The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-11-29

| New York, Nov. 2S.-There has
been no recent event in the theatres
so peculiar or so difficult as Mrs
Fishes Salvation Nell" 1t is no
drama, yet it is true to the life il
represents, and that life is the lowest
dregs of the vice. brutality, lawless
ness, misery, squalor and wretched
ness of the vilest slums of New York
In the first of the three pictures. which
represents a jisreputable dive in Helrs
Kitchen. Mrs. Fiske appears as a wan,
cowed and betrayed scrub woman
whose business is to clean up around
bar at which the loafers and thieves
of the vicinity congTegate- In the sec
ond act this Nell Sanders has become
Salvation Nell. a worker in the Saliva
ton Army. Eight years have passed,
and she is bringing up her illegitimate
child in a Cherry street tenement. In
the third, still a Salvation Army
worker, she is back amid scenes of
the poverty and viciousneSS of Cherry
Hill. Hard, cruel realism is all this.
cut from the raw of besotted metro
politan life. Out of the shifting pic
lures grows a love story, for Nell is
the property of a SQuare-jaWed. low
browed thief, murderer and gangSteT.
Jim Platt- Her cruel treatment and
abandonment by him is sketched in a
vivid scene on the barren floor. Then
the lOaferS rush out to see the police
raid of a disorderly resort. N re-
turns in time TO see one of his pals
attempt to kiss Nell. He kills the
man and goes to Sing Sing for the
crime. while Nell. tempted in one di-
rectiOn by a refuge from the raided
ic 1nd n tho nthnr. nv Toll
lujah Maggie" of the Salvation Army
Eight years later Jim returned from
prison to claim the reformed woman.
Here for moment real melodrama,
the trace of story told in action. dp-
pears. 1t has tensenesS. In the lin
gering love of the woman for the man
who attempts to pull her back to her
level it has meaning. And it has pathoS
in her effort to keep him from COM
hitting a burglary, for which he re-
pays her with blow in the face The
final act is occupied chiefly with the
reproduction of street brawlS in
crowded tenement quarter. There
are the janglinS women of the dives
where wretchedneSs swarms. quarrel
ing peddlers, and dancing, screaming
children. 1t is at the door of the Sal
walton barracks. No. / Hail." and
here Jim again meets Nell. After a
prayer she makes a hysterical
harangue to the motley crowd. Jim
drops coin into her tambourine, and
while the lo2fers Scof, follows her into
the chapel. The redeemins influence
of love has begun its work in Tie de-
PRAYED wretch, and the play here
ends AS feats in character photog
raphy the acting. in most instances,
was as close TO life as, the scenes Of
the play. Mrs. Fiske gave a reient-
lessly realistic performance of the re-
formed scrub woman, but she could
not excel Holbrook Plinn, who pre-
sented an amazingly close, realistic
study of the thug, Piatt. Here seem-
ed TO be actual life set upon the stage.
Alexander KOnta. the Wall street
broker, who translated Henry w. Saw
ages version of THE Devil' from the
of Molnar. returned yester-
day on the Kronprinzessin Cecille. af-
ter conference with the author in
Budapest. Some amicabIe arrange
ment was arrived at by which both
Manager Fiske and Manager Savage
may continue 10 produce the play. but
just what the arrangement is and the
of the royalties, Mr.. Konta
refused to say. He said it was up TO
Col. Savage TO tell that
Harry Lauder began his engagement
at the American Theatre last night.
There was an audience that packed
the house from floor 70 ceiling, and
the wild enthusiasm of the original
opening of few weeks ago in an
other place was repeated. A curious
feature of the performance. curious
for this town, is that the chorUses CT
all the songs are now hummed and
whistled as they are played BY the
orchestra, while the magnetic little
man is making a change between the
numbers. At the end, after in1umeT
able recalls and a lively exchange of
affeS&ationate repartee between Mr..
Lauder and some admirers in the gal
lery, the curtain went Tp AMI diE-
closed a full band of pipers directed
by colossal banJmaster, all in full
uniform. This was a special honor
naid to a great Scot by his proud feI
There were some
national airs played, and but for the
firmncss of somebody the affair would
be going on still.
Friday night marked the one hun
1redth performance OF Miss Billie
Burke Love Watches" at the Lv-
3eum Theatre Charles Frohman will
present Miss Burke at one of his Lon
Ion theatres in Love Watches at
the end of her New York engagement.
The successful engagement of The
Red Mill proceeds at the Academy
Of Music. and there seems to be 10
statement OF public interest in that
Dlithe composition of frolic AMI music
rhe eccentric dancing OF Alessrs.
NJ 0D-c-Onar, and Stone is PYPpOf :OTIaI
y effective, and the performance. as
4 whole. provides abundant amUse.
nent.
At the Astor Theatre Booth Tar
and Harry Leon Wilson's play
IF The Man from Home" has taken