The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-09-02
THEATRICAL ACTIVITIES WELL
STARTED LAST EVENING.

The rotund and ever smiling Cir. Short.
five years younger than he was MAY l.
stood in the lobby OF the Olympic Theater
last night-the seasons opening. Some
thing OF a crowd said how-dy-do to him.
and laughed, later on. at the absurdities Of
an entirely new comedy, "a Modern
Crusoe.'' from the pen of Sydney Rosen-
field. author Of things diverse, and general
ly successful.
There is the usual Opening air about
the Olympic Just now-new carpets. the
smell OF paint and n fresh floor in the big
and seemly lobby. The temperature within
was rather agreeable.
There Is a capital-one might say a labor
and capital-hea in "A Modern Crusoe."
Once in a while It becomes sermonishly
sociological. but when this threatens Mr..
Thomas Quigiey Seabrooke sings a song or
stands on his head and the problem slips
away.
Drexel Ward lSeabrooke) IS the man OF
money. as the cartoonist makes him. The
poor man Is the sort OF fellow that you find
In ~books-neither more than half way true.
They, with friends of the rich Ward, are
thrown upon a desert island, where the chap
without money proves, by reason OF a long
hand-to-mouth experience. to be the man OF
the hour. Mr.. Lynn Pratt enacts this part,
which in the original German must have
DStU tIS HlOSl iWpDTlHIl CHARACTER VI ZIG
piece. He is expressive at times, and often
sively actorizh nearly all the rest OF the
time.
There was a welcome hand for Miss Ewes
son when she came on last night from the
old friends Of her season at the Imperial.
Miss Elizabeth Stewart plays an ingenue
charmingly, and Mr.. Leighton Leigh, as an
English army officer. is properly amusing.
After eighteen months on n desert islnad
the (vrflcneQ ara Sraqcad IN r1ufur,oc ~ ya ri
and skin. Both Miss Stewart and Miss
Evesson arc charming as F1iirinos, and the
men are funny.
! There are some excellently amusing situa-
tons in the piece. and much unnecessary
r%oughness. Mr.. Seabrooks Is almost con-
stalitiy comic.
You would scarcely have recognized the
many worked-over situations which went
to make up the initial play at the imperial
last night. In a Woman's Power" they
call It IL they chose. The lines were new.
but the action and the characters were
family reminiscent Of some very good
shows. There was al adventures who
seemed to have stepped from Sporting
Life: two expert criminals. dead game
men nj good people" who might have been
achieved from Sherlock Holiness" while
inc beltleS. btTUlCtS 6uu IuhilIIeS nHVe
had their pretty little influences over US
In other and older dramas.
The story concerns the efforts to run
down a gang Of shrewd counterfeiters that
had long puzzled the United States Secret
Service officials. Doctor Hardicraft, the
leader of the rascaliy set, was a gentleman
at heart. but his weakness for money and
social success caused him to become a
t'mug,'' or master thief. In the course Of
fta pfara te rave- I'm n woman ne fDrrnarly
fancied for the love of a charming young
girl who had never heard of the world of
graft. For revenge. the adventures he
knew for 30 long revealed the secret of his
dual life to the authorities. He is ruined
and in the last act murdered by her.
Incidentally there was a merry love cpl
sode between Tommy Fenwick, a young
the poor girl who married the Doctor. Fen
wick is n sort of grown-up Lord Faunt!e-
roy. capitalIy acted by one Oscar Graham.
he may be.
Betty. cmure and coy. was in the hands
OF Dorothy Martin-not Morton. The ad-
ventures. well! The programme gave her
as Lillian Alexandra Harris. She
at dialect were as Objectionable as her
rant. This was a pity, because her role
means a good deal.
Incidentally Doctor Hardicraft robbed an
EXPRESS train in the most approved Ameri-
can style. He knocked down the express
and then deliberately blew open
the safe: As this was accomplished while
the property train was running ut full
speed. the gallery was delighted. Bernice
who loved the daring counter
reiter too well. got tons of sympathy. She
was a comedy young person as played by
Rose Swain and deserved it,
Delmar Garden has a loyal Sunday night
patronage. Despite the new downtown at
the big suburban resort had one
the largest audiences of the season last
when Edmond Audran's amusing
opera, "Olivette." was given. Although the
EAST calls for but time principals. the story
the opera demands OF them not a little
ability, much of which was made
The more effective by Stage Manager Frank
who has had charge OF all the
rehearsals, and succeeded In put
Inr considerable senbiance of life into the
.nsemblers. His Coquelicot. in its quiet
and ~obstinately submissive manner.
caught the house early in the first act, and
10 his Individual efforts Is due much Of the
of last nights performance. Messrs.
.uckstone and Gordon had the masquerad-
parts respectively of De Merrimac and
Valentine. and made them diverting by UNI
expected dissimf!arity.
Mr.. Gordon during the afternoon sus-
aimed a painful accident to his hand. which
lomewhat affected his work. Another re-
hearsal will put Mr.. Martins Marvetoi IN
with bis lines and considerably I'M
his needed certainty Of speech. After
her anA vocal successes at the Deimar all
reason, II was TO b expected that Aaude
Lillian Berrts O1ivette would prove more
shsn adsquatA The several tyf1ee n nsr