The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-10-29
DRAMAS UNLIKE EACH OTHER,
"TEE JUDGMENT or KING SOLO.
WON" AND "OLD SLFUTH."
Dore la, idson Sets Forth the biblical
wise Monarch on the stage and Hal
Held Does a. Much for the IIaif.Dime
Iibrsry's SIN Wiser Detective.

Abrsry's sun Wiser Detective.
When lew Fields sent his little boy to
tho Broadway Theatre To see The Sleep
ug Beauty and the Beast" and asked him
row he liked il. tho yourgster replied that
r. VAS very good. bat objected that II did
rn' follow IN" story. But then none Of
4esc dramatizcd novels do. nowadays
I, unmarked That is what might he said
e The judgment of King Solomon. which
j. being acted for the frat time in New
York AZ tho American Theatre this week.
Dora Davidson. an actor. wrote It. In
Ming Solomon's Judgment he ia, urally
NV good dramatic incident but ono such
dos not make play, as one Israel 1ng-
viii can testify SO Mr. Davidson sci his
rain 20 work two ways from the middle,
and evolved before and after plot with the
'oo women and the baby a. the central
poiu'.
Tho first rule among drama,ists is TO
ring every character into some relation
% he others. So King solomon was made
he father Of two babies. with tn dis
tcrccing women as the mothers. The
oi kcd ones child had died but to black
mail tie king she stole the other young
sol SO there was the dramatic motive
TDr tho SCENE when the Judging king play
'vlly discovered which of Z he two claimants
Wd- The the true mother by ordering that
me child be cut in half.
Ihi~ vas one Of eight scenes. which
we're divided into groups called acts. MIR.
Davidson had been ar free III his use Of
word, as III employing the scene curtain
Everyb ,dy talked great deal My. they
dii talk And they might have reached
all Of their conclusions tar less lOqua-
- 'usly. Since the departure of The
R-c ~ Plynouth-Town' no such con-
vorSational intriCacies as tho dialogue
of The Judgment of King Solomon" have
been put before his public to study out,
III" production i Infinitely better than is
usual al the American. and is really re-
markahle for "a cut-rate theatre. Some of
the many scenes are really sumptuous.
ard he richness of the costumes suggests
that some one with money intends sending
A." play on a tour. A chorus and many
supeTuunerarics are used in tn" court of
King Solomon. The acting IL good,
although naturally heavy in a play
wrghtily worked Maurice Freeman is
pondcrous a. kng solomon. II would he
lIukird 20 sav the same Of Jessaline Rogers
and Lillian Bayer a. the wrangng mothers.
shpcr becomes the comic relief. with
Thomas Reynolds a. his impersonator
Tho we'll known fictional character which
sam BERNARD calls odd SLOUGH, the dec
i've, j. the Leading character in a melo-
drama at ia" New star. Hal Reid made
the play from Charles Garvice's stories.
and Hal stephens acts the title role We
should say. rather. that he makes up for il.
Tho Performance. is largely matter of
rushing from the stage to a makeup box,
ANA bach again To- r"-o,uo the heroine. with
the -amo in he next act. Every act ends
in much the same way
ia" villains say, Fooled agoin. but by
whom" CARA bbjng his whiskers OF. the
'"-'u"r cries. Bv old Sleu'h the detective"
and thor" ia general rejoicing No one
900 the play recognized him. Even the
heroine who j. saved 80 frequently. doesn't
~"-'n To. But whenever she il in trouble
she "re- for aid from any man wearing
NhiSk"rs that might be- grabbed Oft.
Bur even size isn't always wise" OF
course. a. u Maine farmer, and again
Dave Warti"ld Hebrew. he can grab things
n but what oI the time when Dackeus
lie face and, standing beside a negro, il
taken for one. ila! Ha Too easy. A
simple change makes him once more the
noble hero. sold Sleuth, the detectivc,"
In one scene every one goes 10 a grave
ward. Why so is not explained. But the
vIllaluosS, at the inStigdtlon OF the second
under assistant villain, tho others having
mot sudden death az various lunCturcs in
the progress of the plot. persuades her 20
inJpr~Onats a ghost for some dim and un-
explained reason. Draped in "A yard and
1alf Of art muslin she frightens tn" negro
comic roliei almost into a cakewalk. But
one person can look upon the art muslin
puiverlesslv A woman dressed in black
is this brave person. But no! Hold Tho
fearless creature grabs her skirts of. and
lust as the yirtuous Harlemites are fleeing
in indignation the cry peals forth, I'll,
Old Sleuth the dctective!
The third act shows Niagara Falls, which
The villain sets on fire, or does something
with that throws red light over the stage
and Is intended 10 do away with the heroine.
II is her siyty-seventh hairbreadth escape,
hut with tho aid Of the hero she escapes
over the canvas bridge, just a. the Fills
glow red and bright. Somewhere from
DOWN in the Falls comes the cry. Fooled
again, but b. whom?- and from above,
odd Slerith, the detective''
Charles Frohman received a cablegram
yesterday saying that the success of The
Three Little Maids" il still so great that IL
will last a year longer In London. SO
he has cancelled his arrangem cnts for an
american production this year and has
ngagcd time al Days beginning in Sep
tember
An actor has at last been chosen for the
part in Mice and Men" that Forbes Rob
crtson u playing in London, John Mason.
Annie Russell the star of the American
production, will have Gertrude Elliott's
part, and Mrs. q II. Gilbert will be well
placed also.
Fletcher Norton, the leading actor in
Mrs. Osborn'S company, was taken i'll YES
'orday, and an understudy took his place
in tho evening performance Of Tommy
Rot, from which his songs were omitted.
" he is suFerin, simplyfrom a bad throat,
ne viii probably ret urn TO the cast in a
day or Two
Mrs Patrick Campbell announced yes-
'orday matinee Of Ma gda, which she
viii revive for one Performance on the
afternoon of Nov. 4 THE JOY of Living"
win lie he play at all Of her other Garden
Theatre performance.