Omaha daily bee., 1899-02-19

AillAAA LItANcT- ED[Is nave III laeL EIFAEh
The gait that makes the man az the box
Office window, as vel as the doorkeeper.
ushsrs and in fact everybody connected
with The front Of The theater earn their
money. and the gait that brings icy 10
the hearts o. managers q company and
thOater alike.
With The possible exception % a couple o.
evenings during The last week the last ten
dave have seen the legitimate theater
crowded nightly, whEs the matinee aud
eucee have been proportionatsIy large. A.
the vaudeville house where the attend
ance usually remains at about the same
standard from week 20 week. The audiences
have bec1 continually increasing in size.
Last week the sign o. the Cross drew
three exceptionally large houses, while the
FIRST performance was before q good sized
audience. Vests Ministries played to stand
inr room n-1 Walker Whitcsl3e ala better
business than he ever has a. any time dur
ing the eight years that he has been com
ing to Omaha.
The Leuten season may affect the attend
unce some. tut in view Of the fact that
some Of the best attractions uf the season
s-H yet TO CONF and many OF them during
Lent the church-Euer who ie an attendant at
the theater as well and who always sar-
ridces some amusement or pleasure during
the forty DAYS OF ssckcloth and ashes
will doubtless give up almost anything
rather than the theatsT. Among the god
attractions that are vet to come before thu
theatrical season closes are the De Angels
Cpgra company, Sol Smith Russell. De-
wclf Hopper. Robert MsutelL Nm.
Modjeska. Nat Goodwin, John Drew. Rich
arl Mansfield, The James-Kidder-Werd
combination and possibly Eugene Blair in
a Lady Of Quality
Wilson Barrett's religious drama or rather
tragedy The Sign Of the Cross" was the
theatrical event OF thu week just closed
Local theater-Eo@-s had heard but little
OF either play or company and we're some
what backward about giving ~ their dollars
to see it until ii had been given a trial here.
The result was that Monday night there
was nc rush al the door or crowd OF people
clamuring outside to get in to see the first
performance, hut each person who did 70
the first night left the thaater a waking
advertisement fer the play and Tuesday
night there was 2 jam at the door. Its
large patronage has been a matter OF much
comment and that it drew so largely from
the so-called OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES class speaks
for some potent attractiCn which it holds.
Last week during its visit here the box
urlae lie included many who doubtless had
never seen the inside Ct a theater, many
men and women who carried with than the
evidence Of a daily struggle for existence.
They sought edffcation and ~ins2irati Il in
tie play and there were few If any Of them
that we're disappointed. The Sign Of the
Cr-ss' attracts q very different element
from the usual play. 1t is the religious
spirit in it mat brings the people. 1t APP
peals TO the cncti-nal Ei1e Of their nature
which finds quick expression in their ap-
pIause after the hsroie speeches and those
in which the virtue Of ~womanhood is ex-
toIsd.
Every person has a secret desire TO 90 tc
the theate-. no matter about his beliefs @,
his prossssi-n, and anything which VIII give
the smallest opportunity for gratifying this
desire is eagerly accepted. AS The Sign o.
the Cross started out with the open en-
dorsemert Of the clergy. the opportunity
WIS presented. The management began by
inviting the clergymeo Of the city to see
the play and see for themselves how noble
a lesson it taught. The people looking or
AMI hearing the approval Of their pastors
facked readily to the play house, glad OF
the excuse.
OF absorbing interest though this great
tragedy is from a religious or a historical
point CT view. il would not be the success!
il undoubtedly is II it were not first anc
above all a drama. whatever one MAJ
think OF the early Christian martyrs
whether one regards them as heroic saints
enriching the ground with their blood tia
the fair flower of Christianity might grow
TO more perfect maturity. or whether on
thinks them merely misguided fanatics, Civ
ing up their lives f~oolishly and u1necesEa
rflv-the dramatic truth and power Of tn,
Sign OF the Cross" cannot fail to appeal I
everyone. Christianity is SO intimatel,
,~-1, ;p+a tho NJ ~ and Wunf of ~ciV4liZg
tian. its influence on the life and though
OF even the most skeptical unoeliever, Is S
u1esca1able that il is difficult to conside
the play in its purely dramauc aspects. Blu
this fact. so far detracting from the dra
matte power OF the tragedy, really en-
hances il. The knowledge which every az
ditcr Of the play possesses that this religion
which Nero stroye 10 throttle In its cradl'
aFterward grew and throye till il possesse
the earth is a powerful ally OF IN
dramstist. Il is conceivable thu
a Marian comes TO earth and listening t
the play might think it a great tragedy. bu
how much more affecting must il be to II
children Of the earth descending in a direc
line from those human torches that Ner
set blazing in the arena!
The fascination OF the horrible Is one c
the elements that rivets the interest 1
The Sign Of the Cross just as II does l
..Quo Vadis." which 1t strongly assemble
or better. as II does in the great traEedle
OF Shakespeare. But it is the horribi
artstically treated. The boy Stephanus
Put TO the rack behind the scenes; his bloc
curdling, shrieks Of agony are heard an
his limp body is brought forth and laid be
fore The footlights. This trenches Yer
closely on but does not o~vsrstep the canon
OF art. We hear, but we DO not see II
ereaking ropes Of the engine Of torture q
II racks the boys body The ear may Zee
The Imagination. where the eye would sickle
the soul. But these narrowing c~ruelties an
denominations that I'll in the sanguinar
background are dramatic necessities. TraE
edy requires them. And there are eomper
gating glimpses Of the gay f~rivolitE an
reckless dissipation Of pagan Rome to r.
lleve the strain.
or Charles Dalton. the Marcus superhus
ana star o. the company, as well as the ba
ance Of its members IL may be interesttn
To some TO know that they are ali Englls
and have been in this country only thr'
wears. They were rehearsed by Mr.. Barre
himself In England for the play and sci
10 this country. This is, perhaps, Z
reason that they are not better known her
Mr.. Dalton before coming 10 this COUNT
attained considerable nrte in London. Whs'
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