The times., 1899-11-30
THINGS THEATRICAL.

4
will be better filled this Thanksgiving Day
than the local temples of Thespis. If one
is 10 incline to Joseph Jeferson's oft-ex
pressed belief that amusement is sort
Of worship, il may be said that there is
no church from which Will pour a greater
volume of devotion-deyotion apparent in
/ the laughter and applause that Will find
way into the Hobbies of Washington's six
| legitimate theatres. Christmas and Thanks
! giving are Two great occasions for ven
/ turers in the business of entertainment pur-
| yeying.
The gobbIing Of the festive gobbler in
many households is only a sort of prelim-
/ mary to an afternoon at the show. Dec
| orative and deceptive signs. announcing q
I matinee at - will be placed in front OF
( every house o. the Rialto this morning.
and the hour named will find long lines fill
ing before half dozen box Office windows.
/ Probably these self-same lines viii not be
/ reliable to those who would use them in
measuring the artistic grade of the attrac-
1 tiOns, for holiday crowds are not diScrimi-
/ mating and ask less cause than excuse for
enthusiasm. Unless the present Thanks
! giving is to prove an exception. there will
! not be a sparsely-attended performance in
/ the city this afternoon With a view TO
| capturing all the golden birds-perhaps
! eagles-that the proverbial hand viii hold
! Managers Burke d Chase have arranged
/ for three entertainments at the Grand,
/ where Camilla Urso and her vaudeville as
sistants viii play at il, at 8, and at S:15
O'Clock. Though other directors have been
less radical, the aforesaid matinee at 2"
advertisements may be expected every
where. Vincent Serrano, Theodore Roberts.
and minor folk of the La Shelle-Hamlin
T Company are TO give Arizona" twice al
the Lafayette; George Boniface, jr; George
Ober, and the remainder of the Dear Old
Charley cast are scheduled to duplicate
this record with the farce in question at
the Columbia, and Charles Frohmans or
ganiZation Will have a similar amount Of
work TO do at the National. Hanlon's "Su-
perba' doubtless viii draw the bulk of the
Juvenile population to the Academy. while
lrwin's Burlesquers should suggest to mas
culinity the pleasure of enjoying a SHOW
with an afteT-dinner cigar at Kernan's.
Nor are the evening performances likely
to be bOycOtted. Theatre parties may be
expected at many of the downtown re-
sorts. while fashionable amusement seek
eTS should fill those nearer Fourteenth
Street. The football teams that are to
contend for gridiTOn honors today have
arranged to occupy boxes at the Acadamy
tonight and other athletic associations
viii not be behindhand.
All this resolves itself into a sort Of
charity for the unfortunate actor, to whom
Thanksgiving means a chilly register in
some strange hotel and a thin slice Of
turkey at dinner No one has ever thought
of organizing a protective society for
friendless players and many is the stroller
whose heart viii 20 out TO an eight -by-ten
fat in Harlem and family distributed
between the vaudeville houses and such
aggregations as White & Blacks "Uncle
Tom S Cabin company. Since these wan
derers must appear. come what may, it
is desirable that they should appear before
audiences the size Of which endorses man
agerial promises TO pay.
The probability is that these audiences
will be forthcoming and that there will be
mutual satisfaction for those before and
those behind the footlights. In theatrical
circles the day really viii be one Of
Thanksgiving.
When "At the White Horse Tavern was
being presented here, earlier in the season.
The Times devoted considerable space to
an Interview with Leo Dirichstein who,
besides being employed in Charles Froh-
mans cast was spending his spare mo-
ments in rehearsing E. II. Sothern and
Virginia Harmed in his newest play, The
Song Of the Sword" This piece subse-
/ quently was done in New York and is
reception. At all events, It was retained
as the bill at Daly's Theatre until the
road dates Of the star and the metropoli-
tan engagement of Daniel Frohman's S stock
company made necessary its withdrawal.
If one may count upon the inkling of the
work secured from reading its plot there
was reason for this monetary success.
THE Song of the Sword" deals with incl
dents that are interesting and partially
novel Captain Egalite. Of the French
army. saves from insult the COntessa di
Monza who. in disguise, is acting as q
serving maid al an inn. This noblewo-
man subsequently comes into possession
of certain papers which her fance and
( compatriot is too cowardly to carry TO the
Austrian headquarters. With these docu-
ments, she rides toward the border, and,
being opposed by the captain, stabs him.
In return she is taken by the French,
and would fail victim to Napoleon but for
] the gallantry and heroism Of the officer
whose murder she has attempted. In
these roles Mr.. Sothern and Miss Harmed
should prove most agreeable, and there is
likelihood that the business done next
week at The National will be record
/ breaking
OH ,.rr,. ,-alI tn toll .L,r,t ,o,