The Birmingham age-herald., 1902-11-02
At the Bilou.


 Tomorrow night. Birmingham theatre goers will have their first chance to see the new dramatic stock company which Jake Wells has organized especially to appear at the Bijou theatre here and at the other theatres on the Wells circuit. This company is the George Fawcett Stock company, with Frank Gilmore, and 1t will present as it's first offering in Bir- mingham, the celebrated drama of the civil war, by William Gillette, entitled Secret Service. The play is already known as one of the best American plays ever written, and as great things are promised before hand regarding the com pany, 1t Is very probable that the week at the Bijou will prove highly inter esting to local theatre-goers. The p.( will run all the week. and Will no dtIot prove an agreeable variation from the established vaudeville policy of the Bijou. As it is MT. Wells intention to have this company appear here at frequent inter- ,yals during the season, the people in the company will have a personal interest from the Bijou patrons. Nearly every large city in the country has permanent stock company, which presents new play each week, and the appearance of the George Fawcett company here about every third week during the season, will ,be the nearest approach to a permanent dramatic stock company ever recorded in Birmingham. It is said that plans are under way to have this company spend every other week here, alternating with Atlanta, in which case this would be practically home organization.
 In the company, the leading man is .lr I1rfnI IiGta osafn nf ra- .pute who has been leading man with John Hare in England and with Mrs. Fiske in this country. The leading lady is Grace Kimball, who has frequently Appeared in Birmingham. She was lead- ing lady with D. H. Sothern. and the original Princess Flavia in the first pro- duction of "The Prisoner of zenda." Then she became leading lady with Henry Miller, and played the leading role in his well remembered production of .Heartsease." The other players in the company are great favorites in Baltimore, Norfolk and Richmond, where the com pany has just closed engagements, and they will no doubt duplicate their suc- fcesses here. Among them may be men tioned Dewitt c. Jennings, who was Tn the company of Ada Rehan for several years; Laura McGilvray, who has played with the Frohman companies; Lloyd Car teton, who was stage manager for Maude Adams for three seasons and is now stage manager for the Fawcett company; Julia Marie Taylor, who appeared in Bir- mingham last season as leading 1ady with Creston Clarke; Frank Craven, great favorite in Baltimore and num- Der of others.
 Secret Service" is a play which has never before been presented In Birming ham at popular prices, yet in spite of that fact, Jake Wells, who has seen this production by the Fawcett company, says that the present presentation will be found the equal of any dramatic performance ever given in Birmingham theatre. He predicts that the patrons of the Bijou will be surprised to discover what really excellent company the Fawcett organiza- tion is, and what good people and good plays will be seen during the season at popular prices.
 Secret Service" tells a story of one evening in Richmond, during the civil war The city of Richmond is closely be- seiged by the United States army under Grant, the confederate forces under Gen. eral Lee stubbornly defending 1t along lines of entrenchments from five to ten miles outside Distant thunder cannon adng can be heard in the city almost con- stantly, and at night the sky is lurid with flashes from active artillery and explod- ing shells. Richmond itself, however, Is