Evening star., 1898-02-19

has been presented by him has been on a
prodigious scale. and the most lavish ex-
penditure has been one of his strong char
acteristics in mounting and dressing a
presentation. His genius in the selection
and grouping Of stage pictures Is gift
that has been enhanced by careful and
long experience, and his geen perception OF
talent III a player that has not been brought
out is an often discussed topic among
other managers. Nearly all Of the popu-
lar stars of today have been at some time
owe their present standing to his training.
Early in their careers Sol Smith Russell
W. H. Crane, Nat c. Goodwin, Henry E.
Dixey, Richard Golden and many others,
Is not a young actor or actress among the
playerfolk that is not anxious to join his
forces if they have ambition to become
prominent in the class of entertainment
Mr.. Rice provides.
Among the attractions he has for the pub.
lie this year are The Girl from Paris, y
THE French Maid" Three Dashing
Widows Monte Carlo,' THE Ballet Girl. u
phistopheles,' and other European sue
cesses that he is contemplating bringing
to this country. He may also revive one
or two Of his former successes.
The writer had occasion to visit Mr
Rice's offices in the Manhattan Theater
building Gormerly the Standard) last week,
and had an opportunity of noting the
amount of work. and the judgment re-
quired in the organizing and other bust
ness matters connected with the direction
of so many large companies under the
management of one man. 1t was sort OF
reporting day for the people engaged by
Mr.. Rice, and although he has the entire
fourth floor Of the building, divided into
different offices. there was hardly room to
turn about. They were all there, come
dians. singers, dancers and every class OF
players that is seen on the stage. How
ever. the most interesting Of all was the
all hAo
seemed as If he did a dozen different
things at once. While passing judgment
on contract for some booking handeo
to him by George Wadleigh or Joseph
Kenney, his ieutenants, he would dictate
a letter to his stenographer. tell the diff
ferent people what company they would
go with, and send everybody away with a
pleasant smile.
COLUMBIA THEATER-The only new
thing in the theatrical world here next
week will be at the Columbia. where, Mon
day night Frank Daniels will be seen in
comic opera. THE Idols Eye" This opera,
which has been pronounced the comic
opera hit of the season." is the work Of
Librettist Harry B. Smith and Composer
Victor Herbert. who are responsible for
that popular opera, 1.-The Wizard of the
Nile" in which Frank Daniels was seen
here last season. Daniels says that he has
a part in this new opera exactly suited to
him. Manager kirke La Shelle has sur
rounded Daniels with a most competent
company and the chorus is pronounced
excellent. The choral work Is said to be
the best seen on the stage for many long
day, and to go with a snap and precision
There is much praise accorded the manage
ment for collecting together the many
pretty girls who compose the chorus. The
scenic investiture of the opera is said to be
rich and in good taste, and through it all
runs Herberts melodious music, abounding
to- o,.I Ioho ,bAr To- n
come very popular.
The Idols Eye has India for locale,
and the story is of the present time. Ihe
story is that of an adventurous aeronaut,
who drops down in India among the tigers
and British soldiers and Nautch girls and
fierce old Brahmins and Hindoo priests,
and proceeds to get himself into very
comical kettle of fish. Following the ap-
proved recipe for farce writing, the author
manages to get Mr.. Daniels up a tree in
the first act, he throws stones at him in the
second, and in the third act he gets him
down again. The detail Of the story is
spoken of as fully as clever and amusing
was THE Wizard of the Nile and the
other characters are even stronger. Mr..
Daniels will have as supporting company
Alf c. Wheelan and Will Danforth in
comedy roles, Maurice Darcy as a young
American novelist in search of literary ma
terial. Helen Redmond as a fair Cuban
girl, Belle Bucklin as a cockney nurse girl,
Norma Kopp as Nautch girl and Claudia
Carlstedt as young lieutenant and as the
chief priestess of a sect Of Hindoo Idol
worshipers. Ernest Albert has provided
special scenery, one set of which represents
the interior of Hindoo temple. Mr.. Dan
iels is unusually well provided with at
tractive songs, which have already become
popular in New York. His entrance song,
when he drops from a balloon, entitled Il
Just Dropped in in an Off-hand Sort of
Way" and Captain Charley Chumley of
the Guards 'The Tattooed Man." 1.-THE
Rabbits Foot and Fairy Tales are
among the number. The engagement here
is for one week only, with matinees on
Washington's birthday and Saturday.
NEW NATIONAL THEATER.-For more
years than Digby Bell cares to reckon his
name has been associated with big comic
opera organizations. He met with consid-
erable success. but longed for mora ambi-
tious honors. Last season he determined to
cut out new line of work for himself and
break away from comic opera. He felt
that his many years experience would en-
able him to do something more worthy.
THE Midnight Bell' was one step in the
right direction and paved the way for a
more ambitious effort. His manager, Mr..
Duncan Il. Harrison, noting his determine
ton and fitness for the higher roles of le-
gItlmate comedy, secured from Augustus
Thomas 1.-The Hoosier Doctor" and it was
automatically tried for one week at the
Grand Opera House, Chicago, with the re-
suit that the success was so immediate
seven consecutive weeks to large audiences.
This season he returned and proved the
star attraction Of the season. Digby Bell
pres nted "The Hoosier Doctor" here last
season, and it pleased every one winning
words of praise from the critics. Mr.. Bell
and his excellent company will repeat the
play next week, comm encing Monday even
ing. at the New National TheAter. On ac-
count of Washington's birthday a special
holiday matinee will be given Tuesday III
addition to the regular Wednesday and
Saturday matinees.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE.
The Girl From Paris was successful
financially when presented here early in
the season, and Manager Albaugh has ar
ranged for another week of the musical
comedy at the Lafayette Square Opera
House, which begins Monday night. The
Girl From Paris will be presented this
time by a company of talented players Sc
lected from the consolidated companies
that have been playing 1t during the sea-
son. The piece ran for a thousand nights
in London and three hundred nights In
New York city. In Boston the engagement
was for seventeen weeks, and in Philadel-
phta for fifty-six nights, and the piece will
return there for an indefinite run in March.
1T Is to laugh is a phrase that the Ger
man inn-keeper repeats a number of times
to tell the humorous intent of what hap
pens in the '"Girl From Paris" but 1t Is not
necessary. for laughter pervades the per-
formance In the most pronounced char
acter. The presentation is not only a mus