The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-29

cHOTuS or singers ana dancers, numDer- ing in all 75 persons. A train of cars is
 required to transport the company. The famous Lillian Russell is scun la
 be seen in Birmingham. She will o.ae1 aar latest success, Tn Search of Sim.
 It has been cordially received along tho
 Russell tour this year and most critics say 1t is the best thing of the kind the fair Lillian has done since she left mu- sical comedy for the more trying char | acters she Is now portraying. Charlotte Thompson. California writer, has made the comedy for Miss Russell and has hit
 upon novel idea of working out unique plot.
 Adelaide Thurston has been provided by her managers, Cohan and Harris, with a brand new comedy, Miss Ana
 nias," in which the heroine differs from
 the Father of his country" because not only is she able to tell lie, but to tell it so well, that, in the end, she gets what she wants-which Is, of course, the iead- ing man. Just what kind of falsehood she tells; why she tells 1t; how she tells it and how she gets out of it, Cartherine Chisholm Cushing, the author, and company of capable players, headed by
 Miss Thurston. will show our theatre | goers at the Jefferson theatre in about two weeks. Important parts are in the hands of such capable players as Angus
 tus Phillips, A. S. Byron, Henry Carlin,
 Marion Kerby, Laura Bennett, Edna von
 Buelow and Constance Glover.
 "The Dollar Princess is full of fun- makers and each of it's characters seem to
 be the funniest fellow you have ever met-until the next one comes on the stage. Their humor is not of the slap stick sort. but 1t Is extremely merry and witty. The chief of the laughmakers will be Fred Lennox, who takes the part Of Russian lion tamer Ivan Tartaroff.
 It is said that few playwrights could draw out the good or bad in woman with the subtiety which MT. Fitch exercised His was not the method of the police man. He could paint them in colors of fine pretense and as quickly fade the pie ture into one of pity and horror. In "The City, the big powerful moments fall to the lot of the male characters at least two of them, but in no wise did the la mented playwright fail to give the stage one or two glimpses of new types Of women.
 Teresa Rand undeniably waited for the city to bring out all the bad qualities in her. thus playing at counter purposes to the theme. But she stands out like sol itary reed, bending to every emotion, but yielding to nothing that Is good. Much Of the humor of the play is brought out over the impending divorce proceedings between Teresa and her husband. Teresa loves another man, and, although the di- vorce would injure the political prospects of her brother, she will not yield her point, but in sweet bitterness cries: Give us a quiet, dignified, noiseless separa- tion." To her The City, means the smell of gasoline on Fifth avenue and all the greasy trail 1t leaves behind. "The City" will be seen at the Shubert theatre on February and '. The play comes direct from the Lyric theatre New York. where 1t ran for an entire season Nor man Hackett. Godfrey C., Stein, Jose phine Florence Shepherd and other we'll known players are in the company.
 Among the annual theatrical events of importance may safely be included each season the appearance on Broadway of Sam Bernard, always in a new play. It has now been some months since the Messrs. Shubert presented this comedian In "IIe Came From Milwaukee," a piece which, in the words of the New York Sun, proved worthy successor to up and Down Broadway" ''The Summer Widowers." and the rest of the elabor- ate musical pieces that belong to the same series." Continuing, the critic of the same paper observed: Perhaps none Of these pieces possesses a single per former that could be quite as amusing as MT. Bernard is in the duel scene. His personal comicality predomlnated every scene in which he appeared and the a,l- -1k J,z L. there are many delightful features of He Came From Milwaukee" There was large and attractive chorus clothed in uncommonly tasteful blends of color and trained to high efficiency in it's manoeu- vers, so the principal comedian of the new musical comedy is only the particular star of very amusing and delightful performance"
 Intelligent criticism of musical comedy and comic opera seems to have resulted in a change of feeling. and the genuine article in the form of comic opera or op- eretta bids fair to again have its inning after the musical play has passed through long siege of clap-trap construction and more or less inferior quality. Within the last year public taste has changed com pletely and the slap-trap article is in danger of being relegated to the past. Probably The Chocolate Soldier was the first play with music to mark the new order of things. At any rate this light opera has proven a popular favorite and it has been followed by ''The Dollar Princess ',The Arcadians." and more re- gently Madame Troubadour."
 'The Balkan Princess,r which ran for considerable period at the Prince of Wales theatre, London, has, from all ac- counts gotten over'' in this country, having been produced by the Messrs. Ehubert in New Haven and thence trans ferred to Boston. Miss Louise Cunning sings the title role and her support in-