Evening star., 1900-09-29
MUSIC

| not been a detail neglected in the matter
| of advertising. Late in the summer
months, before the general public had be-
| gun to think of any save outdoor amuse-
| ments, big posters presented the gentle
| features of Viola Allen on the otherwise
deserted billboards This actress now car
| ries within the five sylables of her ell
phonious name all the enormous prestige
created by the success of 1.-THE Christian.
! She stands for the wealth of consistent
situation and polished dialogue which made
that play a model popular drama, if not a
| literary classic. Miss Aliens name
alone enough to inspire confidence But
| in addition to this was the announcement
| that the present dramatist is Lorimer Stod-
| dard. who has done eminentiy respectable
work in his field. +. Marion Crawford who
wrote the novel, but another name to con-
| jure with. and Liebler & Co.'S connection
with 1t gave absolute guarantee that the
production would from a technical point
| of view, be beyond reproach. The focus
| ing of all these regulations in a single
effort was an enterprise which could not
| but command respect. The play and the
production tacitly assumed to take high
| artistic ground and to claim Studious in
spection as a serious contribution to the
drama. But it does not stand scrutiny. Its
| magnificent pageantry, sufficient in itself
| to attract multitude and hold 1t gazing
with pleasure by the hour does not COM
pensate for the lack of coherent plot in
| terest. The excellence of the acting in
| some instances awakens applause, but it is
applause for the manner of delivering the
| speeches and not for the substance AS
| production In the Palace Of the King
| commands the admiration of every person
who enjoys seeing silks and velvets paraded
| through massive and ornate architecture
| And as the apparel Oft proclafms the man,
| so do the superficial embellishments fire.
| quentiy go TO make the play. So strong is
the fascination of artificial spendor that it
causes the realities upon which 1t is draped
to be but little considered No doubt the
| jester Adonis was considered thing Of
| beauty, hump-back and all, by many of
| the vulgar throng who craned their necks
! to get glimpses of court life, simply be-
cause Of his good company and his fine
| clothes, Similarly it is difficult to realize
/ that play produced by Liebler & Co..
with Viola Allen in the cast. and present.
| ed with AL the scenic establishment that
| money can secure, can be anything but
| good. 1t Is taken for granted that so
much superficial beauty must contain in
| trinSic worth. -
| Yet 1t lacks that subtle something. sin
cerity. The characters are little more than
| lay figures except in some saving instances
| where sheer personal superiority compels
| the auditor to yield his senses to the
| pretty but shallow; there are none Of the
| intensity OF emotion nor the eloquence OF
| expression to which ioftier natures are
moved in the presence of a great crisis.
| The familiar tricks Of the dramatist's trade
I are rather garshy in evidence. and the
historic period Is approached with small
| scruple. 1t Is the ease with which the
masses believe anything told them about
| facts or figures that makes confidence men,
In the Palace Of the King does not JUS
| tify active resentment. The intelligence
! which refuses to be dazzled into submissive
acceptance of It's improbabilities will hard
| ly be moved to anything more than mild
| raillery. That the expenditure OF money
| has been enormous is a self-evident propo-
Icfff Hytf SoSt rtv,nfy 1ntn fnr
| lavishness Of pecuniary outlay Is something
which only the parvenu demands and
which only the flunkey accords.
| The business done by the attraction in this
| city was very large. and the prospects of
| good financial returns In the future are
strong. Some changes are under way. and
| there will be abundant time for work on
the piece while 1t is on the road 1t does
| not go into New York for several months.
and the plucky fighting qualities which
Liebler & Co. always display in behalf Of
| their attractions might suffice to keep a
worse play than I'm the Palace of the
| King from falling by the wayside, even
| If 1t had not, like this. the enormous mo-
mentum Of THE Christian's' reputation to
| carry 1t.
| The advent Of Hamlet "and his fathers
| ghost" into town always provokes a wide
ranged discussion as to the sanity or insan-
| ity of the Danish prince. There are emf
| nent students OF Shakespeare who go SO
far as to say the young mans mind was
| wrecked by broodings, while still others
claim Hamlet to be the most sensible, and
brilliantly so, of all Shakespeare's char
| acters Mr.. CrestOn Clarke's production
of the play at the Columbia this week
stirred the discussion up anew and 1t was
| heard in many quarters. Monday night a
| party of people were talking the play over
in the lobby of the theater. Some Of the
| opinions expressed were very learned some
|
His weird treatment of Ophelia shows
| him to have been demented or carried away
in temporary alteration of the mind" said
a member of the discussing party.
"It showed just to the contrary" replied
| another His faith had been shaken In
the entire sex by the action Of his mother"
has place in such gatherings The wag
has to be there or the good story would be
| lacking.
Cease. my good friends. I charge you."
! he said. by my troah and in good faith
it's myself. and | alone. who. gifted with all
| the wisdom the gods may bestow knows
what allied this good youth. Hamlet He was
| simply playing hockey from the crazy
| house. Well hear no more ont"
B. e. Wallace. whose big shows come ia
this city next Monday. drifted into his pres
| ent field of usefulness about eighteen years
ago, through his love Of horses. He was
first stock trader. 1t CHANGED that cir
| Gus StTdHueO III Ills tOWH ana ne undertook
| the care of the stock. From this .transac-
ton to a proprietorship of the show was
not a long step. and he has been one Of the
most observant as well as successful men
| In his line Of amusements. In speaking Of
that stanch friend. alike Of youth and age.
the circus clown. he recently said:
| 1.-THE circus clown traced his origin ba ck
| to the very beginning Of the circus itself.
| and from time fmmemorial he has been one
| Of the most important features During
tho growth. development and Improvement.
he has by no means been left behind. He is
| funnier now and can do more tricks than
| ever before. In the old days one clown suf-
feed to satisfy the demands of the show
! goers, but now 1t takes twenty-five for the
great Wallace shows. Nowadays the clown
| who could not do anything but grin and
drive a donkey that played a tattoo with his
hind heels on the dashboard of little cart
| could not get job in ten years. He has
| to be versatile or look for some other posi-
| ton. Clowns have to be great masters in
the 'knockabout' act If they were not, there
| would be a few dozen broken bones every
afternoon and evening. The more kicks.
| blows and knockdowns the clown receives.
the greater the glee and happiness Of the
audience. So the gentle Jester must be =
postmaster In the art Of falling down and
/ Hfycy 30 ryfyyo ov,d