The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-23
"BEN.HUP" AT ENGLISH'S
-rTACULAR PLAY To BE PRE-
xrrD THERE FOR TWO WEEKS.
,xuIiam Young's Dramatic Arrange
If Gen. waIIace's Scenes-Ed-
gar stiIlman kelley's Music.

rhs spectacular play made on the basis
= Cen Lew Wallaces novel Of "Ben-Hur"
81, be presented at English's Opera House
TO this week and next and many thou
-. If persons will in that time attend
- performances The sale of seats has
'-d,catsd the great interest taken in this
nocas,on not only in Indianapolis. but all
- the state. notwithstanding that many
=, ,o-thern and southern Indiana must have
.oen the play while it was performed in
Cbtcago and Cincinnati. General Wallace's
,ovel has had immense popularity for many
vsars. its sales being next In number to
,hose Of Mrs. Stoves Uncle Toms Cabin"
ard Messrs. KIaw and Granger have pro-
d,,ced the play Of "Ben-Hur," which was
v-ritten by William Young, deliberately
,bat II IS publicly known as an exposition
~ the furthest extent TO which spectacular
stage craft has been developed. The actors
s-nnloved are so numerous as to fill the
s+sge The cast of the principal characters
follows:
Characters in the Prelude
R.lthasar. the Egyptian. Charles ]. Wilson
Gaspar, the Greek. Frank Engel
Melchoir. the HindOo. =. Francis Queendon
Characters in the Drama
Pen-Hur. Judah, Son Of Ithamar.
...................... William Farnum
MESSIAH. basil Gill
Arrius. the Tribune. $3.50. Charles NJ. WEIGH
Balthasar. Charles ]. Wilson
USerim. Henry Weaver, jr.
Malluch .....-....-.............W lllam Kelly
Kortator.. Charles ]. Wilson
Metellus William Roberts
Drusus George L. Seybold
Cecflius ..........................H Henry Devere
Sanballat. Ben S. Mears
Khaled ........................G George Wilkes
Centurion. .......................H. De Forrest
Officer of the Galley. Walter Markham
Esther ........................El Ellen Mortimer
Iras ......................M Mabel Mortimer
Mother of HUI. -...................M Mabel Bert
Tirzah ........................Hel Prindiville
Amrah ..-.Stella b. Weaver
THE STORY OF THE PLAY.
The arrangements announcement fol-
lows:
IN the 'Ben-Hur' production, $50 per-
sons. twelve horses and three camels take
part and two trains are required for trans
porting the company, live stock and par
apheTaalia. The effects of tableaux and act
ing are heightened by incidental music
written by Edgar Stillman Kelley. profess
scr Of music in the College of the City Of
New York 1t is we'll that the public
should remember that the curtain rises at
o'clock promptly. and that nc one will
be seated during the action of the prelude.
This is to avoid marring the effect. There
Is no overture proper, but in a darkened
theater, after a few bars of music, the
curtain rises on the prelude, revealing the
wise men following the star OF Bethlehem
across the desert on camels. There is no
spoken word. but the story is told in
dramatic effect in pantomime accompanied
by appropriate music. The second tableau
shows the roof terrace of the Palace of
Hur in the city Of Jerusalem. Ben-Hur
Is watching a procession in the streets be-
low. in which Valerius Gratus, the new
procurator of Judea, is making his en-
trance into the City. Accidentally, Ben
Hur knocks a loosened tile on the head