The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-05-05

Tirzah ...........,... Heleen PrindiNiue
At tn. Providence Opera House for two
weeks and the usual matinees each wed
nesdsy and Saturday. at least one extra
matinee on Friday next and prospect OF
more extras to accommodate the rush'
Kiaw & Erlanger's production or Get'
Lew wallace's Ben IIur." a famous
book In its day. and .s still In evidence
tho story OF which ~ repeated on the
stage through the dramatization hy VIII
liam Young.
IT costs heap of money To mount
production like this and nothing snort OF
an engagement OF two weeks would al
ford a reasonable opportunity for the
management Of production and of theatre
to square the expense account. 80 pen
Hur' Is with US for two weeks, ana IL
IS already assured that the lavish eA-
penditure involved will be justified by the
returns and that indeed. two weeks OF
the regular evening and matinee per
formances will not be enough To provide
seats sor all who want TO GO and see.
So there is already announced one extra
performance next Friday afternoon
Meantime the town and good part OF
the state are tolerably well spattered
over with the enticing name. Zen Hnr,
IL invites US from the newspaper pages
and slares at us from the bill boards ana
beams upon us from the dashboards oil
the multitudious trolley cars
Not 10 know that Ben Hur Is in TOWN.
IN not 10 know that anything at all is 40
The advertising display and the, COM
pellng way IL confronts you, heads you
Oft trails beside you. shadows you falls
down or you and rises up under YOU, Is
about as wonderful and splendid an eXhi-
bition as the big show itself on the stage
The two weeks run OF the huge show is
likely TO promote another run on the
booksellers for a re-reading OF Gen. Wal
iace's book The Consolidated and the
Rhode Island company I'm all its branches
and -Famiaeations- Lover the territory
will be hauling people 20 the Providence
Opera House I'm extra cars while the hum
bier trolley corporations will undoubted-
ly have their capacity taxed 80 thorough
iy that the merger will regret that IL
didn't take them all in when II had the
chance.
In A word. within the next two weeks
we are as a community. likely TO be pret-
ty thoroughly Ben Hur-ed. The Ben Hur
Atmosphere that has already been created
in these parts Is as profound as the Eas-
ter spirit at Easter time and Christmas at
Christmas Ben Hur is the universal 1T In
these parts for the next two weeks.
Inside the Providence Opera House, last
evening the audience filled the seating
accommoda tion from the "gra-and gal
lery" 20 the tail coats or the orchestra.
The orchestra is newly organized to har-
In the big show. II isn't doubled. it Is
trebied
II YOU count up the space 80 generous
~ provided for the enlarged orchestra.
space worth two dollars a square foot at
the box office these two weeks. YOU can
easily ngure out how a two weeks oc-
cjpancy OF that space by the musicians
will almost OF itself make IL necessary 10
give an extra matinee TO accommodate
the overflow that ordinarily would be ad-
mitted right down 10 tho footlights while
the music went under the stage. The mu-
sic n highly important feature Of the
production OF Ben Hur' and even though
that space r. worth 80 much money the
management evidently proposes that les
patrons shall have u I'm first class shape
IL " a big. luxurious show on the stage
Everything promised on the bills is there
from the Star OF Bethlehem 90 the char
lot race with eight horses running neck
and neck and the charioteers cracking
their whips and the crowd shouting al 80
inspiring and natural that II is hard 10 re-
sist turning 10 your next seat neighbor
and Offering 10 lay him five on the quar-
tette OF bays. iust az they are rounding
-fha turn into the strefch----
Then there was a chorus and ballet and
q rabbie. a mob. G Roman populace. Jew
fsh people dan and other items of en-
sembie IN amazing profusion. They sing.
they dance. they shout praises and
curses. they wind and unwind through
the play. they mass and hll the stage With
lie. color and solidity
Their there are q pair Of spanking white
chariot horres that show themselves prior
e. their &C sns in the race and camel
n also conspicuous IN the tremendous
soji>cficns ~ properties Across the