Evening star., 1922-11-27
SIXTH DEBUT TODAY
BY NEW NATIONAL:
Historic Theater, -RemodeIed,
Presents "BuIIdog Drum
mond" Tonight.

The New National Theater. new
equipment. opens its doors to the pub
ilic tonight and presents for its ap-
Iproval one Of the finest playhouses of
the country. an attraction of its
kind greatly needed in the nations
Icapital for many years. The theater
which has undergone almost an entire
renovation since last spring, is COM
|plete In every sense of the word, the
walls alone remaining unchanged.
Thy. ojening tonight marks its sixth
debut and the eighty-seventh year Of
Its existance as a playhouse.
Since its erection in 1895 by an as
|sociation comprising Henry Randall.
Richard Smith. Cornelius Mclean. jr..
George Gibson, William Brent and W.
w. Corcoran, who Joined the project
iat the last minute. The theater has
in its audiences. presi-
dents of the United States. foreign
rulers and diplomats. leaders of Con-
gress and prominent officials in every
walk OF life OF America.
Great actors and actresses Of days
gone by have interpreted their parts
of the theater'S stage. Their plays,
representing the pulse OF American
life, have swept their audiences be-
fore them, frequently squirting them
on to patriotic and honest endeavor.
Scene of Four Fires.
Four fires have occurred in the
theater and four openings have been
celebrated In 1850, after tho fire Of
1s45, Jenny Lind was the opening at
traction: In 1862. following the con-
migration of 1857. THE Serious Fam
lily" was the premier showing: in 1873.
after the third fire. the opening was
marked by the presence of President
Grant and many government oficials; !;
and in 1885. after the theater had
been rebuilt following the fire OF that
year. Mile. Rhea opened in - Lady
Ashley"
The reconstruction of the theater
this year, marking its fifth opening
since it's original opening on Decsn-
Der 27, 1885, when The Man OF the
World" was shown. will make it's de-
but for the sixth time in Bulldog
Drummond." with H. B. Warner.
The theater also suffered slight
mishap several years ago. when the
Munsey building was being built. The
taking out OF q couple Of bricks from
the National caused its walls to sag
several inches. but this was remedied
after the closing of but one night.
The theater. now owned by w. II
Rapley, S. E. Cochran and William H.
Fowler, will cause many surprises to-
night. The seating arrangement is
practically the same, except for the
boxes. The capacity is about the
same. there being about 1900 seats.
about fifteen less than heretofore.
The theater interior Is in white, al
though this will be changed next
summer when decorations are made.
The curtains are also the same. al
though these also will be changed.
Large Columns Removed.
The cumbersome columns which
supported the balconies and proved
an obstruction to the view. have been
removed. A gigantic steel girder
weighing thirty tons has been in
stalled which carries the weight of
the balconies. There are now no
boxes on the first floor.
Twelve boxes. containing fve seats
ZACH. line the balcony floor. On the
gallery floor, two boxes, one on either
side, are installed with a total seat
ing capacity Of sixteen. making the
grand total Of box seats or loge
seats, as they now will be called,
The stage space remains the same.
although many improvements have
been added. The orchestra has an