The San Francisco Dramatic Review (1908)

6 THE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW Taiuiai v 24, T014. Correspondence NEW YORK, Jan. 18.—Room! Make room for The Queen of the Movies! Iler title is sure, and her entlironement at the Glolje Theatre last Mon(hiy is a pleasant matter to record. Rarely has a musical comedy awakened such an enthusiastic wel- come from a sophisticated hrst-night audience. 1 lere and tiiere in the course of the performance such .spDUtaiieous waves of approval broke over the house that they established The Oueen of the Movies as a real winner. From a German original three .\nierican au- thors have made a lively book full of quick, humorous turns, with jolly rip- pling lyrics and catchy ensembles, which are deftly fitted to the spirit of the music. And it is unforgettable music, mostly in dance rhythms wliich make the pulses beat fa.ster and keep the feet moving to the times. Of the sevent«en numbers in the three acts all are effective, while Oh ! Cecilia and one or two others will l)e whistled all over the city and serve as dance music in many a cabaret. The graceful mel- odies are by Jean Gilbert, who has orchestrated them with real beauty, and who has subordinated the blare of the brasses and the beat of the drums to the more appealing music of the strings. Yes, there is a plot, and a good one, too. It tells how a moving picture actress by a clever ruse gets the better of an inventor who tried to interfere with the "Movies." Of course, she has a love entanglement, which is duly straightened out, to- gether with several others. The most amusing scene shows the Queen of the Movies working up an emotional scene in front of the camera under the goading of the manager. "Turn on the misery!" he cries. "More anger there! Suffer! Throw over a chair or two! Wee])! Get hysterical! Heave to!" And the Queen of the Movies does as she is told amid roars of laughter. Valli Valli is a very charming queen, showing unexpected facility as a dancer in addition to her familiar exhibitions of singing and acting, h'rank Moulan, as a scientist, had a role which easily suits his skill as a comedian. He gives an ideal pre- sentment of a henjiecked husband, "who holds a lot of opinions in his wife's name, anti in his own household is a silent majority." Alice Dovey, as his daughter, sings well and looks cliarm- ingly youthful on a stage crowded with so many pretty girls that they are all worthy of the front row. Yes, the play has an uplift, especially when the girls dance, and even the abbrevi- ated skirts have an upward tendency. There are .some naughty little pas- sages, too, and these arc just frecjuent enough to give the piece a spicy (|ual- ity. And when, in the last act, all the chorus girls flee into the Movies, the hit of the piece comes when the poor men group themselves around a baby carriage and sing a lullaby to its weep- ing occui)ant. * * * At the Lyceum Theatre, Rochester, last Monday, Chas. Frohman gave the first perform- ance of The Laughing Husband. The ])iece originated in Menna. It is in three acts, with music by Edmund Eysler and a book by Arthur Wim- peris. The English production has al- ready occurred at the New Theatre, London. For The Laughing Hus- band Mr. F'rohman assembled a com- pany that includes Betty Callish, of the Gaiety Theatre, London; Julius Ste- Dick Wilbur Co, FOURTH SEASON OF SUCCESS THE BIGGEST REPERTOmE COMPANY ON THE COAST open in luireka in stock, beginning January 3—indefinitely. ger, as llie Inisband. and among the other ])riiKii)als are \\ ni. Norris, Roy .\twell. \ enita iMtzhugh, FVances De- niaresl, |osie Intropith, John Daly .Muri)hy"and 1-red Walton'. * * * The .•\rabian .\iglits story of Turandot, the beautiful princess of lacking, and Calaf, IVince of .A.strakhan, already presented in dramatic form in (jer- many and in I'.ngland, reached the Shubert Theatre last week. The American version is by Percy Mack- aye ; there is nuisic i)y Wm. Furst, and scenery and stage-management somewhat in the Reinhardt maimer, ascribed to J. C. Huffman. There was a good deal of interesting color, and a scene in silluniette which was i^ar- licularly novel. The jirincess was dreaming, trying to guess her suitor's name, in a sort of nightmare over it, and the .scene expressed her dream. The stage was dark, exce])t for a metallic blue background, diagonally across which rose the black silhouette of a iiill. I'p this hill the princess toiled—herself a mere silhouette, and alter her came the other characters. \\ hen Ca])ocomico, the guiding spirit of the whole fantastic story appeared, interesting Hashes of reddisli light from below just touched now ami then his grinning face. There was another vivid use of lights in tiie scene in Calaf's bedchamber, in which the princess. disguised as 1 larlei|uin, comes to put the magic drug on Calaf's lips. The stage again was dark. Calaf, who had recognized the prin- cess, was chasing her about in this darkness, which revealed her only when, at unexpected moments, a nar- row beam of brigiitened white light flamed down from alx)ve. All in all the performance was delightful. Rita Jolivet was a comely princess; Jerome Patrick, a sufficiently graceful prince. Henry E. Dixey did rather more talk- ing than any one else, as the leader of the Italian players and the general manager of the Calaf - Turandot ro- mance. He made what he had to say as funny as he could. A few dance steps that he did in the last scene, re- calling old times, seemed to please tlie audience more than anything else. Joseph C. Smith had the luck to be Harle(|uin, which mu.st be a delightful thing to do, if one can do it, and Mr. Smith can. * * * The second week of tlie remarkably charming play, Kitty MacKay, be.gan at the Comedy Thea- tre last week. The chief thing dem- onstrated so far regarding the pro- duction is that it is exactly the thing that Xew York was waiting for in tiie way of a play, and that it is the pro- nounced comedv success of the sea- son. It is acknowledged that Kitty MacKay is a most delightful young person and that she is surrounded by the hai)i)iest cast that could possibly be found. Her success is beyond ques- tion. Humor and real sentiment are combined in the drama to w'hich she gives her name. She received a rous- ing reception. "I was ju.st thinkin' what a comfort the Gude Book is." This sage reflection of Ernest Stallard as Sandy McXab in Catherine Chis- holm Cushing's new Scotch comedy, Kitty MacKay, mi.ght have been ap- plied as aptly to the play itself as to Send for New Catalogue Stating Kind Desired THEATRICAL CATALOGUE of Show Print- ing. Repertoire. Sioclt. Circus, Wild West, Tent Shows, Etc. FAIR PRINTING. Fairs. Races. Aviation, Auto. Horse. Stocic Shows, Etc. MAGIC PRINTING. Hypnotism, lllusiem. Mind Reading, Etc. MINSTREL PRINTING. While or Colored, With or Without Title. Etc MOVING PICTURE PRINTING. Etc. WESTERN PLAYS, Etc. FOLDERS of Non-Roralty Plays with Printing. Show aid Thiatricil Printers Litkographers, Engravers National stock Hangers and Posters on Hand tor every Kind of Amusement ERterprise 3(VRITE ST. LOUIS OFFICE - 7TH AND ELM STS, Salt Lake City, Utah Wluii- the Cuisine aiiJ Cabaret are the Be.st ^ICfje jMecca of E. 1-. U'llJ.i:. Mgr. ihc aforesaid "(iiide Hook." It was very comforting. A touch of Peg o' .My Heart in the characterization, and a dash of The City gave the dramatic situations and made up a delightfid play. Molly Mclntyre as Kitty .Mac- Kay was charming and capable; Mar- garet X\'l)loc as ^lag Dimcan was al- mo>t e(iually .so, and Mr. Stallanl and Carl Lyle made very interesting .Scutch drunkards, Mr. .Stallard losing none of liis ability when he "joined the kirk" and became sober and re- pentant in the third act. The story was old fashioned and simple. Kitty .MjicKay, the drudge of a hard Scotch family, is removed to London on her eighteenth birthday as the ward of Lord Inglehart. The Lord's son, fall- ing in love with the girl, arranges an elo|)ement, but his father, to prevent it, admits that the girl is his child by a marriage in his youtli in Scotland. To make it all come right in the end Sandy .McXab, having reformed, ad- mits that the Lord's child who was in his care died and Kitty was substi- tuted. Tiie lines are clever and full of laughs. * * * The House of Hondage. a dramatization of Reginald Wright Kaufman's novel by Joseph Totten, will open at the Longacre The- atre on next Monday evening. The holders of seats will be entitled to membership cards in the Medical Re- view of Reviews Sociological Fund, as in the case of Damaged Goods. The piece will be .staged by Tully Marshall, who will also play a ])rominent role, h'lita Pnx'tor ()tis will be seen as Mme. Rose, and Cecil .Spooner will be seen as the heroine of the play. There will be twenty others in the cast. Many prominent stxriologists, physicians and authors liave been invited to attend the opening night. * * * While it is not known just how much of A Little Water on the Side, the comedy ])re- sented last week at the Hudson, is the work of the star, William Collier, it is safe to .say that the co-author, Grant Stewart, i)layed the part of the "Chaser" in concocting the three acts of typical Collier humor. The whole play is composed of the old Collier standbys. The audience laughed heartily at everything from beginning to end. Jame.s .\bbott is Mr. Collier, again as the city feller come home to a country town to take charge of the familv estate, which consists of noth- ing l)ut a torpid general store, indif- ferently managed by his only sister. Without funds and with a villain of a townsman who bosses the village, ; James starts out on his nerve to put J the store on a business footing and *■ make money. There is the usual coun- try crowd, speech making and a prom- ise of a love affair with the villain s daughter, Madge Fleming, played charmingly by Paula Marr. William Collier, jr., comes in, too, as a prece- dent Hoy Scout and begins his goc>d work as an accelerator of proposals. In the .second act we find James pros- perous and lonely. There are in- trigue and struggle between the vil- lain and James over a precious bit of shore-front property, but with some information gleaned from a tipsy town character and the timely aid of Bml, or Collier, jr., James hangs on and discomfits the crusty villain. At last on a yacht, all is well, and James has the satisfaction of beating the villain at his own .game, marrying Madge and saving the short-front property for the use of his dearly beloveil townsfolk. Of course there is more of tlie i)lot—cotuitry characters in love and marrying, farcical initlers. a love affair with the sister and an old friend, and William, jr., himself making up in his sophiscated manner to a young dam.sel. l>ut what need is there for more than a suggestion of a plot when we have the unctuous "Willie Collier" of old, who is always deliciou.sly fun- ny? Grant Stewart, his co-author, plays Richard Hland. One of the best characters in the play is Charles Dow Clark as "Dates" Pitman, the bibulous old veteran. His characterization is consistently g(wl throughout and ])layed with finish. John Adams is Steve lirackett, a village youth with a penchant for staggering suits, who falls a victim to the charms of Sallie (iray. a country chewing-gum belle, well jilayed by Kleanor Cioods|)eed. Jessie .\bbott is played by Jessie Glen- demn'ng. who does well with her .small l)ortion. A Little Water on the Side is good fim and will keep Mr. Collier at the Hudson for some time to come. * * * When H. \'. Desmond stepped out on the stage of the Garrick Thea- tre last Monday he was in no sense a stranger, as the wamith of the wel- come he received fully demonstrated. He is already favorably known here