The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-06
REFRESHMENTS
'1Me Suburban" at the Metrop olltan.

Having learned from the perennial sub
cess Of nsOld Kentucky that the public
likes hOrsefesh and horse talk, c.. Il.
Darcy has turned out in "The Suburban"
another nelodrama along parallel lines.
Ihe plot turns upon the result of the
great handicap and the principal scene
is that in which the race is ruin. There
are, of course, real horses to compete
and real jockeys to ride them, and real
crowds of real supernumeraries to shout
themselves hoarse. But oddly enough it
is not the realism of the scene that makes
1t successful. Theatrical illusion appeal
ing to the imagination of the beholder
makes the scene "go." This is accom-
plished by the device Of having every
person on the stage watch intently the
imaginary circuit made by the horses,
expressing in attitude and act the intense
interest felt in the struggle that goes on
all around the track. This track, the start
and finish ofswhich are on the stage, Is
supposed to extend in a circle enclosing
the audience: BY the time the people
on the stage have watched the horses
complete the circle, the audience is in
just the proper frame, Of mind to see
them dash across for the finish. The
grand stand, full Of people waving their
hats and kerchiefs, is also reproduced
by a clever device. The scene is i'm
mensely effective, but it is a. triumph not
The play, itself is neither better nor
worse than the typical nelodrama. 1t
is full Of the t.absurdities without which
| no melodfama> could succeed and. the
| nick O. time rescues by which villainy is
| always foiled on the stage. When one
considers the bland and .childlike credu-
lily of the wealthy father, who believes
any calumnies that are retailed to him
about his hero son, one wonders how he
VIZ 1xro oh fn
escape the green goods and gold brick
| men. The phenomenal intelligence of his
6-year-o old grand child however, leads
one to hope for the ultimate regeneration
Of the Gordon family. Still, the charac-
tiers are for the most part well drawn
and include some departures from the
traditions while the comedy Interrupt
| tons are mildly amusing.
Jacob Lift, who produces the play, has
provided as usual very good company,
besides not stinting himself in the other
departments Of his venture. J. H. Gill
mOur plays the banlbOozled father as we'll
as the limita lions of the role permit,
while Charles F. Gotthold as his son and
the hero Of the play, contrives not to
make his heroics unduly offensive. w.
S. Hart is the chief villain and treads the
downward path with desperation in his
+eye and guile that counts not the cost in
his heart. For assistance he relies upon
a gambler (Edenry Travers) and crooked
jockey (Taylor Granville). The forces
of evil have also a strong ally in an
avaricious old servant played with fine
| discretion by John Jennings, and his
Matchmaking son, good piece of work
by George Wright The hero's weepy
wife is made sufficiently lachrymose by
Jessie 1zzett, while the child wonder is
entrusted to little Bessie Burt. Then
there are the comedy roles-the bluff and
genial Montana ranchman, a fine imper-
sonation by Theodore Marston, once of
Minneapolis; the faithful German servant
a rather hackneyed role from which
George c. Stanley manages to extract urr-
suspected humor; the still more hack
| neyed Irish servant with whom he falls
in love, a part Of which Annie Mack
Berlein makes the most; and the stable
boy who stands up for the right and fights
a realistic battle with the jockey, a good
piece of work by Kingsley Benedict, an.
other Minneapolis product Fanchor
Campbell as the Villains pretty sister,
to whom the ranchman makes breezy
1 western love, is very satisfactory.
| w. B. Chamberlain.