The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-09-20
THE WEEKS PLAY BILLS
NEW MILITARY OPERA AND ROMAN
TIC DRAMA At ENGLEsH's
Vaudeville AT the Grand-TwO MelO-
dramas at the Park-BurIesque
sat the Empire.

The new military opera. when Johnny
Comes Marching Home" will be seen and
heard at English's tomorrow, Tuesday and
"Wednesday evenings and at a "Wednesday
matinee. This new musical work by Stanis-
iaus STANCE and Julian Edwardes was one
of the decided hits OF last season in New
York and it enjoyed long and highly sue
cessful run in Chicago during the summer.
Outside OF these two large cities IT has been
presented I'm only few other places and
everywhere that it has played an engage
ment the opera has been received as a pro-
n0unced novelty and a delightful entertain
ment IL is said To- be by far the best joint
work that STANCE and Edwardes have
turned out since they wrote the bright and
1uneful "Dollie Warden" for pretty Lulu
Chaser.
The opera viii be given in indianapolis by
the famous Whitney Company-the same or
ganization that played the long New York
and Chicago engagements, and the entire
original production. with all of the elaborate
scenery and mechanical effects. will be seen
here. The martial scenes, the spirited songs
and the many patriotic incidents are all con-
tributinS elements TO the success of the
piece. while the rejdvenated crinOline hoop
skirts OF forty years ago will catch the
fancy of all who witness a presentation of
the opera. Chorus girls in hoop skirts-and
according To reports there plenty OF
pretty chorus girls i'm this new musical
show-wiIl prove something Of a novelty.
While the women in the story are all fair
rebels. who taunt the Yankees and break out
into strains of Dixie" under the slightest
provocation, the men all wear the Northern
blue. with the slim-waisted coats and peg
tcp trousers of the old dress uniform.
The story of when Johnny Comes
Marching Home is said to be unusually
dramatic for a comic opera. 1t concerns
deserter from both armies who, when he
finds that certain papers which he has in
his possession will prove him spy if
found upon his person, throws them away,
TO have them picked up by the hero.
Johnny. OF course. this means trouble for
Johnny. for the papers are discovered in
his possession, and the young fellow. be-
lieving that his Southern sweetheart and
her family implicated in the Confed-
crate plans set forth in the documents, re-
fuses TO explain matters and is condemned
10 death The timely announcement of
peace Strengthens everything out i'm the
end There a number of romances
taking place during the action of the piece
a boy i'm blue Is found to have won a South
ern belle. Throughout the opera there is
martial music galore. marching troops with
their foragers and their stragglers. bugle
calls, alarms hurrahs and stirring choruses
that sing the praise OF the Nations starry
banner. Much of Julian Edwardes's new
music has already been heard in Indianap-
oils during the last five months. as the
dc
much attention to the many pretty melodies
OF the score.
The principals in the case are Lucille
Saunders. William Il. Carleton. Maurice
Darcy, Albert McGuckin and W. H. Thomp-
son. and there are dozen other we'll
known operate people in the company. to-
gcther with a stage full of chorus girls and
male singers
Friday and Saturday evenings and at Sat
urday's matinee Paul Kester's dramatiza-
tion-of Charles Majors chivalric novel,
when Knighthood Was in Flower" will
be seen at EngIish's. This play. which is
conspicuous as one of the few lasting sue
cesses among book dramas. was last seen
In Indianapolis with julia Marlowe as its
star IL comes this time with RoseIle Knott
in the role of Mary Tudor. the part in
which Miss Marlowe scored so great hit
Miss Knott IL young actress who has
been gradually coming to the front during
the last five or six years. WelI-posted play
goers will remember her as the heroine
of one or two melodramas Of five years
ago. since which time her work has at
tracted 80 much attention that her rise i'm
the theatrical ranks has been quick one.
She was the original Lygia in "Quo vadis''
and afterward played a season as the lead
ing woman for Richard Mansfield. Last
Syear she was with Amelia Bingham in "A
Modern MagdaIen' and was seen i'm this
city in the role of Katinka
Manager Frank L. Perley chose Miss
Knott 10 succeed Julia MarIowe when he
decided 10 take when Knighthood Was
in Flower another tour of the coun-
try. and. from all accounts, the young ac-
tress has more than come up 10 his ex-
pectauons- The company selected TO sup
port her seems. to b. a very capable one,
with the romantic actor. Frank Sylvester
as Charles Brandon, and twenty other
prominent players in the principal parts.
The production scenically is elaborate and
picturesque, and IL is promised that the
play viii he I'm every way as attractive as
wher IL WAS seen here last season.