The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-03-20
The Theatres.

Marie Wainwright made her vaudeville
debut in Philadelphia as leading feature
of the program at Keith's BJou, Philadel-
phia, last evening, in a sketch of the Ma
poleonic variety entitled Josephine VS..
Napoleon" in which she will enact a
character similar to that portrayed by
| Julia Arthur last week. Miss Vain
wright has many admirers here, she hav-
| ing appeared with Louis James and Law
renee Barrett and as the heroine in a mel
odrama entitled 'Shall We Forgive Her?'
From Maine to California the latter play
was witnessed during two seasons by large
i audiences. Those in Philadelphia who
saw her in tSha1l We Forgive Her" and
those who were entertained by her work
in Shakespeare's plays will be glad of the
! opportunity to greet again this versatile
actress. Harry Watson's Comedy Com
pany is new organization and it will be
! seen in farce, The Two Flats which
will be produced for the first time in Phil
adelphia. Another act that is one of the
| funniest on the boards is that presented
/ by Phil OFT and 1.-The Three Rosebuds. y
! Vaudeville patrons know how enjoyable is
| this skit A fourth feature of the program
! is Tolaret, the fire dancer, whose special
! ty, many declare, is equal to that Of Lole
| Fuller or Papinta. Solaret headed the
I program at Keith's Boston, for four con-
secutive weeks, and her esprit of the
| Clock" was declared to be ''the most
beautiful scenic picture that has ever been
presented on any stage" More space
| than can we'll be spared is utilized by but
| four OF the acts; the other eleven are no
less diverting than is the average Keith
| specially.
1>1,o .,t,a,o.,,aoa11xz c,.ocaccf,,1 rim n
s'Ben-Hur," the great semi-religious
dramatic spectacle, at the Broadway thea
tire, New York, is most striking example
of how enthusiastically the public will
support an entertainment which presents
| the pure and exalted in theme and stage
| art. The patronage of Klaw & Erlanger's
J magnificent production is not confined
1 alone to people who live in New York, or
who casually visit that city. It draws per
i sons from all parts of the country, who
! come expressly to see it, and for no other
purpose. 'sBen-Hur'' is playing to average
receipts of SIS, 900 each week. Fully IS,
900 of this immense sum is received in
postal orders and checks in payment for
seats ordered by mail. No theatrical at
| traction ever presented in this country has
made like record The demand for
tickets by mail is constantly increasing
aud to accommodate out-of-town patrons
| who desire to secure seats in advance,
places may now be had as far ahead as
| Nav I. Special attention is given to
| orders by mail from 'Ben-Hur clubs, " and
also from individuals 1t was thought
| when tBen-Hur" was first presented that
| the great chariot race was as perfect IN Its
remarkable realism as stsge-craft could
make it The horses galloped at terrific
| speed, the chariots rumbling and rafting
| behind them. The drivers hourlshed long
whips and yelled encouragement to their
| struggling steeds and the great panoramic
| back drops, representing the walls OF the
arena crowned with thousands of people,
moving swiftly in an opposite direction to
J which the contestants were headed. created
a wonderful illusion of an actual race.
But an imperfection was discovered. With
ali the movements there was one feature
i lacking to make the race the perfect
counterfeit of battle-ground movement.
| The only part of the stage that moved was
the treadmills under the horses feet. This
| fault was noticed by very few, if any, but
Klaw and Erlanger determined it should
| be remedied Within week after the
production had been made, experts were
set at work experimenting. Three months
time was spent, and an additional outlay
of "a, 500 was made, before means was
devised to create q perfect illusion OF
| ground movement. This new effect was
presented for the first time last week. II
remarkably improved this great sensation
al race, which had been regarded as the
masterpiece of stage-craft. Now, as the
horses gallop, the entire stage is IN motion
and the earth seems to fly beneath their
feet The illusion of two great charicts
and eight horses covering ground at a
breakneck pace is so perfectly presented
as to be an actual reality. This great in.
cideut in Ben-Hur, as it stands to-day, cost
K1aw & Erlanger $I9,5oo to develop.
They spent $4,000 on it before the first
presentation of the play. 1t cost ST. COG
to raise the curtain for the first time on
oBen-Hur." In it Klaw & Granger sci
up new standard for productions in
| America. They deserve the great success
they have achieved because of the fidelity
to true art they have observed in every
feature of their extraordinary effort.