Los Angeles herald., 1906-06-12
SCORES HIT WITH
FIRST NIGHTERS
BELASC0 FINALLY PRESENTS
NEW LEADING MAN
"soldiers Of Fortune" Popular Davis
Play, Well Received and Gives
viii r. WalIing Plenty
Of Opportunity

VIII r. Walling is no longer vague
promise or a question mark.
Last evening he became to the pa
irons of the Belasco theater real
leading man, that long watched for and
much needed Individual without which
stock company is not a stock COM
pany.
A leading man with voice, rich,
mellow and personality quiet and
dignihed, and this is an aside to the
girls-hair that is black and Suspicious
ly near to curling.
So anxious were the patrons to have
leading man at the Belasco that as
Hope Langham in 1.-THE Soldiers of
Fortune" says, amy old kind of SOL
dier would do" But Manager Black
wood had something better to offer.
Mr.. Wallings Robert Clay was quiet.
powerful man and the curtain came
down on the last act leaving a feeling
that only glimpse of the actor has yet
been revealed.
At the close of the second act Mr..
Walling was called before the curtain
again and again and he finally re-
sponded with short speech, embody-
ing thanks for the welcome and hope
that he might stay q long time without
wearing 1t out.
There are fewer ancient adages that
are more nearly true than variety is
the spice of life" There was an album
dance of variety last night in the Be
lasco presentation of Richard Harding
Davis four-act play, Soldiers of For
tune"
A young; small and earnest actor,
who played the part of the whole
hearted devil-may- y-care boy Teddy, was
new and he was refreshing. He came
unheralded and is so bubbling over
with enthusiasm that he cannot do 9TH
erwise than act as stimulant on this
blase old world. His name is Charles
Sherman.
Soldiers of Fortune" is thrilling and
borders on the melodramatic but it
has touches of realism and truth that
can only be impaired by the man who
has been through it all.
1t is a vigorous play with vigorous
dialogue and in the hands of the Be
lasco company it is well presented.
Virginia Brissac plays the part of
Hope Langham, the girl who is too
young to go to dance but old enough
to direct a revolution. Miss Brissac
does some of her best work since COM
ing to Los Angeles in this piece. At the
beginning of the first act last night she
was not in the part, but before the lines
had progressed as far as the balcony
scene she was a very real Hope. Rich
ard Vivian slouches through the part of
Captain Burke in a manner that is
above criticism and Joseph de Grasse
gives a fine picture of President AL
varez. The part is one to which Mr..
De Grasse is well suited and the pre-
sentation has the finish that an actor
worthy the name can give.
George Barnum and William Yerance
both contribute much to the piece, the
former as MacWilliams, the whole
| souled friend of the hero, and the latter
as the American millionaire.
Juliet Crosby is a beautiful Madam
Alvarez and she lived up to the tradi-
tions Of the wife of the president of a
South American republic.
Mary Graham was sufficiently blase
as Alice Langham. Robert Dempster
as Reginald King played an exceed
ingly presentable young man without
the least effort. The best that can be
said of William Bernard as the Eng
lish captain is that he was seen and
heard in the part. Mr.. Bernard is not
convincing