Omaha daily bee., 1899-01-29

Since the opening OF the present theatri-
cal season Omaha has not seen a duller
week than the one Just closed. After Mon
day evening, when Tim Murphy closed his
short engagement at the Boyd, the only
amusement LETT for theater-goen was vaudc-
Vile. and 1t was only the uniformly ex-
cellent bill presented at the Or
pheum that kept theatrical interest during
Tho week alive at all. The Boyd was again
closed on account Of the cancellation of dates
OF what the management learned were in
terior attractions, not, however, until it was
too late to secure others to fill in the time,
and rather than present this class of plays
they allowed the house to remain dark. This
state OF affairs will again prevail during the
drst half of the present week and with the
exception OF today. when Lewis Morrison
appears for two performances only, the
Boyd will be dark until THURSDAY, Blanche
Walsh and Melbourn Mcdowell finishing the
week. presenting two of Sardou's best plays,
LA Tosca" and Fedora At the Orpheum
Ezra Kendall, Clement cambridge, Rose
Eytinge and Pillar NORM will be the features
n the weeks vaudeville bill.
The Carpetbagger,'' Tim Murphy's new
play, which he produced at the Boyd theater
on Sunday and Monday evenings for the first
time in this city. is not unlike the majority
Of the later day comedies and has little to It,
but 1t Is perhaps the best Mr.. Murphy has
been seen in here as yet. 1t gives him a
much better opportunity to display his abil-
ity as a character comedian, his study Of
the carpetbag governor being drawn cap
tally and worked out in a most commendable
manner. Mr.. Murphy is naturalness itself
In this new play and his facial expression is
8XceedinRly pOod Ho uac favoro1 uri,l,
much larger audiences than have greeted
him at any other time since he first ap-
peared here as a star. He is most deserv-
Ing OF success and is bound to achieve it. be-
cause he Is an intelligent and conscientious
actor and one of the best character comedi-
ans at present upon the American stage.
His company worked to considerable disad-
vantage here and was greatly handicapped
by the absence Of two Of its members, one
OF whom died at Lincoln the day previous to
their opening here and the other being ill.
Ihere was no one available to fill the places
30 suddenly and Unexpectedly made vacant
and 1t was necessary for some of the other
members to change parts, while one charac-
Ter was left out Of the piece altogether.
So we'll does Tim Murphy do his character
work that people who never see him off of
the stage think and speak of him as an old
man, as he always plays elderly parts, and
many who have witnessed his performances
will doubtless be surprised when told that
he Is not yet 30. 1t is necessary for Mr..
Murphy to use but little makeup, as his
face Is as full of lines and wrinkles as a
mans twice his age. In explanation of this
fact he had the following to say: while |
consider that many times makeup can
make any character, I have found that the
less one has to use the better and
more natural the appearance OF the char
acter he Is to represent, therefore l have
spent a good deal OF time and hard work
to get natural lines and wrinkles into my
face or, in other words, have made an effort
to give my face a natural aged appearance.
When ! was chosen by Mr.. Hoyt to play
the part OF Maverick Brander in "a Texas
Steer" ! secured a picture of an old man
that looked about as Mr.. Hoyt thought the
character should and would stand for
hours at a time before a mirror, picture in
hand, trying to get the same lines, wrinkles
and expression into my own face as was in
the picture. Just so with my old limo
%cence,' and the carpetbag governor of Mis-
s%issippi. and you can see how well | have
succeeded.
ID l like to look old? Well, no; not ex-
sctly. but as l shall probably always play
old parts, l don't mind it much as 1t only
helps make me more true to life in them.
But the one thing | do object to is that l
have been playing these parts so long that
1 am actually beginning to feel old and
often catch myself walking or standing in a
slightly stopped posture. These habits seem
to be growing upon me and | don't know
where 1t will end. | shall probably be an
old man before ! am 40, but | don't mind
10 aa- al, xl.-.- :.
1t Is pleasing to note how fruitful the
present theatrical season has turned out
when at the outset it promised so poorly.
Little Miss Nobody" "A Shilling's WORTH
and that class of plays had only a brief ex.
plot early last fall and then came "Cyrano,'
THE Little Minister" The Liars" ION
and on" "The Christian" all OF which
were tested and successful plays either here
or abroad. The balance of the seasons sue
cesses were at the outset experimental. OF
them "Zaza' leads the list so far as New
York, Baltimore, Washington and other
eastern cities can aid 1t. Then to the list
Of these assured successes add THE Charla-
tan" Nathan Hale "Phroso,' Gather
the Because She Loved Him So" sport
ing Life 1.-The Little Corporal Kate
Kip" "a Runaway Girl" "Trelawny of the
Wells" "Mr. Brisby," THE Jolly Mus
keteer.' Julia Marlowe's plays and the Olga
Nethersole productions. Taken altogether.
that Ia to say. with many others not in
cluded In this hastily recalled list, the sea-
son is already without a parallel for a brill
liant record, Omaha patrons of the theater
will have the opportunity OF seeing only
three or four Of these pieces before the sea-
son closes owing to their prosperous runs
In the east. but next season doubtless al
most all OF them will be presented here.
One OF the events Of the week In local
theatrical circles was the professional debut
OF the two little Council Bluffs girls, Francis
McMillen, aged Q, and Margaret Stephan,
aged 8, which took place at the Creighton
Orpheum theater on Wednesday afternoon
before the largest and most fashionable mid
week matinee audience that has attended the
theater since its opening. Their initial APP