The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-03-20


the present day is John Griffith, the emf
nent tragedian, who appears here on
Friday evening, March %, at the Craw-
ford. Mr.. GriTith's facial powers are adj
mirable and in all of the climaxes of the
play he fairly carries the audiences off
their feet by the intensity of his great
acting. Mr. Griffith's Interpretation of
the part of Macbeth is intelligent, great
and very effective. His voice is powerful
and resonant and in the quieter passages
it is a pleasure 10 listen TO the forcible
manner in which he brings out his lines
In brief, John Griffith is Americas great
est living tragedian.
One Of the big successes of Weber
Fields New York Musical hall was
''Hoity Toity.' which ran for full sea-
son at their popular theater. and since
we cannot have Weber 81 Fields organi-
cation. the announcement that the only
authorized company producing their
plays will present their most successful
travesty. "Hoity Toity'' at the Crawford,
Tuesday March % will no doubt be
hailed with JOY by the lovers of musical
comedy The music OF 'Hoity Toity'' is
a Il iui-ipil u lNtA ctiAN lhticNS AACAii Sf~-4
ing chorus to male, is melodious. and seY
eral Of the numbers are catchy and whis
tIeable; the. scenery and costumes are
gorgeous; the chorus is wonderfully pref
ly. and this same chorus dances well,
sings well, and is often and agreeably on
the stage. The book and lyrics are by
Edgar Smith, the music by John Strom-
berg and as all the original and intri-
cate stage business of Julian Mitchell,
who yields d magic wand when he ham
dies a chorus has been retained, it is
hardly necessary to say that those who
revel in this style of amusement have in
slore the treat of the season
The plot? Well. what's the use of talk
ing of that? To be sure. there is little
of that necessary commodity, but it won't
be too great a strain upon weary body
seeking amusement TO follow ii.
One scene gives a view of the campus
of Yale university, where all the charac- !
tiers meet, and a boat Grey appears to take (
Lady CRATER on a trial spin. The scene /
changes to a river view. where a shell /.
is seen with the rowers and Lady CRATER |
as the oxsWain-stereopticon slides de- /
plotting perfectly the moonlt waters and /
To panorama of the river bank beyond. /
A beautiful boating song is sung and the |
effect proves one of the prettiest imagin-
able The second act is laid at Monte |
Carlo, showing the beautiful Casino. !
Weber & Fields are said 10 have lavished |
S25. OO0 on this scene alone, in the way /
of scenery and costumes, all OF which /
will be in evidence during The present
engagement The company includes Lii
Ian Durham, Fanny Trumbull, Jeanette
Lewis, Edith Warren, Anna Checker, La
Pell Dixon. Irving Brooks, Harry West
j. j. Gallagher. E. F Barrett, Albert
Livingston. Charles Phillips, Robert Bling
ham and Harry Richards.
Since the days of Sam Hagues British |
Mirstrels, nothing has approached the
vocal department of the Al. G. Field
Greater Minstrels. In number of singers
superb quality of voices or ensemble |
strength, it has stood at the top of the
ladder Year after year it has been the
aim of Mr.. Field TO increase and strength
en- his vocal corps until today 1t STANDS
in the vocal world.
Fort he season of 1904 he has engaged
such lyric stars as Reese Prosser, the |
Welsh tenor: Albert Tint, whose
pure tenor is the wonder of the profess
sion; Joseph F. Blamphn, the English
robust tenor; Thos. Harle, the English
lyric tenor; George Pearce, the English
alto; Thas McKenna, the superb bari
tone: Benson B. Bathrick, the German
baritone; Frank l.. Minch, whose power
full bass voice has made him a much
wanted soloist, and, in addition, the Apol-
10 Quartette and a chorus of trained
voices.
The singing in the first part Of the
great entertainment of the Al. G. Fields
Greater Ministries. under the direction of
Paul LaLonde. the celebrated basso, is
one of The features of the performance
and reaches the dignity of chamber
concert. Mr.. Field has always held I'M
challenged the proud distinction of fur
nishing the best to be had In the vocal
line, and his singers the present season
are up to. if they do not surpass, any
thing he has heretofore presented. The
program offers all that is best in vocal
music. and the magnificent choir of voices
adds to the high standard of the enter
tainment
At the Crawford Saturday. March 26.
Few plays are as entirely charming as
The Rivals" and 1t is even more rare to
see a cast as uniformly good as that
which presented it yesterday at two per
formances. 1t would be diffuctl to speak
too warmly of the piece. which is far
above the ordinary in its literary merit,
and is equally remarkable in its interpre-
tation by Miss Isabel Irving and her tai
ented support. There was not single
character in the play that was not clev-
7rly done. 1t is not too much to say that
they could hardly have been better done.
The play itself is in Winston Ccurchilfs
most winning style fun Of subtle humor.
pathos. pretty sentiment, womanly wit
and worldliness: a story OF human ma
lure. without TOO much Of the dramatic,
and vet enough to keep il from drag
ging. The actors moved and talked like
real people. without ever once a hint OF
its being mere acting, and their entire
laturalness MADE the story so convincing
that one smiled and laughed and cried
The story Of the play is
too well known 10 theater-goers to re
luire even brief synopsis. and crlti-
rissn Of it necessarily must be a com
menGaCon OF the play ana players. col
ectiveiy and individually. While no ais
arrangement Of the work Of Miss Irving
can justly be made. II would by no means
he fair 10 give her all the credit for the
success OF the play All Of the cast dis
played ability 10 a marked degree and
5videu need their right 10 rank at least
on a parity with Miss Irving
Miss. Irving. as Virgtlia Carval, proved
her right 10 rank among the foremost
ACTRESSES Of The day She was 50 wo-