The St. Louis Republic., 1904-12-26
THE VIRGINIAN' Is A PICTURESQUE
NEW PLAY OF THE FAR WESI


delightful tension at the Century last
night. The play is a picture Of life in the
far West. Is characters are cowboys
ruGGed pioneers and slip OF a girl from
way down EIst-a ''schooma' am" There
is ring OF ruth in every situation. Some
Of TIE characters have been ideal'ze,! bit
Others are genuiurly true to life The
title part. played by Dustin Farr"m. is
a faithful picture of the tois.csous but
gentIe-hearted cattle ranger OF the good
| old days" Tho Virginian" is the best *
ample of this ali but extinct type th7t has
been limued in literature or or tae stage
since Bret Harte's halcvon hour Of sue
ce=e. There isn't 4 duh moment in the
Performance.
The opening act depicts the dance and
christening at Uncle Hcwies In this
scene occurs the broadly humorous cpl
sode where the NirSiniau and one of his
puls' confuse the mothers present by
changing the ahawls in which their ba-
birs are wrapped. Each mother takes
home a neighbor's baby. When the Joke
is discovered q stageful Of trouble awaits
It's perpetrators Tho Virginiau takes the
blame. After Il stormy scene the victims
soc the funny side Of the incident. he is
forgiven and no blood is shed. Which is
we'll,
The lynci.nS and the death of TranPss
are quite dram atic enough The Virgin
.au5 wpDiug Of the New England teacher
giv"s dignity and infinite charm TO the
piece. The role OF Mollie Wood fats To
Helen Holmes, a naive young actress OF
undeniahle talent This love interest be-
gins at the dance In the opening act.
| Tine NirEinian. who chanced 10 save Mol
lie from drowning soon after her arrival
IN the West. asks FOR n dance. Mollie,
vino thinks he is prcsun!ug ulon his
vaior. spUrns him. The Virginian, IN
abashed. retires in seeming anger.
A moment later he reappears with q
mutual friend. He IS formally introduced
and Noliie. who has discovered thai her
Impression Of the Virglnian vas wrong.
receives him with some show of cordiali-
~, She afterwards frankly tells him chat
she doesn't ike his ways. He smiles pleas
tnuy. SaZes long into her eyes and says
ldziiy. but with intensity. But You're
a-Spin' to iov" me one Of these days"
And she does. Miss Holmes gives Z charm
ing portrayal Of Molly. Dustin FarnuT's
NirSiniun is likely tn become sonnet hing
of 4 classic in stage lore. His acting VII
he relnemb"rsd and the next artist TO take
up such q part will he repeatedly com
pared to ''Faruum's Eircinian' Others in
the picture are Guy Bates Post as Steve,
Frank CaTnperu as Trampas. Griffith Ed
wards aS the Judge and Marie Pettes as
Mrs. Henry.
There being scarcely anything new for
kellar to exploit in the line OF magic, he
shares some Of his least mystifying hon
ors with a clever man named Paul Vaia-
don, This assistant brings entertainment
IN ihe way Of deit fingers. novel methods
ana amusing talk. Tn" audience at the
Grand enjoyed both artists. kellar deals
win spirit flowers, vanishing rings. the
Sllnla Seance and guinea pigs. NalaGon de-
votes his time to money boxes that grow
collars and a mysterious drum that can't
be beaten; The sleepins-beauty Illusion.
old but picturesque. is still a great hit.
keIlar calls his trick the levitation of
me Princess karnac. 1t was Herrmann's
tavoIlte act. kei!ar is even more daring
the scene brightly and depends on dey-
teFlty and speed to protect his magic. The
SIM Simia !, seance , takes up valuable time It
vas wonderful in its day. but there are a
few tricks too old to be rejuvenated and
surely the seance is one of them.
Billy C1itford's arch humor and dainty
voice illuminate new musical comedy
at Havlin's. Away from the acr5bats.
the monkeys and the fannel-voiced come
dams of ''vodyviu'' he has the chance of
Ms, ms career to be original! How He Won
4iV'' '~lAlicih ~ bli
her would be a better title. for the
aldacious youns actor Introduces whole
scenes that the playwright never dreamed
o.. The story is that OF Il clever college
chap who, when expelled because Of a
wild prank, steps into his fathers office
ana saves the firm from ruin. In the be-
siinnlhE Tom Walton. the part Clifford
plays. Is affected with a mania for Eng
llSh-cut clothes and a chappie drawl He
was good deal of nuisance at the Of
ice He bad stick-to-it-iveness though
q. for inc 1t
When the crash came when the villain
MS father trusted attempted to sell out
the firm. it was Tom who caught on TO the
transaction and sent the unscrupulous
partner to the peritentiary
The company Is not large but It seems
to have been carefully selected. The
comedy has been produced with taste and
energy. The Austin Sisters. the Misses
Esher. barbara Douglas and Cornelia
Hunter lend animated assistance in the
climaxes and musical ensembles. Cliff
which he makes love 10 Phoebe the hero
Inc. by pantomime- His fast dancing and
graceful plays for merriment are results
Of comedy entirely Clifford's own recos-
niZable as brand blown in bottle. His
early minstrel training crops out in the
song. Me and De Minstrel Band" in
Mr.. Clifford as the snare drummer \
large audience greeted him last night
II aupiauded his songs his jokes and his
smart costumes
Both the matiree and evening perform
ance given by the German stock company
at the olympic attracted large audiences
In the afternoon many children were in
ATTENDANCE. Upon entering the foyer they
were presented with n toy gift by Mines
Heinrmaun ard Webb "Drei Paar
Schuhe." the attraction ut the matinee
CAV" L"onl Bergcre and Hans Locbei a
good opportunity to interpolate topical
songs. At times the audience grew en-
thusiastic in its applause of these favor
ties. 'Ihr CorTGrar' d1er CorporaD. pre-
sented at the evening performance. proved
Q farCical success. In this piece Ieona
Bergerc Hans Lnebel. Rudolph Horsky
Crstavc Hart2hcim and Christian Won
Stahl interpreted the leading parts so
well that they were repeatedly called be-
fore the curtain.
Shadows of & Great city began an en-
gagement at the Imperial. The action is
brisk and the situations give scope for
elaborate scenic and mechanical effects
The combat between the true and the false
begins ut the very rise of the curtain |
fhc plot involves the death OF Helen |
Standich in the hospital at RlackwelIs |
Island, the Kidnapping of her child by a
thief. who has been bribed to- murder it.
owing TO the fact that tho little one is
heir to vast estates. the recovery OF the
child from g. watery grave bv n Young
nero. and in after years the return Of her
heritage, the release OF her falsely ac-
cused lover from prison and the bringing
to justice of the real villain. In the third
act the stage is flooded with water Tho
river Illusion is capital.
The Messrs. Schubert opened their new
Garr!ciI Thcater for public inspection YES
tcrday afternoon. Five hundred persons
looked through the building and examined
ip f1tp nd