Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-13
NOTES BY THE
MATINEE MAN
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES: ~:

JJOW the good church people did eat
RI up "The Holy City at the Au-
ditorium last week! 1t was just
what 1 expected. Given a drama
which in any way drags in the Savior
and his life here on earth and people
who ordinarily execrate the drama will
simply flock to the theater to get the
! great moral lesson which it teaches.
Maybe THE Holy City" teaches d
great moral lesson-the bills say it
does. But | couldn't see it-unless it
was in the peacefulness OF a flock of
sheep, or the invitation to hump
yourself" which the drove of camels
presented. 1t is just like Ben Hur,"
which the religiously inclined ac-
claimed, hut which after all was mere
ly an effort on the part of a lot OF
Hebrews, who don't believe in the
Christ at all, to make money out OF
those who do by portraying him and
his times on the stage. Bah! What
a farce the drama of religiosity is!
George Howard and his company,
which recently made the Hotchkiss d
live one, have deserted San Jose and
are one-nighting it about middle Cali
fornia. Hard luck seems to pursue
Howard, and yet a better comedian in
his line doesn't live. Some one will
get ahold of Howard some day and
will get a prize. He would be another
Sol Smith Russell, or Nat Goodwin
of the days when Nat was somebody.
All hail the bride and groom. Louis
S. Stone and Margaret Langham, now
Mrs. Stone, are back, and will make
their bow since they ventured upon
the seas of matrimony at the Belasco
tomorrow night. If the theater isn't
decked in orange blossoms and brides
roses, and if the orchestra doesn't play
"Mendessohn" when they appear
well, it ought to be. Such loVe-at-
t-sight matches don't come very
often in theatrical life and they should
be observed.
Funny that the Rain Dears" should
have picked out the wettest week in
years in Los Angeles to have put on
their dance in the rain at the Or
pheum. What hit that dance would
have made here in August or Sep
tember. But with all the outside wet
ness we had last week it almost fell
fiat Last summer, | remember, l,
with all New York, fairly ate it up.
It's a good stunt, anyhow, even if not
wholly novel.
Which reminds me that there is a
monologue man at the Orpheum with
the road show who has actually dis
covered a new thing in the line of
single e-handed talk. He initiates a
whole Virginia court, and though his
dialect especially his Virginia dialect
is pretty raw at times, still the very
lack of egotsm and the usual mono-
loguic rot makes his turn very re-
| g.,zr i
men try a new stunt once in a while,
instead of giving us the same old
round, year after year?
Mary Graham got out of sick bed
last week to play Pringle, the odd SER
want, in Shore Acres" She didn't
have half a dozen lines in the part,
but 1t is one Of the hits of the play.
Which only goes to prove that one
realm OF star roles if one only does
ii conscientiously.
And, by the way, twas a shabby
deal that Amelia A. ardner did George
Barnum just before she left; going TO
q paper in which the Belasco does not
advertise. and which is thus always
keen 20 90 it a nasty turn, and vent
ing her spleen on Barnum in Il faxed
up interview George wisely took no
notice whatever of it-I am glad he
was so sensible-as the animus on both
sides was so plain. But il didn't re-
move the onus of doing a mean trick
/ from Miss Gardner
My good friend Otheman Stevens had
lot OF FUN with the critics last sun
day because they took varying opin-
ions Of Frank Mills Miss Nethersole's
leading man. Well, why shouldn't