Evening star., 1899-04-08
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Van Buren, and their love scenes are a
rare combination of comedy and true senti-
ment. The judge will be played by Harry
Corson Clark, the western star comedian,
while Ada Levick will impersonate Mrs.
De Puyster, and Georgia Welles a bright
little soubrette with great western repu-
tation, will be Bess, to the Alec of Alfred
hickman Mrs. F. M. Bates will play the
strong part of the blind mother, Mrs. Van
Buren, and the other members of the COM
pany have been we'll placed in the cast.
The last performance of "Trilby" with the
great cast will be given this evening at
the Columbia Theater.
NEW NATIONAL THEATER-Monday
evening that delicate and winsome come
dian, the prince of gentle laughter and ex-
qufsfte pathos, who prefers the tattered
hahiliments of the drunken vagabond rip
Van Winkle' to the most beautiful gar
mentS OF the art he sadly nlisprizeS-Mr
Joseph Jefferson-will begin his annual en-
gagement at the National He comes again
in the character with which he is content
to rest his fame, and, of course, feels sure
OF audiences to fill the theater nightly.
some of his old admirers, those who saw
him years ago, say they think he was bet
ter then: but others think that age has
only ripened and SOftened and made more
artistically real his impersonation of the
graceless vagabond. Rip is Jefferson and
Jefferson is Rip: they have become insep-
arabic. Jefferson will be surrounded by
company of unusual excellence. There will
be seven performances, as follows: Monday
Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday nights
and Saturday matinee, rip Van Winkle;'
on Wednesday and Friday nights, The
Rivals. The advance sale of seats is al
ready so large that big success for the
engagement is assured.
ACADEMY OF MUSIC.-There is a real
fstic ship scene in Devils Island" which
comes to the Academy next week. The
third act finds Capt. de la Tour the Drey
fus of the play, walking to and fro in his
cage. French soldiers taunt him. and so
does his personal enemy who comes to kill
him, In order that the truth may never be
found out. Another visitor is the Russian
adventures, to whose carelessness at this
stage Dreyfus owes his miseries. She IS
disguised as a French lieutenant and pass
es the guards with the same ease that wo-
men in similar circumstances always do on
the stage. She is there to rescue the pris-
oner. and she does it promptly. The two
leap into the sea and are making for the
boat, when it is, through a transformation
in the scene, shown approaching them un-
der full sail. The yacht is quite large
enough to have been a serviceable craft in
actualfty. Several men stand on its sub
stantial deck. 1t rises and falls with the
swell, and its bowsprit reaches beyond the
curtain line over the footlights. The inter
est of Devils Island for the audience
seems to lie in the incidents which the
melodrama illustrates. Even for that kind
of a play there is too much conventionality
in the language and the humor. The peti-
spared to her, and that he be not sent to
the desolatiOn of the island, of course, IS
unavailing, and she swoons when the gen.
eral tells her that nothing can save him.
The darkened stage then shows several
episodes in the progress of the Dreyfus
case before his final condemnation. They
are magic lantern pictures, the first show
ing the wife at the court of Spain, beseech-
ing the queen to intervene in her husband s
behalf. Later she is at the courts of Rus
sta and England. 1t is the anthem of the
latter country, played as other national
airs are, while the pertinent view is dis
closed that gets more enthusiastic applause
than anything else, until the President of
the United States and his cabinet are
shown receiving the petition. That brings
out the national sympathy with great en-
phasis. The woes of the Dreyfus family
touch the audience deeply, because they
represent virtue, while vice Is embodied on
the other side.
GRAND OPERA HOUSE.-The Harris
brothers symposium operatic selections
from their own popular compositions. inter-
preted by the leading amateurs of Wash
ington, will be the bill at the Grand Opera
House Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
matinee and evening performances being
given each day. The Harris boys have
won for themselves quite a reputation, and
their productions have always been attend
ed with marked artistic merit. The pro-
grams for the entertainments under their
direction at the Grand will be made up OF
the brightest and catchiest bits of music
and dialogue. stage business and acting
culled from the scores of their several
| operas. In this way most attractive and
interesting performance is assured. The
selections will be from The Baronet, -
| THE Mountaineer,' The Trickster and
the Witch" THE Queens Foot" 1.-The
| Three Dukes 1.-The Hula Girl" 1.-The Sea
Beggar' and 1.-The Marketanderin.' Among
! the best known of the local vocalists and
| actors who will take part will be Mrs.
Thomas q Moves Miss wv Hprrin11 Miss
| Edna Scott Smith. Miss Marie Howe Mrs.
| Paul W. Evans. Mrs. G. McAllister Harris,
| Miss Virgie Luckett, Messrs. William H.
| COnley, W. H. Harris, Francis r. Dooley,
! A. Morsell, Theo. Friebus, jr., and HoraIo
| Rench. Each program will consist of six
| teen numbers. Mr.. Arthur Percy Harriss
! will conduct the orchestra, which will be
! especially augmented for the occasions.
| Mondays program for afternoon and even
| ing will consist of an overture from THE
/ Trickster and the Witch" by the orchestra
| and also from the same piece the ladder
/ duet. by Mrs. Harris and Mr.. Evans, and a
| ballet of twenty-five led by Miss Luckett;
! from '"The Hula Girl will be a skit by Mrs
| Evans and Messrs. W. H. Harris and Fran
| els r. Dooley; song and dance, The
! Typewriter Girls" by Miss Howe; "De
J Bigges' Coon in Town" by Mr. Shade; a
| duet. IF You'd Be Soubrette Gay" by
! Mrs. Harris and Mr.. Evans, an overture
/ and march. A scene from The Noun
taineer" with four selections, will be given
! by Miss Herriott, Mr.. Harris and chorus
| Mrs. Thomas c. Noyes will sing selections
! from The Three Dukes and The Hula
| Girl" Mr.. w. H. Harris will sing the
| mimic song from 1.-The Baronet' and the
| orchestra will play the entr'act from the
| same piece. Mr.. William A Morsell will
| sing a selection from the Dukes and Mr.
| Harris and Miss Herriott duet from 1.-The
! Baronet." Mrs. Thomas c. Noyes, MIR
| Harris. Mr.. Shade, Mr.. Dooley and the
| company will give scene from THE Sea
| Beggar.' All will be given in costume and
| with elaborate scenic accessories.
| KERNAN'S LYCEUM THEATER-
| Though among the latest aspirants to pub
lie favor. the May Howard Extravaganza
| which will open at the Lyceum at the Mon
day matinee for next week. scarcely needs
the heavy Endorsements with which most
| companies are compelled to herald their ad-
| vent. May Howard has a footing on the
| American stage that only grows firmer
| with every appearance. Her admirers will
| welcome the opportunity to witness the per-
| formance of the organization of which she
| is the central figure. This attraction with
| the established favorite at its head is ac-
| knowledged 10 be the most perfect extrava.
ganza company that has left New York
this season. Miss Howard has spared
| M