The Topeka state journal., 1903-02-11
WAS VERY GOOD.
.sThe Suburban" Pleased a To-
peka Audience.
1t Was a Relief from the Ordi-
nary Play.
FULL OF " THRILLS"
A MeIodrama Of the Modern
Kind.
Horse Race Scene With Plenty
Of Excitement.
FULL OF " THRILLS. 8

It was a relief, after the usual steady
flow of musical comedies and farce
comedies and just plain comedies. to
see something abounding in thrills and
heroics like The Suburban, which was
at the Grand last night before the
largest audience that has filled that
spacious theater this season
THE Suburban" is a melodrama and
a good one and the audience last night
was worked up to the point where ap-
plause is spontaneous and the first
hoorers make more noise than the gal
lery contingent. It must have made
even the running horses in the play feel
a little better to see such an audience.
Every seat on every floor was taken and
senators and representatives, who went
late to the box Office, were hanging out
over the railings of the boxes and extra
chairs were packed in around the trap
drummer until he had not elbow room
for the explosive notes. The tops of the
radiators served as bleachers until the
steam bleaching process drove the squat
ters elsewE e.
DeWoln topper, Alexander Salvini
and Fanny Davenport were greeted by
such an audience as saw The Suburb
an" but few other attractions have
been able to hang up the S. r. O. sign
before the curtain went up on the hrst
act If each attraction would be as good
as this thrilling play by c. 4. Dazey.
the little man from Quincy, Ill, ana II
the cast be as strong as the one assem-
bled by Jacob Lit, then topeka would
like to have the Grand turned into a
melodrama house at least one night IN
the week and the management may be
assured of large audiences
Anyone who went to the theater with
the expectation of seeing a Shakespear-
ian tragedy, Il comedy by Brlnsiey
Sheridan or a Sardou drama WOulG
have been greatly disappointed bu0
anyone who went to see a melodrama
+ saw the best one that has been west in
years, and they saw a collection of act
ors who could play anything from the
1 gTavedigger up or down the line.
/ The interest centered a about the third
scene in the third act, the Sheepshead
! Bay track where the Suburban was
run. The first and second scenes of the
/ third act worked the interest in the
4 coming race almost to the intensity
f that a real race would. When the cur
/ tain went down on the second scenq
4 for a moment before rising and dis
4 closing the race track, the audience
/ began to applaud whistle and yell
/ with the right amount of enthusiasm
/ The curtain went up and the audiences
was looking across the track, from
/ the quarter stretch, toward the grand
stand. There was the judges stand
] HlleQ WITH men WIN held glasses
swung over their shoulders. There
were the stable boys carrying blankets
/ buckets and sponges. There were the
touts and the bookmakers and the in
+ terested spectators who crowded the
space in front OF the grand stand and
i everyone was tagged with a quarter
f stretch admission ticket. There were
the policemen on the track trying tc
keep back the crowd but getting so in
I terested in the race that they forgot
I their duties and shouted and swung
their clubs just like real policemen al
a real race There was the list oi
/ Jockeys names and at the last min1lte
the name of Tom Glegg" went down
and up went Joe Clayton" the stable
boy who was to have mount for the
+ first time on Hurricane
Excitement A Washburn football
game never stirred up the crowd as die
that imaginary race. The horses came
stepping along the track from tht
stables para ding in front of the grand
stand to the post. The bright colors
Of the Jockeys b1ouses the f1imsy para
sOls of the women sDecta tors. the
4 scenery showing the grand stand acros.
the track and the artists portrayal O.
/ q talyho gave local color enough Il
suit any taste. Then the crowd wa:
straining to see the start. A false breal
and then-"They're off" was the cry