James o. O'Brien. Teddy's double. Miss Eta
Bartlett will doubtless make hit as Miss
Hurricane The rose" matinees at the
Lafayette on Wednesdays are proving very
popular, and will be continued. The usual
Saturday matinee will be given.
COLUMBIA Observation-Disclosures
dramatic theme has been pretty we'll work.
ed out in such plays as .'Trilby," .'Dr. Bel
graf'' and ''An Innocent Sinner" but 1t
has remained for those clever French play
wrights, Georges Freydeau and Maurice
Hennequin to discover the farcical possi-
bilities OF the theme His Little Dodge"
which Justi-l Huntley Mccarthy adapted
with such success for the London Royalty
Theater. may be sptly termed hypnotic
comedy, and from its story II ought to
be the funniest of the French pieces i'm
ported in some time. Of course the plot
has to do with fiirtatious husband and
his jealous wife; all French comedies do
but the claver authors have run In some
new changes or this time -honored theme
while Mr.. Mccarthy, bright literary man
as well as one thoroughly conversant with
stagecraft. has duly modified the piece so
as to be acceptable TO Anglo-Saxon audi