The times., 1898-10-02
THE DRAMA IN GOTHAM
Nudity Remains a Feature OF
New YOrk's Amusement.
ALICE NEILSEN'S DEBUT
"The Fortune TeIIer' Enters the Me-
trop0Iis - James O'NeiPs "When
Greek Meets Greek" IL Big Success.
Mr.. and Mrs. Russ WhytRl and
Their New Play.

|
Frank Perley is the lucky discoverer
| The star is Alice Nielsen, who two or
! three years ago, as the prima donna Of
the Bostonians. captured this town. Mon
| day night Wallack's $ Theater held a large
and representative audience that had
! gathered to witness Miss Neilsens debut.
/ She was presented in a new comic opera
! by Harry b. Smith and Victor Herbert,
| called 1.-The Fortune Teller" The piece
| is semi-military and gypsy in character.
| with it's scenes laid in Hungary. The
| story is romantic and requires Miss Neil
sen to assume three separate roles first
that of ballet school pupil, then of a
gypsy fortune teller and last of an officer
of Hussars. The music and book of the
piece are fully up to the mark and the
new star appears to be safely launched
on a successful career. In the last act
Miss Nielsen displays beautifully round
ed and attractive figure. l might also
say that she sang delightfully."-.
The supporting company is entirely COM
petent. and includes Richard Golden,
Joseph Herbert, Eugene Cowles, Frank
Rushworth, Joseph Cawthorne Marguer-
| ite Sylvia. Marcia Van Dresser, Jennie
Hawley and Paul Nicholson. There is
! an excellent chorus, and Manager Per-
ley has provided handsome scenery and
| costumes. As a star, Alice VIII do.
JOHu bGt" SIKH engagement
at the Empire Theater began Monday of
this week with the first production here
! of The Liars" comedy by Henry Ar
| thur Jones. The play was presented in
London last season by Charles Wyndham
and had a phenomenal run at the Crit
erion Theater. The Liars" is modern
comedy, in Mr.. Jones best style and the
story involves twelve important charac-
| tiers.
Down at the Academy of Music Jacob
Lift is presenting a melodrama entitled
! Sporting Life" The play, which is in
seventeen scenes, Is produced lavishly
and with excellent cast, including
Elita Proctor Otis and Robert Hilliard.
1t has been given a cordial reception by
the public. and is likely to have pros
porous run.
One of the largest audiences ever seen
in the big Grand Opera House was pres
ent the night before last at the opening
performance of the Louis James-Kathryn
Kidder-Frederick Warde combination
The bill was The School for Scandal"
with Mr.. James as Charles Surface:
Miss Kidder as Lady Teazle and Mr.
Warde as Joseph Surface. 1t is many
years since the New York stage has had
so adequate a performance of Sheridan's
famous old comedy.
In reviving this play Managers Wag-
enhals and Kemper have shown excellent
judgment. Its three important charact-
ers give this triumvirate splendid ad-
vantages TO do good work and show what
is in them. That they are successful was
demonstrated when the vast audience
summoned them TO the footlights over
and over again. The revival is made
with entirely new and costly scenery,
costumes and accessories Later in the
week Julius Caesar" "Othello," Ham
let and Macbeth" were presented.
I Manager Pitou tells me the engagement
is one of the best and most successful
ever played al the Grand Opera House.
There was a show given at this theater
| last week which for downright stupidity
has not been equaled in a long time 1t
was called Wine, Women, and Song"
| The leading feature was the lack of cos
tunes, or rather, the costumes did not
conceal to any great extent the charms
of the women In the company. Some of
the girls had shapes as crooked as card
sharp, others were evidently suffering
from bicycle knees, and a few appeared
to be just recovering from a long siege of
hard work in the kitchen of a summer
boarding house. They were a queer lot,
| sure enough.
| The new Dewey Theater has already
made record for giving what the resi-
! dents of the East Side call hot show.
! One of the sketches now being presented
! only the painter and his servant are dis
! covered. Later several young women en-
ter and explain that they are models
| looking for a job. They retire to an ad-
| Joining room. and Immediately another
woman comes in. She is a beautiful crea-
| ture, with a figure eXquisitely symmetri-
| cal. She wants the artist to do her por-
| trait. He asks her If she will pose in
| the nude to which she replies "sure!"
| He leaves her alone to remove her clothes.
| Then. without the least hesitation, the
| young woman proceeds, in full view of the
| audience, to undress. She diyests herself
| of hat, shoes, corSets, stockings, and ev
| erything down to a chemise; then step
| ping upon a platform she is concealed
from view for a moment by a curtain
Finally this is drawn, and the model is
| seen in what appears to be entire nudity
1t is not much different from the posing
of Clara Betz at the Casino but the ar
tist and his servant fill up the time be-
tween each view with remarks that are
unfit to print-and all of this in spite of
the following notice on the house bill:
''It being the desire of the manager that
the entertainment shall be absolutely
free from all Objectionable matter, he
will be obliged to any one who will in
form him OF any suggestive or offensive
work or action on the stage that may
have escaped his notice
Last week it was rumored that Mr.
Ziegfeld would send out No. 2 Turtle
| company Within two hours from the
time the story was first heard on the
Rialto every actress in town who was
out of work started for the Manhattan
Theater. Some of them who wanted to
play Sadie Martinots part were hand
some but the majority would not pass
muster at Sam Jacks, yet every moth
orc RI of declared the
that she possessed a figure so beautiful
that it would throw the first row gents"
into fits of enthusiasm and fill the cash
box of the theater to overflowing. Some
of them said that in the interest of the
drama and art CD they would be willing
to go farther than Miss Martinot in the
disrobing scene. Yet they tell us the
stage is not degenerating.
James ONeill, to my mind one of the
best of American actors, is presenting
Joseph HaIton's when Greek Meets
Greek" at the Columbus Theater, to
very large audiences. The theme of the
play is the French revolution. and the
story relates to two half-brothers, who
are alike in personal appearance, and
also love the same girl The hero, inn
personated by Mr.. O'Neill, is prosecuted
by his relative, until, in one scene
they come together in a desperate COM
bat, which gives the title to the play
The star has given the piece a hand
some production, and has secured a
valuable p1ee> of theatrical property
On October 8. in Philadelphia, Augustin
Daily produces "Cyrano de Bergerac."
with Ada Rehan as RoXane. In this
city, at the Garden Theater, and on the
same date, Richard Mansfield gives his
first performance of the play. The heavy
weight fight will then be on.