The times., 1898-12-22

the ensemble singing. One advantage, at
least, has resulted from tho experiment,
and that Is the round of brilliant cos
tunes seen In the company. The players
! supporting the stars have been selected
with great care.
Seats go on sale this morning for the
next weeks engagement OF James O'Nieli
i at the Academy. Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday Jennings and at the
Monday and Wednesday matinees,
Monte Cristo" will hold the boards.
The appearance in this city of Mr..
o'Neill in Monte Cristo' is an event
that should command the attention of all
theater-goers. The stars place at the
top of the list of romantic players has not
yet been usurped by any actor in this
country. This Is his twelfth season with
! Monte Cristo," record unsurpa ssed In
the annals Of the American stage history
The supporting company is said to be an
able one and all the necessary scenery
ard costumes are carried for the produc-
tion.
Tuesday evening only Mr. O'NeiH Will
be seen as ''Virginius." That Mr. O'Neiil
Is not a o1e-part luminary may be inferred
from the reports that have reached here
regarding his appearances in Sheridan
Knowles effective tragedy. A few skep-
tics have maintained that the star could
never get away from Monte Cristo" but
with true Irish grit he set about to dem
onstrate to the contrary. One San Fran
cisco paper said that O'Neilrs Virginius
was equal to that of John McCullough's S,
and other prominent writer's have in
dorsed this verdict. Not only does he
possess the dignity and majesty that the
role requires, but his proyerbial sympa-
thetfc qualities are taxed to their utmost
In the scenes between Virginia and her
father to such an extent that often not
dry eye Is noted in the audience after
the act In the Roman forum.
Thursday evening and Saturday matt
nee Mr.. O'Neill will be seen in the part
OF Henri du Fournier the central char
acter OF his new play, when Greek
Meets Greek" AS may be surmised.
Henri is dashing young Frenchman. an
aristocrat by BIRTH hero by nature.
and a lover by inclination. who performs
any amount of valiant deeds before he
and his beautiful lady find happiness in
undisturbed love. In this effort will be
seen the pick OF an excellent company
and a thoroughly enjoyable performance
is assured.
After record-breaking engagements In
all the principal cities, the inimitab.e Rog-
ers Brothers return to this city as the
New Years offering at the Columbia
Theater. 1t has been many years since
such brilliant organization has been
got together TO present farce as is that
with which Messrs. Klaw d Erlanger
have succeeded in surrounding their two
stars. The comedy presented, "A Reign
OF Error" Is one of the funniest and best
Mr.. McNally has ever written. Neither
pains nor expense are said to have been
spared In making the Offering complete
The supporting organization, which num-
bers almost forty people, includes besides
the Rogers brothers. Maude Raymond.
George Caine. Ada Lewis, George F.
Marion. John Parr, La Petite Adelaide,
Edith st. Clair. George Lawrence. Budd
Ross and Morris Levy. The stage is I'M
der the personal supervision of Ben Teal.
One of the most effective pieces of stage
property that will be seen in Francis VII
sons performance of his new opera. THE
Little Corporal" is a camel. This is a
very ingenious and costly piece of mech
anism, and the humor that may be de-
rived from Mr.. Wilson's efforts to ride
and conduct the mock beast across the
The stage equipment for "The Little
Corporal is said TO have been made on a
very elaborate plan. the wide diversity of
the settings having required the making
of an immense quantity of scenery. cos
tunes and properties. For instance, the
first act of the opera Is laid in quiet. pas
toral Brittany-in fishing village. where |
the peasantry are seen in wooden shoes |
and bright colored costumes. The second |
act shifts TO a public square in the city |
of Alexandria, Egypt, where are seen the |
French troops mingling with brilliantly |
attired Orientals. Finally comes a scene |
In the desert, with the Pyramids in the |
distance and numerous Bedouin and Nam
aluke cavalrymen trooping about.
The situations in the opera are said to
be so varied and to come in such rapid
succession that they are almost kaleido-
scopic. The Little Corporal will be seen
at the Grand Opera House for one week
beginning January 2.
The next attraction at Kernan's
I.yceum Theater is to be that favorite
comedian. Al Reeves. with his company