The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1907-01-25
REMAK|NG Of A IHEAIER
RADICAL CHANGE BEEN MADE
IN ENTRY.WAY.
sLANT.FLooR REPLACES STEPS
The Old Danger of an Accident Be.
cause Of the Stairway in the En-
trance Has Been Removed and the
Steps Thrown Into the Alley.


Steps Thrown Into the Alley.
A great many radical changes have
been made in the Norfolk Auditorium
during the past few weeks, but none
is more drastic than the alteration
which has been effected in regard to
the entrance where an effort has been
made to do away with all chance of
an accident which might have resulted
in jam under the old conditions.
Steps in the entry-way have been torn
out and thrown into the alley, and in
their place is now a slanting floor
which leads from the main door of the
theater up to the inner entrance. 1t
was thought that under the old ar
rangement, with steep steps in that
little box of an entry-way, a crush of
people might cause broken limbs and
perhaps more serious accidents but
under the new plan all danger has
been removed and the entry-way is
considered accident proof because
there are no breaks in the floor.
Behind the Curtain.
changes in the building. AS much
work and expense has been devoted
behind the curtain, on the stage and
under the stage, as out in the public
portion of the playhouse. The dress
ing rooms used to be conspicuous por-
lions of the Auditorium by their I'M
cleanliness. Unsightly to degree, no
tnlypn RI mako thQm
comfortable or even presentable to
high class theatrical company They
have been rebuilt, refurnished, sup
piled with heat and made much more
respectable in many ways. They are
now to be coy enough for the most
discriminating star.
The expense of remaking the thea
ter will run between $1,000 and $4,000.
"Red" is the Word.
The Auditorium management takes
exception to the word crimson" as
used in these columns with regard to
the new color of the sidewalks. Deep
rich red" is the precise term applied
by the house manager. And so deep
rich red' goes.
sition to make heat for the theater and
it is believed that there will be no
longer the complaint of cold feet. And
carpeted aisles will keep down the
noise of feet.
Doors have been installed at the
entryways to the balcony, so that the
stairways will no longer act as chin
neys for drawing all of the heat. All
doors will be fitted against squeaking
as they formerly did.
Every effort is being made to fit the
house for the opening night next Tues
day evening, January 20, when Alberta
Gallatin, presenting Dorothy Vernon
of Haddon Hail." will be seen here
for the first time.
The new drop curtain has been fin
ished with an entirely new painting
and advertising cards have been re-
moved A new finish has been placed
around the proscenium which it is be-
lieved will add to the theater's attrac-
tiveness. The ceiling is decorated
with painting and differs in finish
on plain portions from the sidewalks.
The boxes, which have always been
unfinished and crude, have been
touched up with an effort to make
them more presentable.
Sounding Properties Helped.
Audiences hereafter, it is believed, |
will be able to hear what the actors
say. Many defects were unearthed
and remedied. Among the most prom
inent factors under the old arrange
ment in making it impossible to hear
was the current of hot air from pit to
stage. This will be done away with,
it is thought, under the new heating
system.
The Opening Show.
The following advance notice, fur
nished by the company, has been re.
ceived concerning Miss Gallatin and
her play:
In the realm of romantic drama this
season, there is no production more |
elaborate and picturesque than that of
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hail." |
which Ernest Shipman has prepared |
for Miss Alberta Gallatin's starring |
tour The scenes of Mr. Majors real /
historic romance as dramatized by |
Paul KesteT, all transpire within or in |
the neighbOrhoOd of HaddOn Hail. the |
most picturesque and best-preserved |
of Elizabethan manor houses; and the |
scenery has all been painted and con-
structed after actual photographs of |
the place. This work has been divid- |
ed among acknowledged experts in
their particular field who have repro |
duced some of the beautiful scenes in |
and about Haddon Hall in most real |
istic manner. The fact that practically |
a whole wing of Haddon Hall has been
built on the stage will give some idea
of the massiveness and solidity of this |
most elaborate production.
In the days of Good Queen Bess"
the English court was one of the most
deliberately and picturesquely dressed
of all Europe and the costumes used
in this production have been designed