Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-11
AT THE LOS ANGELES 7HEATERS
SANE MELODRAMA IS
OFFERING AT GRAND

Only one commandment Is fractured
on the stage of the Grand opera house
this week, and that is the sixth. More
over, the breakage involves only
trife of 100000 bagatelle in these
capitalistic days when multi-million-
aires are almost as common on the
stage as in the streets. For some rea-
son or other the $4,000 peculation has
been dignifled with the name of en-
bezzlement. OF course the thief so
arranges matters that an innocent
man Is suspected of the crime; Of
course, also, he induces young wom-
an to become engaged to him, securing
her promise through false representa-
lions; and of course all his plottings
come to nothing in the end.
The play is by Sidney S. Toller. 1t
is called 1.-THE Belle of Richmond"
Florence Barker is the belle. and in
the fourth act Miss Barker has a re-
remarkably illuminative speech. 81 see
1t ALL" she says; and the audience
applauds enthusiastically. Truth to
tell, that speech took a great weight
off all our minds. The Barker vision
had been so singularly defective
through the first three acts that we
had feared a permanent impairment.
Safe and Sane
Seriously, "The Belle of Richmond"
is an unusually sane play-for the
Grand. Its story Is interesting and 1t
does not do any great violence to the
probabilities. Even its villains are hu-
man and its hero Is so nearly human
that the dramatic halo with which ha
is invested does not always outshine
the spot light. There are three love
stories and they all work out to a
Noah's ark conclusion. Moreover,
there's a young woman from Boston
who changes the color of her hair to
match her gowns, and who seeks to de-
stroy Rudyard Kipling's map of the
United States by removing the pie belt
south of Mason and Dixon's line. Kip
ling, you may remember, located the
pie district in New England.
Florence Barker is her usual at
tractive self as Nellie Mason. She
doesn't wear glasses and she doesn't
squint, which perhaps is just as well,
as her ocular infirmity accommodate
ingly passes away so that the plot
may be properly unwound In the finale
Harry Won Meter is the hero, who out
lain, and who then pays the amount
of his embezzlement-perhaps in order
to get rid of him. E. George Clancy
Is an old negro servant. Myrtle Sell
wyn is the Boston young woman. Earle
Gardner is the young man who really
does the heros work for him. Nelson
Leavitt Is first assistant villain, and
Arthur Hill and Frank Richardson are
southern gentlemen, suh
t. al r.ka "a
whole, we'll acted. Battle, murder and
sudden death are absent, but If you
can overlook this curious oversight you
probably will enjoy 1.-THE Belle of Rich
mond."
"Erminie" will be the bill of the
Edgar Temple opera company at the
Auditorium this week, beginning to-
night. In it Miss Kent will resume
the role which she took when Pauline
Hall, the original Erminie in this
country, resigned in a huff. leaving
Miss Kent to win a triumph on six
hours notice. Mr.. Temple will ap-
pear tonight as Ravennes. while Fritz
Fields will play Cadeaux. The company
has taken great pains in preparing "Er-
minie," and the chorus is especially
we'll drilled for its work in this opera.
Songs pleasantly remembered include
the famous lullaby. the clever "Dicky
Birds topical song, which Mr.. Fields
will embellish with local verses: the
"Jolly Jail Birds of Feather" the
Good Night" chorus, and Darkest
the Hour" ballade..
1.-THE Girl of the Golden West" en-
tiers upon her sixth week at the Be-
lasco tonight. In number of consecu-
tive performances the play has not
yet reached the record of 1.-THE Half
breed" but 1t will have surpassed that
record before the week closes. Three
special matinees were given during the
run of 1.-THE Halfbreed. 1.-THE Girl of
the Golden West" so far has had one.
Alice Treat Hunt plays the girl, Lewis
S. Stone the road agent who is in love
with her. and Howard Scott the sheriff.
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