The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-11-26
AT THE THEATERS.

| No wonder that 1.-THE Man of the
| Hour" which was presented at the
| Grand last night by. a generally capa-
| BILE company, is considered one of the
| greatest dramatic successes of the past
| twenty years. It tells a thrilling and
rather remarkable story in a plain IN
vanished y7of the conditions which
| maintain or have maintained at some
| time during the past quarter of a CEN
| fury, in the large cities of the country
when the INSCRIPTIONS politicians of the
| Dick Croker type who are working
for their pockets all the time" make
deals with money interests to rob the
people of valuable franchises through
| the medium of their tools, the members
| of the city councils and the executive
officers whom they have placed in pow
er. In this play, however, the boy
mayor discovers the gratifying procIvi-
ties of the men who made" him and
with a rare courage, considering the
forces which were brought to bear on
him, even to tearing his sweetheart
from him and destroying the honorable
name of a famous father, thwarts their
plans and wins d great victory for him
self and his real constituents, the peo-
pie. Incidentally he gets his sweet
heart back and that seems to be about
all the reward he cares for.
While the play is true to the grating,
successful as well as attempted, of cor
porations and political bosses. in most
of the large centerS of populations it
does not take half an eye to discern
that George Broadhurst, the author,
used for his theme, the situation in
New York City when the bosses of
Tammany Hall picked up George B.
Mcclellan, the son of the famous gen.
eral of the civil war, elected him mayor
and then fell out with him because he
showed grain or two of independence.
The scene used for the second act is a
replica of the office of the mayor of
New York City with the view from the
window showing the city hall park and
the big newspaper office buildings along
Park row. SO does the fourth scene,
two committee rooms in the city hall, |
show an arrangement of rooms similar |
to those in the New York City hail. |
rooms contiguous to the council cham |
Der, which are devoted, not to commit |
tees of the council, but to the uses of |
the bosses of the party in power, where |
they hold forth when matters of i'm /
portance are before the council and /
where they are in position to literally |
keep their hands on the pulses of their |
henchmen. But although the play was |
evidently written about a condition
which developed in New York City it
is a true picture of similar conditions
which have developed with the excep-
ton that the occurrences have been I'M
usual when men have been placed at |
the helm of municipal governments who
have had the spasms of virtue and
INDUCED in by Alwyn Bennett,
the man of the hour" in the Broad
hurst play.
The company, which produced the
play here, is known as the second of
the four companies which are playing
the piece this season throughout the
length and breadth of the land and
which are being greeted with packed
houses wherever they go. The first
is at the Savoy theater in
New York where it played to crowded
houses for eight months last year. and
hen went to Chicago where 1t packed
he theater for four continuous months
to New York this fall it is !
'epeating the success of a year ago and
seats for it are still selling there two 1
weeks in advance. This second COM
oany. the one seen here, played two
weeks engagement at the SAVOY this !
all while the members of the original
company were given much needed va t
alton. II
The theatrical writer's of the metrop- 4
Ills reviewed the work of this second I
company and pronounced 1T on par (
With that of the original company.
Their judgment seemed to be most de- {
erved for the company, on the whole.
s a good one and their efforts of last $
light seemed to be greatly appreciated 1
" he largest audience which has been !e
t the Grand this season. There were J
ONE scoffers in the audience last night. /
ONE who welded great big hammers 7
n their knocks on not only the play
ut the ability of several of the actors. v
But, sad to say, the personnel of this
ammer brigade was either politicians T
f the pewee type to whom the success Il
ul grafters are deities. and the guests b
f these politicians who had to line up e
nth their hosts for decency's sake If
or nothing else. s
There were two real luminaries in the d
asst Felix Hanley as James Phe1an."
n Irish alderman who is quite as f
mooth a politician as is made and o
.ouis Hendricks, as Richard Horri-
an the political boss. Phelan joins
he honest mayor in his fight against
Iorrigan not because he is opposed to
rafting but because he wants to put l Fl