Evening journal., 1913-10-16
CURTAIN UP
!. In HANDSOME
PLAYHOUSE
SrlIIiant Audience Sees
Bought and Paid For
While Governor and
Mayor Praise
lMR. BRADY PROMISES
q BEST OF ATTRACTIONS


Before one Of the most brilliant
audiences ever assembled in VII
mington. the curtain went up for the
first time in The Playhouse last eve
ming There was no applause, and
one could have heard a pin drop In
the house. The audience was surpris-
ed It could not believe that Whining
ton had at last come into its own,
mat lovers Of the theatre would no
4onger have 10 90 to other cities for
nniusoment, and. finally. that viii
mipgton has one OF the best theatres
IN the United States.
The audience was the typical first
night audience. Nearly every seat
IN the house was occupied by an as
semblage. the likes OF which has
mot been seen in Wilmington since
the opening OF the Hotel DUPONT. Box
es were occupied by Governor Charles
Miller, Mayor Harrison W. How
ell, General IT, Coleman DUPONT, and
others Tho governor was accompan-
led BY several members OF his staff.
in their full dress uniforms
Bought and Paid For" the opening
attraction at the Playhouse. could
not have been presented better. and
The big audience was highly pleased
Between the. acts. w. A. Brady. the
lessee in response to numerous calls.
made a short talk from the stage. in
which he defined his Wilmington
theatrical policies Governor Miller
and Mayor Howell also made ihort
a. addresses and the mayer presen, ed TO
ve. .lohn A. }Bader, president of the J. A.
B, "ader 3lnd Company. contractors for
let evepeY theatre. a watch and fob. In
he 2 of the duponts interested in
wouineatre, and gold watch
wor by the sub-contractcrs and ma
IL men
ie first present wss a ibute to
N eccntractor for erecting the theatre
had OF the scheduled time. 150 days.
zN ~ the latter gift as an appreciation /
tW Mr.. Bader's courtesy and kindness
those who worked with him.
some idcn lf the Playhouse can
"a gained from the amount of time,
o,or and material employed in erecting
ne Ground was broScn for the building
en april Is, 1918. aud il was completed
natl50 working days. More than a hun.
IN men were employed on it each day.
amen hundred and fifty thousand .
y hks; e5000 cubic feet OF concrete,
isn'ghing 20o0 tons; 2O00 barrels OF &C.
ient, l4O0 tens of broken stone: 500
IS of plaster and lsO0 tons of sand I
Sire used in It's construction
Throughout the construction is OF re- /
mforced concrete The balconies are Of
moncithic construction, each being a
solid piece of concrete. the floor of
which Is covered with frcproof material
The central cirder. which supports the
roof. is the largest OF It's kind in the
world now ia use. II is IS feet long
- feet high, l2 feet wide and
weights 20 ions
The system of stage illumination is
>anexcellcd in the United states. The
z switchboard is the safest and most
modern ever constructed. it contains
5000 connections for vines. and is of
the 'dcad-iaco' type, To climate dan
ger of shocks by contact with il. IL I
weighs 6000 pounds. IN the stage illu
mination there are SIG incandcscent
lights and 90 arc lights.
The heating system is unique Air
ls famed over a coil Of steam pipes
through a concrete corridor twelve feet
high and VARYING from four to eight feet
Ride into the theatre This corridor eN-
tends around three sides of the build !
ing and the temperature OF the interior |
Of The Playhouse can be controlled at /
all times.
pleasing feature OF the theatre is
that the view Is unmarried by posts
There arc none. The gallery and bal
rony arc built on tho cantilever prin-
tiplc anl the countorbalancng work is
run back for considerable distance
and anchored in the foundation. This is
necessary IA order to carry the load
imposed upon il but the ability to carry
load is several times greater than any
Nhch could possibly be placed upon IL.
The presentation Of Bought and Paid
or" was remarkably smooth for a first
aight in new theatre and this is due
,~ % the excellent equipment and construc.
& Al 4. IA
play do not make a theatre Back
2mong tho drops. the real theatre con
truction is shown. To be able TO make
4 proper production il is necessary Ia
1avc height TO raise the scenery and
lpace TO PIT it. There are a hundred
and one little things which the public
does not sec. but of which IL gets the
peneff and II is on the stage that the
Playhouse is strong. There will no
longer be any complaint of travelling
company being unable to get its scenery
On the stage
Frank Mills as Robert Stafford was
u every way up TO requirements.
William Harrigan as James Gilley Is
about as clever an actor as has come
o Wilmington. even in times past
Ralph Simone as Oku, a japanese
lervant, though he had a part which
Is scarcely more than a bit" made
4 zeal part out OF a decidedly small
one Evelyn Welding as Virginia
Blaine was clever Marion Lord as
Fanny Blaine was perfectly at home
In part where comedy Of the real
kind Is necessary
Between the acts Mr. Brady was
called before the curtain He said
In part:
The last time ] came to Whining
ton to appear in a theatre Il vas
- years ago, when ] appeared in the
Grand Opera House and dived into n
tank. Perhaps some OF those in the
audience remember the play"
Mr. Brady praised the broad minded
civic spirit that prompted the duPonts
70 build the theatre in Wilmington.
The Playhouse with the Hotel Du-
Pont" said Mr. Brady. establishes in
Wilmington a social center that is
wonderful for a town this size just
friak. you have your beautiful hotel
szl theatre right in the center Of the
cffy where you can get 70 It from any
Dart 81 town
II % not ike the Idea OF theatre
= N1iulnGfon' said Mr.. Brady. in
f4cf cid not want one In town
81 thia size until saw John J. Ras-