Evening star., 1901-09-24
AMUsEMENTe. A

DltrlcnSteln, VINO prepared ne LdSt <Ap-
peal for the stage, said IN recent inter-
view that the popular taste demands a
love story, and that the lovers must not
get each other until the play Is nearly over.
1t is always reassuring to find physician
willing to take his own medicine: but it
looks In this instance as If too much re-
lance had been placed on a single formula.
A cut and dried recipe which would enable
managers to get money into a box office
whenever needed would be indeed benefi-
cent discovery. 1t would enable them to
crafty their oft-expressed desire to put on
great classical productions with confidence
that anything lost on Romeo and Juliet"
could be retrieved the week following by
detailing the fortunes of Mary Jane and
her best young man. All that would be
called for is to introduce them in the first
act and marry them in the fourth. with a
few parental protests scattered in between,
so as to give the prescription the requisite
amount of time.
And yet it seems almost a sacrilege to
speak thus fiippantiy of any love story,
however trite. Although the denouement
OF peace and reconciliation was obvious be-
fore the curtain had been up half an hour.
the audience fingered with close and SYM
pathetic attention to the lass whose heart
goes out beyond recall and the man whose
love def1es the worlds conventions. Betty
in the kitchen reads 1t 'twixt yellow COW
ers amid the pots and pans; Arabella signs
over 1t in the boarding school, and Miss
Minerva Bluestocking speaks learnedly of
mere proplnquity as an influence on the
anections," and asks whether marriage Is
a failure, even while she cherishes between
the leaves of her sociological text book a
faded blossom lock of hair
The story of Cinderella and the prince
refuses to be relegated to the nursery. In
this case Cinderella is the daughter Of a
respectable banker and the prince is heir
to the throne of Austria. Mr.. Ditrichstein
ct trn tcvh< hirx0 F0r 1t
Ject and the result is vindication of the
TO be continued in or next" romancers
His treatment of the theme suggests the
family story paper. but the commonplace
deemed by the work of the company. Rob-
ert DrOuet is manly and impressive
prince. albeit at the disadvantage which a
hero suffers when he is compelled to be a
passive quantity in his own career. Hav-
ing yielded to the impulse of love. there
is little left him save to hold his own as
Wen as he can in an occasional family
quarrel. Kate Hassett gives a graceful
and animated Interpretation Of the prln-
cpal feminine role, and there are strong
character bits scattered through the cast.
Eleanor Carey has one of the gentle moth
erly parts she plays SO well, and George
c. Boniface gives a brief but frreproacha
BILE portrayal of the aged petitioner at
court who teaches the king the lesson of
fdtherly forgiveness. The fact that the
play is a studiously drawn picture Of Aus
and artistic Importance which it's construc-
tion and language would scarcely COM
mand. The part of the king is forcefully
played by Frank Mordaunt. and the scenes
of royal ponp are brilliant and skillfully
devised. But the study OF regal formai-
ties will not suffice to hold popular interest
in America very closely, now that we are
assured by statesmen that Imperialism Is
a dead issue. One scene stands out with
conspicuous power-that in which the king
and the cOmmOner meet. not as ruler and
subject, but as father and father. 1t is
an unmistakable assurance Of talent on the
aut hor's part and indicates that the fall
ure to develop climaXes where they are
pCpularly expected Is the result of deliber-
ate purpose and not due TO his lack of abil-
iiy to provide them.
COLUMBIA THEATER.-Little was
known about 1.-The Liberty Bellies in ad-
vance. with the exception of the exploited
beauty of sixteen girls Imagine, then, the
thrills which took hold of the JOhnnes
when they discovered on the program that
the first act was to be in the dormitory
of a young ladies' seminary. In the past
the builders of plays land things have
thought themselves bold and bad to intro
duce a single bed room scene on the stage.
But here when the curtain went up to
dreamy music the scene depicted four
snowy beds containing four snowy-robed
she Of the pink pajamas. destined to be-
come famous ere the Bellies go far in
their career. The joy of the gallery gods
knew no bounds. Then the dim lights
went up, girls in all conditions of night
ra!ment fiocked in from the adjoining
rooms and in a few moments the revels of
midnight feast were In full progress.
Such display Of lingerie no bargain
counter ever boasted. Here were friils
and tinery without end. In the midst of
the myriad costumes, however, there was
always those pink pajamas. They were
constantly in the picture. For thirty minutes
the girls held full sway. Then the male
members of the cast began to arrive, the
first two coming as burglars-Harry Dav-
enport and Johnny Slavin. The audience
was glad to see them, too. Most of the
fun was provided by Slavin, and it was
good The next two acts gave the girls a
chance to display all sorts of fine dresses
Augusta Close in the first act sang three
little songs which captivated the audience,
and she was missed decidedly during the
remainder of the evening. The principal
feminine work, however, was divided be-
tween Sandol Miliken and Eta Butler,
the former dainty and delightful in all hel
playing, the latter jolly in the extreme
but Just little rough as yet from her
vaudeville experience. Harry Giifoii in
character part, brought in all his spe-
cialties and limitations which have made
hlm prominent. There were many other
clever people in the cast and from S:I5
until 31:05 the moments went flying
CHASE'S THEATER-The entire bin
picSSiilto dt SHaSe . 1nedter this week is
so excellent that it is a difficult matter to
designate the feature. This popular house
has opened for the season. and last night
saw the theater filled with an expectant
gathering that later frequently testified to
its approval of the attractions presented
This week hardly any fault can be found
with any number on the program The
English pony ballet, composed Of an oc-
tet Of agile, graceful girls, brimful Of au-
dacity, was delightful contrast to the
conventional picture of tarlatan skirts and
painful smiles. They apparently enjoyed
what they were doing, and resembled more
bevy of frolicsome school girls dancing
away their too exuberant spirits while the
masters back was turned than paid
corps de ballet. They won a pronounced
success. Probably the most remarkable
exhibition Of animal training seen here in
long time was shown in the tableaux
vivants portrayed by Mile. Chester and her
dog. In dozen or more poses the dog
maintained the immobility Of statuenin
fact, maintained 1T better than Mile. Ches-
ter who was in the same living picture
The different incidents of the hunt were
depicted, scenting the game, retrieving,
etc, concluding with "home again." when
both stepped from the picture frame and
fully demonstrated that it was live dog
upon which the spectators had been look
ing and not a carved one, as might have
been suspected. Nat NJ. Wills, 1.-The happy
tramp" won such a warm welcome for