Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-12
REALISM AND ACTING
SAVE VIA WIRELESS
Vesta Victoria Is Hit as Headline
Feature of 0rpheum Bill.
Theatrical News

Belasco theater, is dull and tiresome.
| The play Is frankly melodramatic but
lacks strength the thrill of that sort
of dramatic Offering.
| From the first moment the handsome
naval lieutenant has passage at arms
with the jealous underhanded manager
of the Durant steel works, one realizes
that the hero will marry the heires5
and te gentlemanly villain will be rout-
ed completely. The element of sur
prise is taken away in the first act and
never restored. OF big, tense, dramatic
situations there are none. The eli
makes are weak and theatric. Even the
| wireless scene of the fourth act, while
realistic, is not of sufficient power to
| grip and hold ones attention in a
nerYe-tingling grasp. Were it not for
the fact that some scenes especially
| those in the office of the steel plant,
are played in a natural, unaffected
manner, Via Wireless" would be fiat
and flabby.
1t is the work of the stage carpenter
which makes Via Wireless" possible
at all. He has builded some sort of
contriVance which produces the effect
of boat rocking and swaying, tossed
bither and thither in storm at sea.
For that effect, somebody must be
| thanked. Again, the wireless appa-
ratus is practical and worked last
night exceptionally well. One other
| bit of realism is worthy of attention.
An apparently red-hot cannot, fresh
from the flames and just ready for the
tempering bath of oil, is whisked by the
window of the steel plant office in the
third act. The effect is realistic enough
| to cause Wonderment. Aside from
these effects, there is nothing distinct
lively worty about the entire play
which is presented in five acts.
The act in which the storm at sea
occurs is commonplace. 1t is too long,
not tense enough and is subject to
more or less ridicule because of the
thinness of the lines and the theatrical
| effects. The wireless scene Is too short
| a lever to lift the play from the COM
monplace level upon which 1t rests.
Reverting to the acting, mentioned
above, the second act Is played in the
office of the steel works. At one time
| the telephone rings. An office boy
answers 1t. Ten stenographer is
called to the phone. Her actions and
her answers to supposed questions are
the acme of real life. Her observa-
tions on everything a comedy un-
adorned. When the stenographer
leaves the phone the plant draughts-
man answers. He, too, plays the small
scene in, manner which Is absolutely
true to every day existence. But, TAX
ing the act as a whole there Is nothing
worthy In it. Men and boys running
in and out of the office fail to create
any tensity. The finale of the act is
pOOI lllClOuIdlIo d. DCSI. "A QuACh llSHl
between the manager and Lieut.. Som
ers is followed by the appearance Of
the flaming gun, mentioned before. AS
the gun passes the window the lieuten-
ant shrieks THAT gun; that gun!" 1t
sounds like the wall of lost soul, not
defeated man. The whole climax is
twdy and unreal
Adele harrington did the most artis-
tic acting of the piece. AS the fippant,
slangy stenographer, she was beyond
cavil. Ida Lewis also contributed an
artistic bit in her characterization of
Mrs Durant. Her observations on
! how to win woman's love. were de-
| liVered in a satisfactory and convinc-
ling manner. Lewis tSone played
Lieut. Somers very WE'LL in fact bet
ter than the role desirves. In the third
act Mr.. StSone was delightful, when he
and Miss Oakley had near-love scene.
For just that one scene, the play is
almost worth seeing. Frank Camp was
uncertain as Edward Pinkney, man
ager of the steel works. He stumbled
over his lines a great deal. His con-
ception of the role seemed excellent.
Possibly he will enact 1t better after
he is surer of the words he has to say.
Richard Vivian has fallen into the
habit of understudy, it seems. AL
though he had but a few lines to de-
liver last night, he did not know them
well at all. Once, when a line was
thrown to him" from the wings, it was
noticeable all over the theater. Charles
Giblyn personated the wireless operator
Historically. But he seemed to please
everybody, for he received much ap-
plause. Possibly that was caused by
gratitude for his having supposedly
saved thirty lives from watery grave.
Miss oakley gave sweet and at
tractive portrayal of Frances Durant,
and she looked quite beautiful in the
first and second acts. others In the
cac CT uare aa tiGf0 cfOrV
Vesta Victoria, dressed in pretty
white frock, walked onto the Orpheum
stage yesterday and, in rather husky
voice, sang lifting melody ABOUT
Take Me There" I was disappointed,
saying to myself, And she gets $4,000
a week for that" Then she walked
off the stage. Some in the audience
applauded A brief wait followed. In
that period most of us learned the
refrain of Take Me There" Once
more Vesta Victoria came onto the
stage. This time she appeared as the
Vesta Victoria we all wanted to see
singing character comedienne. Her
selection Skating" was screamingly |
funny burlesque. 1t hit everybody on
the funny bone. When she had sung
the chorus several times she had won
the audience. Vesta Victoria knows
how to sing character songs, and she |
themselves are laugh producers, but |
she is a sad failure as a straight
singing comedienne. Her THE Widow
is risoIle comedy. Her "Now I Have to |
Call Him Father" Is typically Eng
lish and a scream. Her 1T Amt All
Honey is old, but so clever 1t is ever
new and delightful to hear. Her en-
core, "The Artists Model" is another
old selection, but is one of her great
est successes.
Vesta Victoria is a typical music
hall singer. She throws kisses to the |
gallery-a music hall trick. In the YER
nacular "she kids" all the time. Her |
comedy is broad and of the low type |
Possibly because such comedy emanates |
from a woman it is laugh-making |
Personally, l am not devotee of COM |
edy of that sort l like bit or SPICE |
but the whole pepper box dumped INTO
my food makes me sneeze.
We have been told by the press agent
that Vesta Victoria is "The Queen of
England's Condolences" and that she
is vaudevilles greatest artist in her
line, as well as the highest priced ar
tiste. Why, then, does she use an
nouncing cards which are old, torn and |
dirty why does she place those cards |
upon an easel the enamel of which is |
cracked and where not lacking, be- |
erimed?' Is that art? Ten dollars at
the most would replace the cards and |
easel. Surely that is not very great
nrice to pay for cleanliness. 1t is a |
trifle of that $4,000 salary. 1t is small |
So4otIc ItI,a tba cards and easel which |