The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-01-17
CHE THAT WORKS EASILY, WORKS SUCCESSFULLY" CLEAN HOUSE WITH
 SAPOL|O

Is sent them of the Messiah. Gradually the star fades away until 1t Is lost, and the wise men prepare to resume their journey to the manager.
 Next is disclosed the house top of the palace of Hur in Jerusalem, with pano- rama of the city stretching away in the distance. Here Ben Hur brings his friend, Messala, to meet his mother and sister. The quarrel follows between the two youths one prince of Israel, the other a naughty profigate of Rome. The noise of trumpets is heard, Ben Hur rushes to the parapet to view the entry of the pre- feet into Jerusalem, the coping crumbles away under his weight and stone falls upon the head of the Roman felling him to the ground mortally wounded. The pal ace of Hur is forcibly entered by the Roman soldiers, led by Messala, who de- nounces his whilom friend. Ben Hur is seized and his mother and Tirzah driven away.
 The rest of the story is too familiar for repetition. In the Roman galley As Urea" we find Ben Hur laboring with an oar, where he has been a slave for three years. By the favor of Arrius, the tribune, he is not chained to his oar, and in the shock of battle escapes. A scenic master piece shows the Prince of Hur and the tribune tossed about on a bit of wreck age while the waves mount high about them and a galley draws near for the rescue. The interior of the house of Simonides at Antioch, the grove of Daphne and the temple of Apollo follow in quick succession. Act " hurries the spectator through the preparations for the race in the circus at Antioch. moon light by the lake and the arts of Cleo patra, perhaps the most beautiful of the many striking scenes which distinguish Ben Hur."
 As the various scenes pass rapidly by with short intermissions that must entail strenuous exertion on the part of the men behind" one is carried, step by step, to the superb climax. Slowly the excite ment grows. From the first one feels that he has waited only for this the great crisis of the book and the triumph of the play. The exterior of the gateway of the circus at Antioch awakens a premon- itory thrill. The holiday crowds pass by in gala attire on pleasure bent The sup porters of Messala and of Ben Hur are gathered there. The Egyptian exerts her wiles for the last time and falls; Mes sala, boastful Roman that he is, wagers huge bets with the crafty Hebrews, who rally to the colors of Ben Hur; Roman youth hurl mockin jests at the friends of the Jew; Messala, waiting his oppor- tunity, offers himself to the rejected Egyptian and wins a smile. With ex- ultant mien the Roman hurries through the gate to mount his chariot for the race.
 Suddenly, the rumble of the chariot is heard, the beat of horses feet resounds in the circus. The lights dip to flare up again in an instant on one O, the most superb spectacles ever presented on the stage Eight magnificent horses gallop, madly, while Ben Hur and Messala urge fhAt, afA adc fA affN hx, rafa and whip; the walls of the circus, with a vast throng of humanity seated in tiers | above whirls swiftly by; inch by inch the chariot of the white-clad Ben Hur gains on the scarlet Messala. What matters it. though the Roman shout and whirl his long whip again and again? Ben Hur Is upon him. They pass. The wheel of Messala's chariot spins from its axel, brushed off by the daring Jew. Messala falls to the track and Ben Hur is vic- torious. No wonder the crowd cheers a climax so admirably worked up and exc cuted with realism never thought possi- ble until Ben Hur' was staged! And when the victor Is surrounded by the null titude to cheer the splendid race he has run and his friends swarm about his chariot. one of the most beautiful stage pictures in the play is presented.
 Afterwards there are passages fraught with emotions of sorrow and tenderness, suffering and gladness for Bel. Hur, until the final scene when he is restored to his loved ones at the foot of Mount Olivet, the taint of leprosy removed from them by the Nazarene. This scene is impress sive and beautifully staged. but it is the race after all that has made Ben Hur" such a remarkable success. This year 1t is much better than it was when Ben Hur' was seen in Birmingham two years | Tha fro cfo tc fA1 fN tread mills and moving panorama, while eight horses four to each chariot, are used instead of four. as formerly. It Is difficult to underestimate the intense realism of this scene. It Is superb. The
 panorama of the circus. which adds so much to the effectiveness of the spectacle,
 was handled slkillfully last night, and such a marked improvement was noted in the arrangement of the perspective that the race Is far more realistic than it was in the original production.
 There is little to be said concerning the players in Ben Hur," although there are
 a great number. They are there to lend life and color to the various scenes rather than to act. It would be possible to pick
 minor flaws here and there but why find fault when there is so much that Is good? For instance, Cleopatra Is any thing but an Egyptian and Messala does not at all enact the Messala we learned to know in the book. while some of the scenery shows that it has been hauled about, but such criticism Is hardly worth while Alphonze Ethier makes capital Ben Hur. In face. form and figure he is admirably suited to the part, and more over he has decided ability as an actor. | As a whole. the production is one that will be long remembered on the Ameri- can stage. and is we'll worth seeing sec | ond time. The curtain will rise promptly \ -lA permitted to take seats after that hour until the first intermission. q
 At the Bijou.