The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-21
DIVERSITY IN NEW PLAYS.
COMEDY, AN ELTRATLGhNsA,
ASD A CHINESE TRAGEDY.

t.yn.-.The Cat ana tho
ReopeulnE or the broadway Theatre.
Three more OF our theatres were reopened for
On, season last night. They were the Garden,
the Olympia, and the Broadway, and only at
,ne last.namod house was q familiar play used.
The Broadway 10 to DO devoted mainly to COM
10 opera, and the start was made with Hal
King In which Francis Wilson came
forward again humorously and unctuously as
the wandering vagabond who changes his rags
for crmine. The performance was SO nearly tho
same as before that no deterioration was OBJ
,ervable. and surely MIR. Wilson had never
acted with more zest or comicality. Ho was
received cordially and applaudcd lavishly.
The season at the Garden began with Sol Smith
Russell in the centre of tho stage. He APP
peared in a play which was new here, although
he had found 1t a vehicle capable Of carry.
ing him prosperously on n tour of other cit.
ies. 1t was called "A Bachelors Romance"
and had been written for him by Martha
Morton. Tho theme was ono which had been
taken up many times by play wrights in order to
evolve sentimental roles for middlc-agcd actors.
An old bachelor fell unconsciously In love
with a young girl. discovered tho fact
after awhile. resolutely put aside all hope
OF winning her. cndeavored to marry her Off
happily to q sutton nearer her own age, as
eertained tardily that his own passion was re-
ciprocated by her, and then passed from single
misery into married happiness. This new affair
OF an old kind had been refashioned by Miss
Morton into a delightful comedy, in which tho
merits were so dominant and the faults so sub
servient that the audience like 1t altogether.
Mr.. Russell made the bachelor a droll. quaint
man OF so or Whereabouts, dry and musty In his
nrst aspect as the editor OF q magazine, but fresh
and juicy after the girl had come into his
life and heart. The incidents in which he
New York. and the literary workers associated
with him were American impossihilities In:
GERM Gepm. Sh0 R Eur e tho e %annsT Ga 'R %as pI IA . sssm sSi
c~ellentiy simple and fitting English. and not
alone Mr.. Russell. but all his stage eompan.
and the Misses Russell, Walsh, and RoSinson-
treated it so naturally that its seemingly for.
tom Of putting forth as original afSIsa an Ml' sda S1s.
proved 's 9S Be-. As 10 ' G9Sst Ct the h German ssT'i nstu Rlss .;
the work in this instance has come OF her
l lHiRE sns 'i There STUDY q S so q nssa to stage Sc
ls les. , frSG Which or hhes sss han IN sG%@,1S St tho 9S
ma s:s a role entirely sS' suitable for S1rp Mr.. Russell
.ubtlety which he bestows upon it. lie captured
last nights audience completely. and he may at
length compel the town TO surrender TO him. too.
The absence Of the Liliputians from New York
must be severely felt by a large part OF the pub
AS " Inv ' AokuAh ~ hhuihb III
enthusiastio crowd to greet them. They are
old friends now-one or two of them looked
quite old. in fact, last night-but they had
as many people to see and hear them as tho
Star Theatre could hold. And what spontaneity
there was in the applause and the laughter.
Little Ebert was welcomed like a returning
hero, and Selma Goerner. Bertha Jaeger. Max
Walter. Hermann Ring. and Elise Lau had
their share of the audiences cordially.
n-1- A.-l. ---l Mt -
vivacious of the lot, was missing. In
his place came a mite named Helene Lindner.
VINO was the smallest being o: the lot. THE
Fair in Midget Town" was the piece that re-
turned them to New York. and Mr.. Resented.
who modcstly conceals his identity under q
nom de plume. mado II TO At them as well
through the customary transitions from coun-
try life to city riches, and they were as anus
Their complete self-possession and authority
CONTESTED f1IFss II as hTm0r sns , 9s ever witt, ,h,ttIhsirr
81 otuh. some ph " them ana WERE sn' as seai much aebli'i Of
q surprise as they always are. They were
Inc second act. There they represented tho
i,,ustrious people Of various NATIONS. The seri.
i STssHSi sSD a Gafains NE T5e Mai SraT ee1 manners ann OF " and
their ease, combined with the excellent masks
n, ,5st ,s Nj; Ros sa,rs%i had ,% g5sgiirsd for 'hsm' made
There was. Of course, the usual amount Of tho
remarkable Rosenfeld scenery, and costumes.
though there could not Be a yard Of cotton.back
satin left in Berlin; The ballet oaIn girls were
very bad terms with one another. The
Rosenfelds never succeed, in reconciling them.
scene represented a glorihed opticians shop.
and in the newspaper ballet there were such
s and nesspsp SDss to serve 4v u as scenery p!in'HfR How p lnsen.
Lons the German stage manager can sometimes
S SS! But nnd the IN, ktlip 36.S s APPEL EEL chiefly 1hs !nd to ehii,
and the printing presses. The satin may have
been in elementary colors., but 1t was all new,
was new and bright and the performance was
full OF spirit from the first act.
San Francisco's Chinatown was celebrating
the close OF an old year and the beginning OF a
new one when the curtain rose at the Olympia
Music Hall last night on Chester Bailey Fer.
nald's play Tho Cat and the Cherub.' A
Enthusiastically picturesque view of a
section of that locality was disclosed.
and in the sounds of revelry that were heard
was the music Of Chinese players. In the alley
shown the home of a wealthy merchant and an
opium den adjoined. The proprietor of the den
was heard to outline his plot to kidnap tho
Cherub. who was o beloved only son.
AID with tho reward offered for the
chlld's safe return to buy tho merchants
neice. In . moment tho neice was seen at a
window Of the dwelling. yolcing tender. senti-
hentS for her sweetheart, and seeking from a
~ oh w bohiohs
and denkeoper were then viewed sitting side by
Side engaged In conversation. after which tho
second scene OF the play began with a gradual
chlnSo from night to daylight.
GFioas occupations and customs Of china
were in s,ght. and the denkeeper was heard to
l5luire tho price Of the niece. of whom he spoke
sllghtingly because her feet were OF natural
eiIe and would enable her to get about too much
alone. Next came o meeting between the sweet,
hearts, IN, which they stood facing part and
septr1 ted by several feet. Seeking to gain her
tutor promise that he would love her more than
Pc dd his father. he retorted that they would
Dom be damned II he did 30. Then the child
was Kidnapped, and search for him began. But
,ne nr1t seaIcher the Doctors son, WAS stabbed
Who. after the Cherub had been re-
ytored, began scheming for his vengeance.
lion. he struck him a disabling blow with
a hntchet, and then twisting the injured
mans queue about his neck. slowly strangled
AIN. Propping the corpse. he sat as II in con.
rersation while a policeman sauntered by, tho
picture TO the policcnan's eyes being q repro
nuction OF the one H. had seen when the Two
men were conversing in the first scene. When
the aYcngcr had withdrawn the corpse slid 10