The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-13
The new HIPPODROME OPENS
AND 1000 ROAR APPROVAL OF
ITS VARIED DISPLAY.

HlppOdrOmes In other Large cities
One-thousandth Of the community which
speaks Of itself as New York, or some 5 900
people in all, sat in the new Hippodrome
last night and wondered; they wondered
how men ever came 10 design a playhouse
~ big; they wondered by what inspira.
ZION those designers found an entertain
ment adequate TO the house they had built
and they wondered that. when the enter
ianment had been found, IL was lavshed
i'm a quantity which seemed to signify that
there was no end to the inventive genius
of Frederic Thompson and the executive
and financial capacity Of Elmer g. Dundy.
These two men, who were running a
sdeshow on the Midway in Buffalo in 1908,
put forward for New York's approval
last night the largest venture in amuse-
ment expenditure that this country ever
saw-and New York took to it with q fervor
and a roar Of approval which, so far as a
first night performance can, assured them
that in their great throw OF the dice with
human nature they had won.
This result incidentally assures the
four OF five American cities next in size
to New York Of similar institutions which
will exchange companies with the New
York Hippodrome and keep the pro-
grammes at each constantly changing.
The men Of capital who have been waiting
for last nights performance before com
hitting themselves to backing Thompson
4 Dundy in this national enterprise said
that they were satisfied. Fred Thomp-
son had once more proved, as he has
many times since the Buffalo experience
that he knows how to give the great AmeIi.
can people what il wants at its own price.
Last night, when the ballet THE Dance
Of the Hours had gone through it's won
drous changes and its captivating displays
Of form and color and Of every mood from
stealth to Bacchanalia, and the DOGGY Man
came out and waved a mighty American
silk flag high over the heads Of the hundreds
Of stage people and the orchestra the au-
dience from top to bottom OF the house
oheered the curtain down.
It was such an audience as no theatre
in New York ever hed-for the simple
reason that no theatre was ever large
enough There were milionaires in IT,
There we're ragged fellows who possibly
had come by the quarter which let them
into the top gallery by questionable
methods. There we're men Of every walk
In lfe-and there we're women Of every
variety of age, beauty and costume.
Il was not what some folks would call
a society audience, but there was plenty
Of what calls itself and is called society
there. There we're plenty Of the plainest
kind Of plain people, too, and Of all the
grades between. 1t was just New York
collected into a compact sample Of unprece-
dented size, and therefore Of unprecedented
cAtholicity.
CALLS FOR THOMPSON, WHO MADE IT.
This audience kept up salvos Of applause
after the curtain dropped on Mars. There
we're bowls and shouts for Frederic Thomp-
Rop. Down in the basement galleries there
was rather pale young man, in a rumpled
brown suit and dusty black felt hat, who
heard those cheers and blushed.
He did not go up to answer them. He
Just stood down there and listened and
olinked from one hand into the other the
handful OF silver quarter dollars which
he has used for years as a means Of work
ing on his superfuous nervous energy.
There was a time when MIR. Thompson
used a pocketful Of gold coins, but he
applied them once and there was a crack
in the hoor-anyway he uses silver quarters
now.
And out in front on the sidewalk there
was Dundy, calm. alert with his dry, quizzi-
cal Omaha smile, answering the urging
a his friends that he should go and show
himself TO the audience by saying What
have l got to do with il? II there's any
glory in this, Fred ought 10 have il; he has
done it all. Any fool can raise money and
keep books
PLAYHOUSE SHOW IN ITSELF.
The house itself, as the audience took
time TO discover in the int erInission between
the two halves Of the almost inconsider-
ately generous programme, Ia good deal
OF show The walls are colored with a
background Of Roman red, the trimmings
are in cream and gold and are marked by
massive simplicity. There are seventy
Eve boxes, in rows extending around the
back Of the orchestra circle and around
the front of the balcony.
In all of the reats above the orchestr a
6oor smoking is permitted at night per-
formances, The big audience took to this
innovation with great Cheerfulness and
approval The people who sat on the
main floor never got the slightest Whit
Of tobacco so we'll managed was the ven
tilatiun.
There are large restaurant rooms on the
street floor. and on the mezzanine floor,
back Of the gallery, are two rooms called
the Jungle" in which, when the danger
Of a contest Of wine agents celebrating the
opening is past, refreshments will be served.
Elephants heads and Oriental carvings
and tapestries characterize all the hang
ngs
Inspector Walsh anticipated great
outpouring OF the populaoe in search OF
gallery tickets. The reserved seats were
sold out two days ago, and spectators
in spite Of the earnest efforts Of the manage
ment had boosted the price Of them TO $40
SIS and $50 each. The iIsTecto established
police lines around the entrances, which held
back the crowd without any difficulty.
All In all il was the theatre districts
biggest Of opening nights. II celebrated
the opening Of the biggest show Ia the
biggest playhouse in the biggest system
ot permanent entertainment plans this
world ever saw.
GORGEOUS SETTINGS, SCENE AFTER scENE
OF The quantity Of entertainment which
the HippOdrome was 20 oder to it's patrons