The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-09-20
r1rz AS A TRULY ACTOR
Bearing Own Name and Honors In .
New stage Thriller.

| oils Theatre. IL was a sublime pro-
duction-the bills that IL Is
..protean." Bob helped write 1t. He
says SO himself And he stars in the
part OF Robert Ftzsimmons. a
country gentleman"
You are aware that the Roeert
Fitzsimmons OF the play is a gentle
man even before he enters arrayed In
his new riding breaches. because
Bob's footman appears in livery and
tells all about it. The blacksmith
| pugilist TO whom he Is talking
calls Bob his master" but the SER
want filings bacx this repartee.:
mo. not my master. but my en-
| ployer, the best and kindest a man
ever had"
Pretty soon there Is something do
ing at the forge. A gentleman comes
in and gives the blacksmith $3.50 to
loosen the shoe of his horse. There
by the beautiful girl with whom he
is driving cannot get home that night
and will be, compromised and have
to marry him. 1t is useless TO con-
ceal the fact that the beautiful girl
is Vivian Ellington, the bankers
daughter. as played by Julia May Gift
ford, otherwise Mrs Fitz.
hob to the Rescue.
The shoe is fixed and falls. There
Is no one to mend il. And then enter
Bob. respondent as a country ger
tleman in a hunting stock and riding
trousers, which set Of to advantage
the famous kangaroo legs. He shoes
the horse and saves the heroine.
The blacksmith tries to put him out
and rims into a laff h4nI frnnn E4fv
who at one and the same time sends
the villain to dreamland with a right
swing. The curtain falls with Robert
Fitzsimmons in the limelight remark
ing in a conversational tone.
Remember you are in the presence
of ladies'"
"A most abandoned villainess in gun
metal and red gets in her work In the
second act. She's a real devil, but
the villain is only fairly bad. Any
child could foil him.. The villaiuess
hires Tobin, the blacksmith-pugilist.
to throw vitrol and thus destroy
What a woman loves more than life
her appearance!"
But Bob foils that in his own way.
He lands biff. on Mr.. Tobin's solar
plexus and gets another curtain in
the limelight.
What's the matter % shrieked the
female comic relief.
Nothing" says Bob, hes taking
some of Prof. Fitzsimmon's sleeping
powders, that's ALL"
That got eight curtain calls last
night, and a whole greenhouse was
walked onto the stage.
Puts the Burglar on Watch.
Bob, after taking the count of nine
from Vivian's IL man. who invites
him never to darken the door again,
saves Vivian from a burglar. The
burglar has chloroformed the beau
tiful girl and is sneaking out with her
fathers last ten thousand. He parts
the curtains in his fiign, and uns pat
the very sight of Bob puts the other
players down and out. The burglar
goes to the mat and takes the count
of ten. Yet Vivian governor lays
the burglary to Bob.
So Bob holds out his arms to Vivian
just the way the quarterback signals
for the all, and she flies to him with
a little glad shrek. For, rs the VIII
lain remarks liz one of his better mo-
ments IN
Where a lady is concerned. Bot
FitZsimmons is a gentleman. Even
his worst enemy has to admit that
Anyhow, Papa Ellington is broke
He's bet that last $40, 900 with the vii
lain on the fight between his college
GIiriioM 4. dIta ASSISldIll NlIldlH IT,
bin. The abandoned vfllainess leads
the college unknown to a cham
agn supper in the lunchroom of the
Hoboken ferry and dopes him.
So the old man is against the rea
article of hard luck. But he has for.
gotten Bob FitZsimmons. Bob stride.
to h ringside in Nile green tights.
Call me an old nan il you wan
to- say Bob. I'm not afraid tc
fight YOU" SO they fight.
Vivian, who is at the ringside dis,
guised as a boy remarks:
Now, father, which is the gentle.
mantle banker or the prizeight.
err" and with that Bib shifts on Mr.
Tobin's front and it's curtains for the
villain and the piece.
In Full Dress and Gloves.
Bob's costume effects were great
In the third act he was in full dresl
and wore white gloves. which h
never removed all through, although
he won his lady. quelled her fathel
n foiled a burglar. IT was in thii
act that Vivian played and sang To-
him. And Bob said subtly he wa
grand right there):
Il wish / had some one to pla,
for me like hat through life"
You're getting TO 1t. Bob" yeliet
a voice from the gallery, keep you,
nerve" That made Bob look up ant
grin.
FitZ was seen in his dressing room
between the first and second acts ii
process OF DOMINIC his outing rig. II.
was feinting for the mouth with
camel's hairbrush and painting Iigh
jabs to the chin with a powder pun
TITS partly my own show" sait
Rob. Didn't that first climax kill ZEN
dead? I put in the bankers daugh
| ter and the blacksmith shop and fin,
college unknown and a lot Of tn,
lines"
1t was suggested hat THIS being
first night he had a right 20 feel ner
GUS.
Nervous" said Bob. "Nervou
about a show? Ever see 'em wax
me fifteen minutes before I gent int.
the ring for a fight? Well, why shouI,
I get nervous over a show?