Evening star., 1901-08-31

! With the coming of September the
| theatrical season can be said to be under
| almost full sail, although but two theaters
| are open in this city. Several new pre-
| sentations will take place in New York
| Monday night, and road companies by the
| dozens already on their way to the
| opening stands. Manager Osgood reports
| splendid opening for the Academy of
Music last Monday night. and good bust
| ness continued through the week. The
| same state Of affairs existed at Kernan's
| Lyceum, big business ruling all week.
| September 10 will probably find the
National. Chase's and the new Bijou ready
| for business and the Columbia will follow
| week later.
| In outlining the plans and policy that
| will govern the Academy Of Music the COM
| ing season, which was auspiciously fnaugu-
| rated Monday last, the new resident man
| ager, Whitman Osgood. stated: THE lib
| erality of Mr.. Stair. the new lessee of the
| Academy, has resulted in the complete
| transformation this season of the house.
| So far as the extension of accommodations
| and the Identification of the theater are
| concerned the Academy now possesses all
| those provisions for the public comfort
/ tt1dl dEc " Dc lOuHu III Tile HlOucEI HlSH-
| price theater. In this respect it is now far
| in advance Of the popular-price family
| theaters in the other large cities In the
| first place, checking room has been pro-
vided for the free checking OF hats.
! wraps, parcels and umbrellas. Then. too.
! the Academy has a reading desk and hand
| some chairs, with large supply of cur
| rent literature of the popular order, par
| tcularly of magazines for women readers
! Furthermore, a carrier service OF Ice water
!, has been established, and neatly clad boys
| distribute it throughout the audience
| Again, the toilet rooms have been stocked
| with handsome furniture and provided
| with all the accessories loved by women
Smart cOlored maids are stationed in them
! to render such service, without cost. as
| may be desired. On rainy nights umbrcl-
] las will be loaned to those who have come
! unprovided with them. Throughout the
season there will be lavish display Of
| ferns palms and flowers, which will give
| the theater an atmosphere of refinement.
| Above all. the Academy has been made
| spotlessy clean and healthy in sanitary
| sense, and it will never be otherwise as
| long as 1 am connected with the theater.
| A different class of ushers than was for
! merly employed has been engaged. They
| are required to attend strictly to their
| duties and are not allowed to entertain
| feminine friends and admirers in the thea
| ter. This wipes out a growing evil and
! will make it possible for unattended young
! girls to attend the matinees. Moreover
| the matinee ''masher' finds short shrift
| at the Academy and disorderly persons
| are denied admission or elected II In the
| theater In a word, I protect every lady
| that comes to the theater. Once across the
| threshold she becomes the guest of the
| house, and is treated with the same re-
| spect and courtesy that she would find in
! the homes Of her equals. Melodrama is es-
pecially the class of plays most liked by
| children. and the Academy expects to be
come the pleasure resort of the little folks
| M the host families of the CITY From
| time to time other measures to insure the
comfort of the family class of patrons will
| be adopted and i1augurated. Enterprising
and solictous management will soon do
| for the Academy what 1t has done for
| other theaters conducted, and l look
| forward to long season of unprecedented
success and unanimous public approval.
The authorship Of '.Petticoats and Bay
onets" the new play in which Wagenhals
| & Kemper are soon to launch Arthur
Byron as star, is no longer a mystery. 1t
| is the work of Mr.. Asa M. Steele. one of
| the literary lights of Philadelphia. and at
present unknown quantity in stage
! land. The technical knowledge of stage
craft Of which there Is said to be ample
evidence in the manuscript Of "Petticoats
and Bayonets." he is said to have acquired
by serving two years apprenticeship
an actor in the Girard Avenue stock COM
pany in Philadelphia.
Mr.. Steele is said to have had the usual
struggles in getting this, his first. play
cepted. He waited until patience was ex-
hausted, and finally turned the play into
novel, which was promptly accepted by
one of the popular monthly magazines. Mr..
Steele is not permitted to give the name of
the periodical but it is understood that it
will appear in the November or December
number and continue in serial form. When
,>l, t,y tod hnyr trrriI1
ably be no easy matter to convince the
public that it Is not a dramatized novel,
That the play has landed with publisher.
manager and actor must be encouraging to
the author, and both critics and playgoers
will doubtless await Arthur Byrons ap-
pearance in "Petticioats and Bayonets' in
New York as one of the most promising
first nights Of the season.
The following Is the complete cast of
principals Of the Klaw & Erianger COM
pany in Harry B. Smiths new musical
comedy, ""The Liberty Bellies" to be pre-
sented In Trenton. N. j., September I: at
the Chestnut Street Theater in Philadel-
| phia, September 8: at the Columbia Thea
ter in Washington. September %. and at
the Madison Square Theater, New York.
for a run, September 80: Cyril Scott. Jack
Everleigh, an Annapolis cadet: John Slavin
Phil. Fullerton, a Yale junior; Harry Gill
c. Marlowe, Hiram Ketcham, a sea cap
tain; Eta Butler Margery Lee, Phirs
fiancee; Sandol Milliken, Dorothy Grey
Jacks betrothed; Lotta Faust, Teresa Cor
sini. Italian street singer; Cissie Car
lysIe, Mrs. SprowI. LID, president Of the
Hudson Academy for Young Ladies'; Angus
ia Close, Virginia Dean. a school girl, de-
voted to music; Edna Hunter, Daisy Field,
school girl. devoted to novels; Marie La
mour, Omyama San, Japanese girl, sent
to America to be educated; Margaret
Walker. Mildred Ross poetic school girl;
Pauline Chase, Kathleen Gray. an athletic
school girl; Grace Kimball, Edith Morris,
who has acquired the slang of her brothers;
Dorothy Lester. Ruth Leslie, a puritanical
school girl; Edith Barr Ethel Love- who
shutters little. Marie Twohey. Gladys
Summers, who lisps good deal: Helene
Lucas Juana Gomez, a Cuban girl, sent to
America to be educated: Violet Jewell.
Laura Carroll. southern girl: Laura
Stone, Ada Penn, from Philadelphia; Ida
Burns, Dora Van Ness, a New York girl;
Elsie Ferguson. Marian Randolph. a hungry
girl and Esther Lyons, Geraldine Fair
fond Of practical joking. Mr.. Smith
o1nI1y ant oil ia