Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-27

Mss has bungled badly IL her Hrst act,
and then has done much to redeem
herself in the acts that follow. Her
first act is farce, and exceedingly COM
monplace farce at that. Here she sac
rifices plausibility for compactness;
and she does much In the way of char
acter caricature that has to be undone
later along. The Lieutenant Robert
Worburton of act one is a wholly ridic-
ulous and impossible young man, buff
foon instead of the good natured prac-
ticaI Joker of the novel;; but having
once alienated the sympathies of her
audience from her leading character,
the playwright sets herself to work to
reinstate him in our good graces, ana
when the curtain falls most of us dis
cover that she has succeeded.
Wisely, l think, the dramatist has
softened the melodramatic note of the
story. To be sure Count Karloff makes
his appearance, and we are given the
incident of the military plans which
Colonel Annesley bargains to sell to the
Russian government; but tho play is
lightsome affair, with only enough of
the melodramatic touch to conform to
the book story. It's interest does not
center in Lieutenant Worburton's ef-
forts to frustrate reasonable plot and
save the reputation of the man he
wants for his fathersin-law, but in his
curious wooing and winning of the
young woman. 1t is. then, a love COM
edy, and 1t makes no pretense of being
anything else.
Many Readers, Many Views
1t Is always an exacting task to
realize upon the stage a familiar char
acter of fiction. Readers naturally
have preconceived ideas regarding that
character. and IL the actor fails to
agree with their opinions they are pretty
apt to decide, off hand, that he doesn't
know what he Is about. Personally I
enjoyed Mr. Figman's acting last night,
though I found in his depletion of
Lieutenant Worburton only distant
family resemblance to the man I had
met in the pages of McGrath's book.
Perhaps you found the two Identical.
At any rate, let's not quarrel about 1t.
The Figman Characterization takes
its cue largely from that first act. It is
obviously farcical. Personally I never
met an army officer who went around
digging people In the ribs and grimac-
ing at their physical annoyance; and
to me this habit of farce constitutes the
chief blemish upon an otherwise enjoy
able bit of acting, inconsequential
though the whole character is. In the
final scene of the play Mr.. Figman
proves that he can do serious work and
do 1t we'll. His comedy, however. be-
lieve would be much improved By the
adoption of methods furtheT removed
from those which brought him success
in such pieces as "The BurGomaster,"
and which, while they served well in
their place, are not suited to his pres
ent endeavor
The supporting company includes
Miss Fannie Marinoff, who plays Betty
Charles Brownell, who Is excellent in
the bit of Count Karloff. Frank M
Ranger, who is cast as Col. Raleigh,
ought to be cast as something else or
not cast at all.
1.-THE Man on the Box continues at
the Los Angeles theater through the
week.
Clarence Drown, local manager of the
Orpheum, with his wife and daughter,
was an eastbound passenger by the
salt Lake route yesterday. Mr. Drown
goes to New York to confer with the
heads of the Orpheum circuit and will
remain for a month, during the absence
of General Manager Beck In Europe.
Morris Meyerfeld, president of the
Orpheum Circuit company, has just
returned to San Francisco from con-
ference in Chicago with Mr.. Beck. Mr
Meyerfeld is said to be contemplating
long trip in the orient on which he
will have the company of his wife and
daughter.
Charles e. Evans, who comes to the
Orpheum this week, is to remain for
one week only. The other new acts
announced will remain the usual fort
night.
"The Girl of the Golden West" en-
ters upon its fourth week at the Be
lasco theater tonight. Already 1t has
broken all house records and its popu-
larity continues as great as ever.
At the Burbank yesterday two large
audiences saw Hoyt's IA Trip to China
town." now in its second week. Miss
Blanche Hall as the frisky and charm
ing young widow, A. Byron Beasley as
the hypochondriac. and John W. Bur-
ton as the almost respectable old round
er repeat their last weeks hits. while
the feminine chorus continues to make
good. The two Morosco- -Montrose
songs. "My Yankee Sailor Boy and
"My Sweetheart of the U. s. A." re-
main favorite features of the bill.
"The Geisha" will be given its first
presentation in Los Angeles within sew
eral years at the Auditorium tonight
by the Edgar Temple opera company.
Miss Eleanor Kent will sing the role of
o Mimosa San, queen of the Geisha,
and should find in the part the best
opportunities she has had since the
Temple season opened. Harry Cash
man will apepar as Japanese mar
uuis and Fritz Fields as a Chinese tea
house proprietor.
Director Temple has announced that
no opera will be presented for longer
than a single week. Thus "Florodora"
was withdrawn Saturday night, when
it might we'll have had another week
to its credit. and thus "Erminie" is
underlined to follow "The Geisha" next
Monday.
The new bill at the Orpheum this
week, beginning with matinee today,
presents Charles e. Evans & Co. in a
sketch, the Dunedin troupe, Frederick
Brothers and Palmer and Bertha Per-
tina. The holdovers include Master
Gabriel g. Co.. Hoey & Lea, Daisy Har-
oc,trf and Ida 0'naV.