Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-05-08
ANU SEMENTS.

MUSICAL COMEDY.-The musical COM
edy season has started In most suspicious
ly at the Columbia and bids fair to hold
the boards at that theater for many weeks
to come. "A Runaway Girl gives way to
The Geisha' next week 1.-The Geisha' is
beautiful Japanese love story full of
atmosphere, graceful music and charming
stage pictures in the land of the hya-
clnths and tea blossoms. 1t is full of mu-
steal gems and still fingers in the memory
of our theatergoers. 1t has many catchy
songs, most prominent among which are
"A Jewel of Asia" The Amorous Gold
Fish" The Monkey on the Stick" and
The Interfering Parrot. 1.-THE Geisha'
was the first of the English musical come
dies to be presented at Days Theater, and
it was also one of the most successful 1t
ran nearly the whole winter at that thea
ter and met with unvarying approval on it's
tour. The company at the Columbia will
be augmented for this production The
scenery is being repainted by Henry f,
Hoyt, who painted the original and the
costumes will be most attractive. "The
GelSha' has not been done here for three
years and the company that is to present
1t here Will be the strongest that the man
agement can get together. The Geisha"
1alrly abounds In Catchy bits of song and
chorus work and there is never a let-dowu
from the opening chorus to the finale in
the high standard of composition One of
the features of these musical comedies Is
the splendid orchestra which the manage
ment have supplied. They will go even
step farther next week and strengthen the
orchestra effects by the addition of a harp
The harp has never been used in any pre-
VlouS production of The Geisha' in this
city. The same popular scale of prices will
prevail and there will be matinees on
Thursday and Saturday.
THE SKINNER MOyHE
TOCR.-What many people will consider
the most important dramatic event of the
season in America is the tour of the Otis
1hcn,,
LIE Moyne company under the direction of
Liebler q Co, in Robert Browning's '.frae-
ment of DRAMA as he himself referred
to In a Balcony" and W. B. Yeats SYM
bolic play, The Land of Hearts Desire"
For the latter play the enterprising firm
has engaged a special cast of such unusual
excellence and with such regard for par
ticular fitness to intelligently interpret de-
ightfuiiy act and to look the roles as
signed to them as to cause praising com
ment in dramatic circles everywhere Lieb-
Ter & Co. secured Otis Skinner to play Nor
bert in In a Balcony by a special ar
rangement with his manager, Joseph Buck
ley Mrs. lie Moyne and Eleanor Robson
are under contract to Liebler & Co for
a term of years. This combination with
the two plays already named will apDear
al the New National Theater on the night
of Thursday, May 16, for a single per
formance. The event is one that should
lot alone enlist the attention of the entire
Browning cult, but it must inevitably an
peal very strongly to men and women of
intelligence everywhere, whether they be
ardent admirers of Browning or not The
single presentation of I'm a Balcony" at
Wallack's Theater in New York last tau
has left the impression among those who
witnessed it that this tour will prove one
OF the most notable in this history of the
drama in America AS before In a Bal
cony'' will be preceded by w. B. Yeats
symbolic fantasy. The Land of Hearts
Desire" The sale of seats will open at
the box office tomorrow morning
THE MAGIsTRATE"-Arthu w. Pine
ro's high-class farclcal comedy. THE Mag
istrate." is in rehearsal by the Lafayette
Square stock company for presentation
next week. Pinero has written many clever
and ingenious plays, but few have achieved
the tremendous success scored by The
MAGISTRATE The play has been trans
lated into nearly every civilized language
and has been performed in practically
every country on the globe. 1t was origi-
nally given in London in 1888, and the
same year scored big hit In New York
At various times since then it has been re-
viVed, and always with the same popu-
larity. The Magistrate" is a whimsical
comedy with a clearly defined plot cleverly
constructed and many amusing characters
The principal role. as may be imagined. is
that of the magistrate himself an upright
gentlemen. who is enticed into a midnight
supper by scapesrace stepson. The mag
istrate's wife and her sister. on a perfect
~ legitimate errand. are led to the same
hotel where the magistrate Is taking sup
per. The parties have adjoining rooms
In the midst of the hilarity the police
raid the hotel for keeping open after hours
The magistrate and the stepson escape by
leaping through the window, but the wife
and her sister, escorted by two military
gentlemen, are caught, and for resisting
arrest are tried the next morning before
the magistrate who, before he realizes
that his wife is facing him in the dock
sentences her to seven days Imprisonment
without the option of fine. Through a
technically the sentence is afterWard set
aside, and the indignant wife returns home.
where she soon assumes the position of
judge of her Husbands outrageous con-
duct. The complex situations are skill
fully unraveled and the play ends with
merriment as 1t began.
CHASES NEW GRAND.-The manage
ment OF Chase's announces that next week
will witness the New Grand converted into
q combination roof garden, summer palace