Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-04
&c The Theaters S

character roles, first as an Irish serv-
ant, and later as a lady's maid with
q penchant for Shakespeare. Miss
Howard is genuinely funny, which is
more than can be said for Don't Tell
My Wife,"
"The Girl of the Golden West" en-
ters upon its fifth week at the Belasco
theater tonight and announcement Is
made that the piece positively VIII be
withdrawn after the performance next
Sunday night to enable the company
to meet contracts which call for the
presentation of other plays within
specified time.
The success of "The Grip at the To-
cal Belasco has penetrated the White
Light district of New York, and yes
terday David Belasco sent the follow
ing telegram to Belasco, Mayer & Co.:
"Rejoiced to learn that California
has so generously received The Girl
of the Golden West 1t is a great re-
ward that my beloved native state is
crate the most stirring period in her
history. My hearty congratulations
upon your Individual great success.
DAVID BELAsCO."
"a Fighting Chance" the title Of the
weeks Offering at the Grand opera
house, applies equally we'll to the pos
sibilities Of the audience keeping up
with the swirl of incidents that go to
make up the four acts and fourteen
scenes of the play. Theodore Kramer,
Gilbert Gardner and Charles L. Wall
ace have combined to give the Ulrich
stock company a magnificently varied
series of scenes in which to chase each
other around with guns, blackjacks and
bad names, and two or three startling
events happen in each of the subdi-
visions.
A respectable and wealthy young
jeweler, represented by Harry Won
Meter, becomes acquainted in some
peculiar way with the perfectly re-
spectacle daughter (Florence Barker,
of course) of disreputable person
whose past is punctuated with such in
cidents as thievery, murder and
"worse," whatever that is, and Arthur
Hill does not overlook any of the op-
portunities to draw out the sibilant
hiss from the ready lips Of the right
eous gallery.
Villains predominant in the play, but,
Of course, they do not prevail. The
disreputable parent is aided and abet-
ted by "a high class criminal (Mr
Kramer's specification) in the person
of Lawrence -nderwood, who has en-
listel also woman of doubtful char
acter in a red dress and bad DISPOSE
ton, in which Lillian Hayward revels
Another of the coterie of bloodthirsty
wretches is a gambler, who assumes
the disguise of minister and per-
forms mock marriage ceremony
Then, as If this were not sufficient to
keep the hero busy, there are three
who are labeled as simply "all-round
crooks
Always Something Doing
The action circles around the forced
mock marriage of the respectable
daughter to the high class criminal
the murder of the H. C. c. by the wo-
man in the red dress and the disguised
gambler, the arrest of the highly re-
spectacle daughter on suspicion, heI
escape with the aid of the young
jeweler and her final vindication. Into
all of which are injected such pleasing
and diverting variations as a reformed
thief with hook nose and an aptitude
for making the villains curse, a modern
version of Eliza crossing the ice, G
| French maid who sings a little sons
and dances little dance-this b!
| Tyrtle Selwyn-and much burning o
| blank cartridges by way of dramatic
| italics. 1t is lively affair, and ther,
is something in each of the fourteen
scenes to make the unprepared give {
gasp as If they were jumping into {
cold bath.
"The Bohemian Girl" which the
Edgar Temple opera company puts OF
| at the Auditorium tonight, will bring
to the fore Mr.. Temple himself, who
will alternate, with Mr.. MacGahan II
the tenor role of Fhaddeus. Miss Vance
and Miss Maison will alternate as the
gypsy queen, while Miss Kent will
sing Airline all week and Miss Wallace
will be seen as Florestein. The mount.
ing and costuming of 1.-THE Bohemian
Girl' are promised to be elaborate.
Francis Wilson opens an engagement
of one week at the Mason opera house
tonight in when Knights Were Bold,
a comedy in which he has enjoyed bis
success in the east and which has not
yet been presented in Los Angeles
This will be Mr.. Wilson's first loca
engagement since the days of "The
Lion Tanner"