Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-13
THE STAGE LAND.
Gilt-Edged Attractions At All
the Theatres This Week.
THE Heart of Maryland" the Worcester
Theatres Stellar Bhi-The Rays Play a
Return Date at Lothrop's s-The
Bou Offers Lot of vaude-
vile Favortes Gossip.

Each of the theatres is open every
night this week. At the Worcester
Theatre Kellar, the magician, will mys-
| tify and amuse his patrons Monday and
Tuesday night; Mrs. Leslie Carter, in
David Belascos great play, THE Heart
Of Maryland comes Wednesday and
Thursday; and the favorites, MIR. and
Mrs. Edwin Milton Royle, are to appear
Friday and Saturday, in Mr., Royle's
own play Captain Impudence." The
Rays, who have the record of doing the
largest weeks business ever done at
Lothrops, return to that play house, in
the same play, "a Hot Old Time" which
attracted the crowds before. The Bijou
| preserves the even tenor of its prosper
Gus way, with good vaudeville talent
and the biograph.
KELLAR.
| Now that the great Hermann is dead,
and nobody appears to take Henry
Dixey as magician seriously, Kellar
reigns undisputed in America as the
king of necromancers. His wide travels
| in India and Arabia have given him the
cue for several illusions heretofore un-
known to US on this side, and his COM
] fortably expansive bank account can
! readily stand any draft for improving
his stock of magical paraphernalia.
| His annual appearances here are al
| ways welcomed by large audiences of
| the best people in the city, and although
he does not vary his entertainment
from year to year vastly, yet his tricks
are always mystifying and deftly per-
1 ffat
| the aid of his accomplished wife, Eva
| Kellar and the skill of the pair in
mathematical problems forms as inter-
esting part of the program as the more
magical sections of the bill.
One of Kellars tricks which always
| elicites loud applause, and which has
a prominent place in mis- repertoire this
season, is the rose mystery. He takes
an ordinary flower pot, fills it with
sand and plants a rose seed in it, Then
the takes an empty paper cone and par
| TALLY covers the, sand. Instantly re-
moving this, he shows little shoot be-
| ginning to grow, Then he covers it
again with the cone, waits a second or
! two and then lifts the cover. There is
a rosebush three feet tail, literally laden
/ down with rich, fragrant flowers, which
| the magician clips off and places in bas-
kets whence they are distributed to the
ladies in the audience by Mrs. Kellar.
THE HEART OF MARYLAND"
There is probably no play, with the ex-
ception of Ginette's Secret Service"
J more eagerly awaited than the coming
of this one. 1t has been played over
and over again throughout the country
from, New York to California with the
most triumphant success, and at last
] u
next April the play will be produced at
the Adelphi Theatre, London, where its
stay is likely to be indefinitely pro-
longed. Mrs. Leslie Carter first made
notorious by her sensational divorce
suit, and later by her suit against Mil
uionaire N. X. Fairbank, for breach Of
contract, is the star of the piece, which
was written expressly for her by Author
4 David Belasco, probably the best stage
manager on this side of the water. Mr.
Belasco personally coached Mrs. Carter
in the part, and as she herself testified
his course of instruction included such
delicate measures as jumping on her and
butting Hner head against the wall, there
is little doubt she will be fully equal to
the heavy emotional demands of the
drama.
Everybody, nearly, knows the strong
est scene of the play is founded on that
! much elocuted poem, "Curfew shall not
ring tonight" but there are a lot of an
gu!sh-laden climaXes besides that, any
one of which is enough to base an or
dinary play on. LoYe-the kind that
throbs, and suffers, and sacrifices and
does everything uncomfortable-is the
keynote. The heroine, young southern
girl, named Maryland Calvert, risks her
own life to save her lover from the
lgnominious death Of a spy Her love
ana Sacrlflce triumph and her lover is
rescued, though for four acts nobody be-
heyes she will be able to do it,
IEe action of.the play takes place dur
ing the civil war, but the piece is not a
war pay in the true sense of the
term, for the military atmosphere is
made subordinate rather than pre-emi-
nent and at times is even entirely
ignored. There is a wide difference be-
tween Mrs Carter's role in the Heart
OF Maryland and that in which she last
played mere the tinid and unfortunate
Miss Helyett," but the versatility of
the actress is undoubtedly equal to the
strain.
The company includes such reliable
players as Theodore Roberts, Frank
Mordaunt, H. A. Weaver, Jr., Helen
Tracy. Virginia Tracy, Grant Stewart
and Malcolm Williams.
CAPTAIN IMPUDENCE."
Some years ago there came to the
Worcester Theatre with comparatively
little heralding, comedy drama called
Friends" which related the fortunes
Of two young fellows, chums. one a
musician and the other a Journalist.
| Ihey both loved the same girl and the
play ended with the stronger of the two
| giving her up to his companion. The
drama showed signs of an inexperienced
hand, but was so bright and clever and
original withal that it made popular
success here as well as everywhere
else. Its author and star, Edwin Milton
Royle, in company with the charming
actress. Selma Fetter, now Mrs Royle,
presents himself again before the local
public with the newest work from his
pen, Captain Impudence," which has
had the honor and the prestige of a 100
nights run in New York. The piece like
its predecessor is brimful of comedy,
though with frequent touches of pathos
which intensity rather than dull the in
terest. The theme is of a young gallant
and brave soldier storming the way to
his lady. loves affections by sheer cheek
and impudence, although always within
the bounds Of courtesy and good breed
ing. Benjamin Graham, Thaddeus Shine,
Joseph Cusack and Marie Dupont assist
the stars in the evenings entertain
ment.