The Washington times., 1908-04-14
Shea in a Soldier of the Cross;
"The Blue Moon" Repeats Success;
Other Offerings at the Theaters
The Cast in "A Soldier of the Cross

cletus. a Christian. James ]. Cassady
Prdeter Of Pom eii-.---------Sp Spencer Charters
liggeliniis .----.------------------J- r Gilbert
Prince Rubeilius. Robert Lee
Slaudius -----.-.----.-.--.----. Maxwell Driscoll
l-leulluS -.-.---s-.- .-.---------J James Cassidy
James 2. Houston
Limos. OF the Pretorlan guards
Narellus. OF the Prstoriaa guards
Charles Lake
Urban ...-..-..-....-....-. Charles Bradbury
Princess AsIraIia --.--------. Charl0rJe BIrEe1r
Claudia q slave. Pearl F'Td
Martha, a slave Alice Endres
Thomas Z. shea. after an absence Of
two seasons. returned TO the Academy
OF Music last night in a religious drama.
"A Soldier Of the Cross The reception
which he received az the hands Of d
capacity audience was most dattering
10 one OF the few actors who is en-
deavoring to lift the tone Of the plays
seen IN the popular price theaters-
Mr.. Shea's methods are marked by
greater eaTnestness and sincerity OF pur-
pose than most Of the tragedians OF the
present day who visit the melodrama
houses and the Stl~cess with which he
lis meeting shoJtd encourage other
actors 70 follow bis example rather than
devote their attention solely 20 the lurid
and impossible tales OF carnage and
crime Of every character which Is Of
fereI for the deIectatIon OF the typical
gallery gods
- Soldier OF the Cross" Is a story OF
the persecution OF the Christians at
the time Of the destruction OF Pom
pei. In addition 10 its religious ana
spectacular interest there is an in
te-esting love story and a SUI
fcient amount OF tempestuols action Of
the conventional kind 20 crafty the
tastes OF those who love their melo-
drama undiluted-
The theme IS handled with discretion
and the moral tone IS distinctly Whole
some. though not obtTusive- \ notable
feature OF the Performance for the
Academy vas the plentirude OF thunder
Gus app'a and the scarcity OF Kisses
Mr.. Shea gave robusti0us interpre-
tatior OF The role Of A lax. the gladiator
and his thrilling bToadswOrd fight in the
first scene OF the fourth act was remit
niscenJ OF that faVorite OF olden days.
The Gladiator"
On the whole the supporting company
was entirely SATISFACTORY Miss Pearl
Ford male an attractive and sympa-
thetiC CEudia. the slave OF Prince Ru-
belliuS. ard Miss Charlotte Burkett was
sufficiently vindictive in the earlier
scenes OF TIE play 70 cali down the male
diction OF The gallery upon her head,
while her reformation IN the final act
was greeted with vociferous approval
which showed that in spite OF her VII
lsiny she had always held a place in the
hearts OF many.
Robert Lee as the Prince RubellIus
was probably the least satisfactory
member Of the supporting company He
strobe from one end Of the stage 70 the
other. sawed the air with his arms,
mOuthed his words and painted with al
together too much fervOr for any player
who Won : essay naTUTalness
The production is elaborate and the
cOstuminE is well within the period The
final scene OF the eruption OF ut Nersu-
wins was wildly applauded-
Tonight Afr- Shea viii present 'Dr.
Jekyn and Mr.. Hyde" a Soldier Of
the Cross viii be repeated at the
rlatinees this afternoon, Thursday and
Saturday