The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-21

ton. In fact, MT. Hodge may be called a pioneer in this movement It has al
 ways been his ambition to have his stage
 work meet with, at least. the passive
 favor of the clergy. During the run of
 "The Man From Home in New York,
 Mr. Hodge made addresses from the put pits of several churches and has at va rous times responded to the requests of cergymen in western cities to speak from their pupits.
 It is of rare occurrence that clergy man will take a prominent stand in favor
 of any theatrical attraction, but during
 Mir. Hodges long engag cement in Chicago
 in "The Man From Home" he was sig
 nally honored by the presence at the 30Oth performance of the play of Rev. pr. Wit
 liam White Wilson, rector of St. Marks
 Episcopal church. At the end of the third act of the pa1y at this performance.
 MT. Hodge appeared on the stage in re- sponse to continuous calls and prepared
 10 address his audience with "curtap
 speech" when Dr. W. Wilson arose and
 unfolded a parchment testimonial which
 he read to the audience and to Mr. Hodge,
 afterwards presenting it to the actor. II
 was an incident of such unique character as to attract country wide attention and
 comment
 The All Star Imperial Russian Ballel.
 which Is touring the country by special
 arrangement with the directors Of the
 Metropolitan Opera House, New York and is under leave of absence from the Imperial Opera houses of St Petersburg and Moscow is the most ambitious local amusement offering of the near iutufe' A complete symphony orchestra accoinpa-
 nies the dancers.
 A repertoire of new ocular opeihs and advertisements Is offered this Russian rrt oner4gff dance dramas are presented not only by huge
 company Of Russia's greatest terpsicno- rian stars, but are also magnlheentiH
 mounted. Principal among these are | "Coppeia," a dancing version rom rue Tales of Hoffman," and "rhe Russnln | Wedding" a scenic folwlore presenta- !, tion.
 l George Ado. who wrote ehe book ana | lyrics of "The Old Town is one of the | very wealthiest authors in captivity. His 1 "Stories of the Street and Town m l Chicago daily brought him into the lilne- | light. though he did not become really fa- .moud until Fables in Slang made then appearance
 The musical score of 'fhe old Town" is the work of Gustav I.uders who is re- sponsible for "T'he Prince of Pilsen." one of the most successful musical comedies ever given in this country. 5tls only dozen years ago when T.udefs used to con
 duct the orchestra at the Schiller theatre, Chicago. He had written the music, but
 no one thought he was serious. Luders royalties since then have averaged sS5,0J a year.
 Few stars can look at the record made bv Montgomery and Stone. Every pro-
 auction which they have been identified
 with have proved the greatest drawing
 plays in America, namely, 'The Wizerd of Oz,r ''The Red Mill'' and "'rhe ola Town" This season Montgomery and Stone will visit sections of the country where they have never been. A Pacific coast tour has been booked, where thea tregoers have seen the plays, but never
 the stars.
 Although theatrical companies all over the country are complaining of extremely poor business this season, yet. Blanche Ring In her new musical comedy, The