The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-18
THEATRICAL ADJUSTMENTS.
oUIETUDE GIVES Way TO ACTITITY
IN DRAMATIC AFFAIRS.

mo NrnNN v OI 'sNVNNE hkhiu' ~ " ISN'T
rick and ''Thc Circus Girl" at DRiS's-
.HnIIy Round the EiaR" n Condensed
Wnr PinS-rhs various Hiiiis or tho Week.
Activity has broken the summer quietudo In
theatrical affairs. with tho reopening OF nvo
theatres tins week and as many moro next
week the supply OF stage amusements will DO
Increased to AN extent that will provide q good
variety OF plays and vaudeville. Never Again"
10 restored TO its former place at the Garrick,
md THO Circus Girl" at Days. This Is tho
Inst week Of VERY Little Faust" OF Manhattan
l,cn, IA, wncre the Sousa concerts are continued,
and the Pain fireworks, too. Tho Whirl of the
Town remains at the Casino. Tho Metropoli-
IAN Permanent Orchestra gives its popular con.
cer,s at Madison Square Garden. TIL Pri.
ystecrs' Is ready for next Saturday. and "A
Bachelors Baby" at the Murray Hin, and on
The same night the Pleasure Palace will be re-
opened.
Current vaudeville is served mp In n variety OF
surroundings. 1t can BIO had in connection with
an evening boat ride on the Grand Republic,
whose conspicuous entertainers are George w.
Day. May Mooney. and Barney Reynolds. One
music hall is in use, the st. Nicholas, where Bessie
Donehill is to the fore, and where many OF the
visitors arrive awheel. Roof shows are three.
AT the Olympia are Cook and Sonora, Clifford
and IIuth. and Hacker and Lester; at Roster &
B4ti , Il lhC az
and johnson and Dean; and Gladys Van and
Mabel Mucklyn are named atop the Casino. OF
the theatres where ten hours constitute o per-
formance, Keith's has Bert Cooto and John
Eilsler, respectively in farce and war play, and
Fields and Lewis. the Manhattan Four, and
S,inson and Merton are in tho roster Of special
ists. Pastors top-sawyer is John W. Dansone.
and Mulvey and Inman and Dolan and Lcnharr
arc listed. What with variety performances,
farces, and the displays of freaks. the show at
Huber's Museum is continuous.
War drama has broken out In continuous
vaudeville. Two new short war plays are cur
rent. more will follow IL these frat ones prove
satisfactory. and in case of n fashion for them
in the variety shows there will doubtless be a
quick break In the ranks of me~lodramatic actors
and q renewal OF the rush Of actors Of the legiti-
mate drama to vaudeville. Ten minutes at
being the top Of the heap as the hero OF a four
or five act melodrama is all very well. but
starring" for twenty minutes twice a day over
u company of three or four players will surely
prove a big temptation to heroes shattered by
pile drivers and chilled by dark cellars.
John Ellsler Is the actor who seeks con-
spicuousnees at Keith's, and his wee war play
Is Rally Round the Flag" the first dramatic
writing Of Leonidas Westervelt. Edwin Nor
daunt and Mamie Ryan arc his companions.
The piece Is quite like the usual war play In
some respects and very unlike 1t in others. 1t
has no comic characters, and is without comic
scenes. 1t Is located near the field of Bull Run.
and is timed at the second engagement there.
The scene is the living room OF q house in Chan.
tilly, where are an old mana veteran OF the
Mexican war-and his daughter. Outside is a
roar OF musketry and heavy guns. and shouts in
dictate excited crowds in the streets. They arc
awaiting news OF the contest, and the old man Is
stirred to "reminiscences of his own fighting days,
and to regrets that he is now deemed too old to
70 as q soldier. Fully ten minutes are filled with
his talk, which is punctuated by frequent out.
breaks from the street, and then louder shouting
and firing announce news from the field. 1t is
brought by a dusty trooper and tells of defeat,
The soldier staegers into the room and sinks
into a chair. While the woman bandaRes his
bleeding arm he tells Of the disaster and OF the
death OF the son of the house. Meanwhile the
noises outside become sharper and the march OF
ne s slsiG drS% c oHn'G plsyins 1 i RFGs!s'% Tsen ny The 9
y SnifGsm, 0e ena ssIz tsant Ii; n aSss his Bei Gls
convinced BY, the younger man that Il
would DO useless to attempt stopping the
o snS forces; he Is sei LsisS = flag from on the s Tsll
several bullets have come that have brought
down plastering from tho ceiling, A last re-
ported BY the other two and enshrouded by the
tag ana limeIight: 30 the play ends with death
" ItS tultlt IlHThCttT duu III uCiodl u II
army with which the audience sympathizes.
Y ys, Roe seems eems. IKE TX 1I Ppttti tn gyd 1T on RHTIs'ts yn str9 3nF:
tiny war drama is preceded by a pretty vocalist.
protected maids and other sad ones. And the
nrst sight OF her brings applause.
For the Flag is the title of the assault on
war that is made at Proctor's, and Barbara
Frietchie is its heroine. Besides her there arc
her granddaughter. a negro servant, and an
actor who is a Federal private for all but a halt
minute. in which he steps into the wings to
shout "Stonewall" Jackson's command. The
three women are disclosed. and are found busy
with household duties. When 1t Is announced
that the enemy is approaching the old dame
totters out to ascertain the truth. On her re-
turn with confirmation of the news the soldier ia
awakened, but his farewells are so prolonged
that he cannot escape. While the strains OF
Dixie" grow louder he chats and says good-by,
and is overwhelmed with surprise on looking
at hand. Then he rstires from view to shout an
excuse for the playbilrs having a fifth character
BGrtdrd, who is played eKaggeratedly and is
palsied and ashen. seizes The flag and starts for
the window. The setting is inReniously effec
tive. Through a window in the rear wall can be
building. 10 the latter the old woman mounts
by a stairway, that is in sight; As she %unfrrls
Then 1Ts " she leans HDs' OUT. !. picks Hesf np i s + s I - stick lex
and waves it again, frantically. Her next line
ana the 0fhcers only one are taken from the
poem. and at the end the banner is still futter
ing. This stirs the gallery no little. but the
downstairs agitation is Of two sorts: The author
Of this "idyl OF the civil wDr." Waite Drake
plays barbara, and makes Of her an almost un
pleasantly homely heroine.
Never Again q" came TO the Garrick on Mon
day night for seven performances. with some o
Its old actors and a few new ones. F.. NJ. Hol
land was still the amusing Ribot and Frit
Williams. Samuel Reed. and Anita Rotho wer,
among those who helped the play to win success
at its first performance here. Quite apart from
the WORK OF its interpreters, the farce went alonI
with its old-time effectiveness. 1t il a rarel
expert specimen OF its kind. Its situations max
their impression from their own force. and tn
spectators on Monday night laughed almost a
heartily as they did when the piece was Who'll!
new. When such n powerful factor in the frs
nights success of tho piece as Ferdinand Cots
chalk is out OF the cast 1t will DO seen that
great deal more of the performances merit lie
In the piece than audiences were at first dispose
TO think.
II vas in Mr.. Gottschalk's successor that tn