Omaha daily bee., 1902-04-06

No other week OF the present season has
been as profitable at the local theaters as
the one Just passed. At the Boyd Williams
and Walker, with their company Of colored
entertainers, opened with four per-
tormances. at each OF which nearly, II not
quite, every seat in the theater was occu-
pied and at the Sunday night performance
hundreds we're turned away, unable to buy
even standing room. The Dearborn Theater
Opera company gave two performances OF
THE Explorers" and one OF The Burgo-
master" to good sized audiences, while N.
c. Goodwin and Maxine Elliott closed the
week with two performances Of when We
Were TwentT-One" and one OF A Amer
lean Citizen each Of them to the capacity
Of the theater. The orpheum, with one OF
the premier bills Of the season. enjoyed
excellent patronage. The Trocadero had a
good burlesque and vaudeville bill and
played to its usual good business.
"The excellent business the theaters have
been doing during the last two weeks Is
the best indication in the world to me that
IL the right kind Of a theatrical dish Is set
before the Omaha people they will partake
Of It no matter how high the price may be-"
said Manager Burgess OF the Boyd. There
are managers who complain that Omaha Is
not the theatrical town that it formerly
was, but they are mostly those who have
mediocre attractions. Never a word Of
complaint is heard from those who bring
the best things here and l have concluded
that the majority Of the theater-goers want
the best there is to be had in the way OF
dramatic offerings. Occasionally a favorite
play OF former years offered at popular
prices, or a cheap melodrama. will attract
manila annffuh IN all tho fbaafar huf auph
plays are the exception rather than the
rule. We have a great many names on our
seat reservation lists for all Of the coming
attractions and / find that there is a
greater demand for seats for the attractions
that demand 81 for their best seats than for
those which are offered at $3.50. Another
rather peculiar thing Is that the highest
priced seats are always sold first. For my
part, I should like nothing better than to
play only the very best attractions on the
road, but they are not always to be had.
II is only about every second year that such
people as ~. c. Goodwin, John Drew or
Viola Allen come west and not always this
often, SO we must take what we can get
and fill in with such others as are offered
us. Not an attraction that ranks among
the frst-class has come west during the
last three years that has not played Omaha,
DO our lntdlSE- bOtTS may ItSl dSSuICu ludl
they are not being Disseminated against
In any way whatever. Personally, l think
the line of attractions which we have
offered this season has been the best
Omaha has ever had and l believe the ma
jority Of fair-minded people agree with me.
/ cannot think Of more than a dozen great
stars or attractions that have not played
here this season and this is only because
they have either remained in New York
permanently during the season or else be-
cause Of the fact that their tour has not
extended farther west than Chicago. 1t
was impossible to get Mrs. Patrick Camp
bell to come this far west, as her time In
this country was very limited and her
itinerary included only the larger eastern
cities. Charles Hawtry. the English actor,
did not play outside Of New York, neither
did Mrs. Leslie Carter, so Of course we did
not get them, but next season they have
all promised me time. We have something
especially good for each week OF the bal
ance of the season after the present one
and / believe before the curtain is rung
down upon the hnal performance of the
season that my patrons will be satisfied
that 10000 has given them an opportunity
Of seeing a better line of attractions than
has been offered them before"
IT Is doubtful II there were any Of N. G.
Goodwin's admirers who saw him during
his engagement here last week, but what
noted the wonderful improvement in his
physical appearance and were at a loss to
account for 1t. Mr.. Goodwin is As years
old and looks ten years younger than that.
81 have been undergoing a strict course
Of training for some time, which l intend
to continue indefinitely" says Mr.. Goodwin.
81 owe II to my stage manager, Bud Wood
thorpe. He is a fine athlete himself, and
for a long time tried to get me to follow
his example, and take a daily course Of
training. At first 1 was rather inclined to
sneer at the proposition. and looked upon
the physical culture idea as nothing more
than one of the many fads of day, but was
finally induced by Mr.. Woodthorpe to give
It a try. My first week at IL was torture
and l wanted to give it up, but 1 noticed
that was losing much of my
superhuous flesh. and that l left the
theater after each performance feeling in
better spirits and less fatigued than ever
before since my younger days and this en-
couraged me to stick to it. Now l believe
that / could stand a twenty-round go with
out even becoming :atigued and l know
that i can walk ten miles or ride twenty
on my bicycle without having II tire me more
than a short walk from the hotel to the
theater would have before l went into
training and as / hnd more enjoyment in
the exercise each day. It is my intention to
continue It. formerly looked upon golf
as a game only for oads and women, but
since l have tried II l have changed my
mind. / met Marshall Field recently in
Chicago, l have known him for years and
he looks better today than / ever saw him,
l asked him what did 1t and he were
golf He is An enthusiast and never misses
q day on the links. After that l tried Il
and now whenever / am in a city where
there is golf links make an effort to.have
a game daily, otherwise l give over my
spare time to walking and bicycle riding.
/ had one OF the most enjoyable workouts
this morning that l have had since l started
training, Tell you about II? Oh, /
don't mind. was up al s O'Clock, drank
a couple Of cups OF warm water, after a