The Minneapolis journal., 1906-12-16

their sway at the Metropolitan
]A1 this week. The serious drama will
take a rest. Neither of the two bills
of the week is described as "musi-
cal comedy" "sergeant Kitty in
ticular star, is classed as comic opera
by the discriminating advance man,
while "The District LEADER in which
Mabel Barrison and Joseph Howard get
their names in black type, is. described
as "drama embellished by music. -
This may be taken as a straw indlcat-
ing the decline in public favor of the
mere musical comedy. Or it may be
merely an effort to say something diff
ferent. One can take one s choice, ac-
- cording to ones own predictions. 1t
serious drama is desired, it is to be had
at the Bijou, where Theodore Kremer's 8
latest essay in thrillology will unfold
its involuted plot This is yclept " A
Race for Life,' and one sensation doth
tread upon another's heels, so fast they
follow. 1t is also to be had in small
among other things tense bit Of
: drama called 'Pals' is to be seen; or
at the Lyceum, where Mr.. Frawley
gives that dainty and pathetic little
Van Bibber yarn, "The Littlest Girl, -
as half of double bill. The other half,
"Lost, Twenty-four Hours,' is plain
farce. Lovers of owprice vaudeville
will get it at the Unique, and admirers
of the "burly' will not miss the limo
cent Maids at the Dewey. It's a merry
F. world, my masters.
Charles Klein is accused by many
critics of attempting to "dramatize the
public >pulse.' His "Lion and the
Mouse' was a deliberate use on the
stage of the undertaking phrase of cur
rent magazine activity at just the mo-
ment when it would appeal most strong
1y to the public. He put Rockefeller
and his Nemesis, Ida Tarbell, in the
play and dealt with the question Of the
dangers of swollen fortunes in such
a striking way that the play had, and
Is still having a great success. 1t is
urged, as proving the ephemeral and
local character of this sort of play,
that in London, where the conditions
prevalent here were not paralleled,
''The Lion and the Mousse was fail
ure, altho put on with almost the
identical original cast.
Mr.. Klein has now launched in New
York another play of the moment. .'The
Daughters of Men. - whose theme is the
titanic struggle between capital and
labor. The two opposing forces in the
struggle are balanced with painstaking
care, 80 that the partlzan OF neither
has the advantage. The two blunders
that Mr.. Klein made IN this play, ac-
cording to most of the critics, lie in
its spirit and in it's denouement. It's
spirit is that of q sermon and it is not
the characters who are preaching, but
the playwright thru them. It is his
views. his preachment that form the
basis of the play. The denouement calls
for the solution Of the problem by the
duplication of the doctrine, of brotherly
Blove-a utopian idea that may be beau
@tiful, but is certainly about as imprac-
Hticable as could well be imagined. Mr.
Klein apparently did not have the cour,
age of On Ibsen or a Shaw to leave
his problem unsolved, when in the ma
ture of things it must remain unsolved
5 Another attempt to utilize live
economic: problem as the theme of a
play is "The Man of the Hour by
George H. Broadhurst, once a Mime
sapolls theater manager. Mr.. Broad
hurst has heretofore been known as a
successful farce writer, Just as Mr.
KLEIN first won success writing libretti
for musical comedies. His first serious
3play seems likely to show a. broader
versatility than he had been suspected
iIof possessing. It is playfef political
IAgraft and municipal corruption, the
5ascene being laid .in any,S large sAmeri
Mean city. The characters are said to
oe somewhat exaggerated, thus giving
%he play decided tsadency toward