Evening star., 1900-05-19

| Nn&2&
burlesque house are not the only source Of
| revenue.
Manager P B. Chase of the New Grand,
| also manager of the Lyceum at Baltimore,
returned to the city yesterday from his
! summer amusement park in Ohio, and in
| talking of his plans said:
II am not experimenting with continuous
| vaudeville next week with yiew to adopt
ing 1t here. Great as is my faith in Wash
| lngton. do not think the time is ripe for
! such an advanced step in amusement pur-
veying 1t will do for the great cities like
| New York, with their millions Of popula-
| ton and thousands of transicnts and
| strangers The continuous is very ex-
| pensive, too, because just double the ordi-
| nary number of acts have to be provided
| and the proper arrangement OF them for
performance that they will, as it were,
dovetail. is no easy matter to settle. Then,
| too. 1t would be impossible to reserve seats
| under such a form of amusement, and l
| think the resulting inability of a manager
| to control the seating of his patrons would
| cause embarrassment. However, when the
| day arrives 1 shall be ready to give Wash
| ington continuous vaudeville in permanent
| and attractive form.
| Il have much in the way of improvements
| in contemplation for the New Grand next
/ season. That is why am here now. After
| the contracts have been arranged 1 shall be
| happy to unfold to The Star my plans for
| beautifying the New Grand and Tor max
| ing it palatial.'
| like swallows homeward winging- (not
the kind that glide. mind you) the members
| of the road combinations are foCking into
| that center of American stage-craft, New
| York and broadway iS lined along 10 RIAL
| to district with the best-dressed most care
| fully groomed bunch of Thespians that ever
| walked" The speaker was Jed T. Shaw of
| this city, formerly assistant treasurer at
! the New National, and now serving in
| like capacity at the Broadway Theater. MT
| Shaw is a popular hustler and has been
| warmly welcomed home. His playhouse
| (not literally speaking. as yeD closed its
season Saturday evening and he is home
| for q six weeks visit prior to a hunting
| campaign in Wisconsin later in the sum
| mer. "Yes, they are all beautifully dressed
| at this season of the year., he continued
| referring to the home-bound actors. but
| when the fading days of summer creep
around. the days will not be soloists in
| the great fading trick.
We'll. Broadway is fairly jammed with
| the returning readers and the luckier stay
at-homes whose seasons have closed. They
stand about in groups discussing the sea-
sons work. and some have a wad of manu-
| script in their hand, which they confiden-
| tlaly Whisper Is a WOEuer1ul part 1Or the
production next year. The readers will re-
| gale you with the crackerjack hit they made
one night In Podunk-'Three tirpes before
| the curtain for one scene! Immense, my
! boy"
"a NIGHT OFF."-Many a successful
| professional first night has had more occa-
sion for apology than the production of "a
| Night Off" by the Carroll Institute Dra-
matte Club at the Columbia Theater last
| night. Perhaps 1t Is not precisely fair to
| classify this organization with the anna
| teurs for most of its members have had so
| much experience in theatrical performances
that their work submits itself to the more
! rigid standards of criticism They are no
longer to be patted patronizingly on the
| back and assured that their work was
| great for amateurs They have taken
| their tasks seriously. and their perform
ances show the gratifying effects Of stu
! dious deiberation in the matter Of rehear-
| sal. By closely applying themselves to one
or two plays each season they secure de-
| gree of smoothness which surprises the au-
| ditor who has come to regard a first night,
! even with seasoned players, a more or
| less shaky affair. "A Night or proved
| happy selection. The play a great ia
vorite in its day, but has become quite un-
| familiar. 1t is comedy Of the most en-
| phatic sort. and at the same time it has a
| quality of refinement which does not per-
| nit the player to secure his laughs and ap-
| were long and plentiful, the applause loud
| and spontaneous. and the floral tributes
| just enough in evidence to give a graceful
| element of personal interest to the occasion
without suggesting the indiscriminate Law
| ishneSs OF commencement day.
! The two most striking characters in the
piece are Justinian Babbitt. the professor
who has written a Roman tragedy and
Marcus Brutus Snap, the manager, who
Undertakes to produce it. Mr.. William H.
Conley played the professor, and immedi-
ately he set foot on the stage his makeup
was an assurance that he had given the
undertaking judicious consideration. His
performance had not only precision but
| finish. He was successful in securing these
| indefinable touches of mannerism which
| make a character seem genuinely human.
| Mr.. Walsh. as Snap, gave an intellectual In
| depreciation of character which most act
ors would burlesque. Without sacrificing the
humor he gave the struggling tragedian a
certain personal dignity which made him
superior to his misfortunes. and in his re-
| sentiment of the epithet transformer
did a fine bit Of sincere defamation.
stern but not unrelenting" parent.
| and George H. O'Connor the
scapegrace youngster who incurred parental
| wrath secured his share Of the evenings
| applause. John J. Nolan has good pres
I ence. and made good impression. His
work is especially praIseworthy for the fact
! that he does not try to get more out of the
| part than it properly contains. There was
| throughout the cast this same discreet
wariness about overworking a good point.
The ladies. Miss Myra Lee Ciyalier, Miss
| Laura Eichelberger. Miss Kathleen Cham
| bers, Mrs. Nora Cocker-Bagnam and Miss
| Greenewald. were all efficient; in one or two
cases notably good. The stage manager,
Frank W. Romaine. and the assistant stage
manager, Chas. A. Green, are both to be
duction.