The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-03
THINGS In THE NEW PLAYS.
BIG RELIGIOUS MELODRAMA AND
KEEN s1IIRIC4L COMEDY


Contracted Elements In the ThestricaI ii-
lustraion OF Gen "nhac"s ben-h"r
sc. VI % -,
tiers l" "' VI
Gen. Wallace's -Ben-IIur- as an acted drama
was a big theatrical disclosure Some Of its
sucoess was sure beforehand and some was not
The chano, raoc was one Of the ccrtaintica Tested
machinery may be depended on and trained
horses arc trustworthy. So the capitalists and
promoters Of the play could have had no doubt
that one thing In IL would excite the audiences
tremendously IL was simply a matter OF mechnn-
ical ingenuity and money outlay. Long ago
In The County Fair" Neil Burgess had used
hot,s on a sunkcn ,rradmill, thus giving the ap-
pearance Of q rapid rdo in q wagon drawn by
beast that trottrd fast while staying nxedly in
sight Later he tried to utilize his device for q
chadot race in a facetious play Of ancient Rome
called -The Year One and the failure of the
very expensiye niece hapknipted the actor He
wa, . Spi1,unlis, and he believed ,ha, he was
guided in the venture by hi, disembodied friend.
n,,, IN, v.r. No, .,,s ,,o,h.,. .,se ,h.v could
h.,. to,....n ,bn, IN. ho,.,. vo,,,d b,Il PEI,
h.,a A, Durp,,, himself should hnv, for,sren
,b,, M horse could bo relied on 10 min with all
hi, might directly toward a row of footghts
a In, Of piav,ne muzcian. and an npplaudins
crowd NJ people beyond The s,ape WAS at in
imitation Of Getome's familiar picture in which
the two teams Of four horses each arc coming
forward head on, When the curtain was raised
the eight s,eeds were running furiously. but the
instant thai they saw and heard what was before
them. one or more would settle back In his harness
and refuse TO take what he feared would be q dis
astrous plunge Sometimes Il was ono that
baked. sometimes another, and sometimes
the whole row braced back in a panic Probably
tho Oldest steepechAsers would have nunked
under the circumstances The spectacle was
therefore turned into q ridiculous hnsco and
the spectators laughed at II whilo Mr. Burgess
wept was mere question Of oIpenso with
klaw Bthnger. when they and Mr. Brooks do
cided 10 put "Ben-Hur- on the stage In making
Of the chanot race practicable and popular thing
in tho play They bought the patented machin-
cry from Mr. Burgess. and set experts at develop
ment Of IL In the soeno which Is successful now
al the Broadway Theatre, the practiccd horses
run with their SIDES 70 the front OF the stage, and
so arc not scared AmoVing panorama 81 Tho
back, wheels That revoiyo and dust That rises
complete The uu,on AL else In Tho play
were commonplace inns nuaofuinoiy episode
would mako 'is fortune
It's announcer ana dihefeh' portion OF Ben HuTs
success that was mol 'ofesoho' ana which might
have turned ou' instead ih'ai failure This
may well have KEPT Zen WALLACE and bis man
ayers ANXIOUS un'n 'ho nfs' performance was
over The horse race had been worked out 70
nicely. and there was no doub' as TO how II would
be received But there could be no such sure
ness a. TO miracle OF 'hrist no matter how care
fully and iudicioudy the scene might be prepared
There seems TO have been no thought OF making
! anything like passion play. AL idea Of i'm
pcrsonaton OF the Saviour was dlsavoscd from
the outset Regard for religious opinion and
fnt hisineSs Interest alike forbade IL Neverth,-
less the vital element Of the Biblical novel could
not be left out Of The play. The advent Of tho
Messiah had TO DO shown and distinctly too, else
the readers Of the book would have rood reason
for disappointment and dissatisfaction. The
problem was solved adrouy. Five minutes Of
music. pantomime and tableau starts the action
with the Star Of Bethlehem seen and worshippcd
by the Three Wise Men OF the East The Jew
! ish expectation Of o Redeemer Is mentioned .
little later and ono Of tho Wise Men tells Of the
new religion futher on. but II Il no, until the final
act that the real danger point Il reached and passed
In safety. There Is hrst scene at the Palace
Of Hur in Jerusalem. where some Of tho char
| nc,ers tell what they hear Of the Nazsrene They
hold different OF inions as 10 whether the rorts
nj miracles He has performed arc tho or not
| However, even those who ar, plainly incredulous
saw nothing that could offend Cbristinnn BEN
| Uur believes I'm Him. and this fact bring, rrea,
joy TO Am,ah, the nurse of his boyhood. She
has been taking food 10 his mother and sister.
who are Iopc,s and arc living in n prison cavn
II this be true that the NazaIene can heal lepers
then thcse two women may be made we'll. and be
reunited with the son and brother. She goes
! 10 tell them Of the glad udings but FIRST informs
| Ben Huy where bis long lost relatives are. He
PUSHES OF 10 follow her. Tho next scene is IN tho
Vale Of Hinnom. where tho utter loneliness and
! hon.lassn.aa al In, I.per motbeY and d,ugnt.y
! Ii grsnhcally shown. Amrah comes and tells
them OF the Joy that II possibly In store for them.
Ben Hur Is heard calling for them In tho cave but
they do not go TO him for fear Of giving MIN tho
dreadful disease. After they have gone away
| he comes running In. still calling. and when DO
! finds II Is In vain he throws himself down on
| rock and falls asleep from exhaustion. Mount
Olivet is shown in the third scene, dimly al FIRST
but later becoming bright with tho MONDAY
sun. II Ia crowded with people waving palms