San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

8 December i6th, 1899 IJil Correspondence and Comments 01 NEW YORK Special Correspondence New York, Dec. 10. — Frank Daniels and a capable company came to Wallack's Theater last week in The Ameer, a comic opera, the music of which was composed by Victor Herbert, and the story and lyrics written by Kirk LaShelleandFredM. Rankin. There is nothing new in the subject matter and no novelty in its treatment. It is the same old story of the impecunious potentate who endeavors to enrich himself by a wealthy marriage. Frank Daniels is of course the bankrupt ruler and, being a very short man physically, he finds the necessary foil for much of his humor in W. T. Rochester, the tall chamberlain. Miss Helen Redmond is the American heiress whom the Ameer of Afghanistan would marry to raise enough money to pay the tribute requiied by the British for his military control. George Devall was the tenor who, as the British chaplain, won the prima donna. Norma Kopp was the contralto soubrette. With this conventional vehicle for thought and action, The Ameer on its opening night contained many new jokes. The orchestration and singing were up to the average of comic opera productions. Mr. Daniels refused to make a speech, when called for, ou the ground that as he was a member of Comic Opera Comedians I'nion No. 2 he could not do any oratorical work on Union No. i's ground, which belonged to De Wolf Hopper. * * * Hoddy Dotty is the name of a series of specialties which were bunched together last week by a hastily gathered company in the Comique Theater, formerly Sam T. Jack's, and before that Herrmann's Theater. William Jerome wrote most of the words, and Frank David composed what music was not appropriated from popular selections. Among the others in the cast are Carrie Scott and Maud Nugent. Miss Nugent gave a clever imitation of a Scotchman trying to sing a negro ballad. When the performance is trimmed down, the first efforts of the stock burlesque company may prove to be a success. *** Word comes from Philadelphia where H. V. Esmond's whimsical romance, My Lady's Lord, was prodnced at the Broad Street Theater last week that it will need considerable patching up before it is presentable for this city. Miss Jessie Milward is the shrew of the play, and Faversham is her English husband. Other parts were taken with more or less success by Sydney Herbert, Sara Perry, Blanche Benton, Joseph Wheelock, Jr., J. F. Cook, George Osbourne, Jr., J. H. Behrims, and E. G. Backus. « * * Ben-Hur is playing to crowded houses at the Broadway, especially since the preachers have begun attacking it on the ground that religious matters should not be introduced on the stage. The Singing Girl, with Alice Nielsen as the principal attraction, has been enlivened by some new matter injected into the first act. Julia Marlowe will not take Barbara Frietchie to the Pacific Coast. Thomas Q. Seabrooke and a good company were playing at the Amphion, Borough of Brooklyn, last week in a new farce, Who Killed Cock Robin. Comedian Seabrooke can play this season without fear of being thrown into jail every night after the performance for unpaid alimony. After having been purged by the Federal Court from al! debts Mr. Seabrooke can play with a clean ledger. The latest comedian to get into an argument with his wife is Frank Bush. Justice Traux of the Supreme Court (which corresponds with our California Superior Courts) has just ordered Mr. Bush to pay his wife $20 a week alimony. Bush in resisting the application for alimony took the ground that as his wife, who is now eighteen years old, was a bar maid before she married him, she could easily return to her old vocation. * James O'Neill was at the Grand Opera House last week in Sydney Grundy's version of The Musketeers. The Charity Ball was revived at the Murray Hill last week. Last week was the final week in this city of Make Way For The Ladies at Madison Square theater, and Richard Mansfield's Cyrano de Bergerac at the Garden. As no steam pipes broke last week Mr. Mansfield was able to finish his play each time. * * * Dorothy Morton, prima donna of A Greek Slave is leaving no stone unturned to keep her name before the public. Her latest exploit was a refusal, at the last minute, to appear at a Wednesday matinee on the ground that two matinees a week, in addition to six evening performances, are too wearing on the voice. The rebellious prima donna has the good wishes of evensinger in the profession. You can see the quick finish of any principal singer who is willing to sing a trying role two matinees a week. The usual Saturday matinee is hard enough on a singer, but as she has, in the Hast Sundays in which to recuperate, she generally manages to worry along. There are some managers in this city who would not hesitate to ask singers to appear at two shows a day if the manager thought he could get enough first class singers to do so, but happily for the poor chorus singers as well as the lesser principals there are singers like Miss Morton, Alice Nielsen, Marie Tempest, and Lillian Russell who strenously object to the Wednesday matinee. * * Few in the profession believe the pretext set forth by Julia Marlowe in her testimony in the divorce case which she brought last week against Robert Taber. The pretext was that Mr. Taber was "jealous" because she received more favorable criticisms than he did. Mr. Taber always had the respect of the profession who knew him personally, and that respect has been increased by his conduct in permittingjulia Marlowe to bring the suit for divorce upon the ground of cruelty No one believes that any one could be cruel to Miss Marlowe, not even her husband. It is also evident that the jealousy was not entirely due to newspaper criticism. Cakewalking must still be popular, for it continues to draw great applause in The Ameer, Sister Mary, Papa's Wife, Round New York in Eighty Minutes, The Rogers Brothers in Wall Street, and in whirl-i gig. Rob Roy. CHICAGO Special Correspondence Chicago, Dec. 4. — The Dearborn Stock Company present Brander Mathews' A Gold Mine this week with Edwin Arden as leading man. R. D. Blakemore, a light rather than a high-class comedian, who made a hit in Charley's Aunt, is a member of the company; also Madge Carr Cook who plays character parts and grande dames — but who had had no especial play to star her. About all there is in the play is monopolized by the part of the Californian, Wolcott. The principal feature in the production is the man who is always American with his criticism of everything British — which criticism, by the way, is always good-natured. Ernest Hastings has left the Dearborn Company to join the Alcazar Stock Company of San Francisco. This evening, Mr. Goodwin and Miss Maxine Elliott began the last week of their engagement at Powers' Theater with A Gilded Fool for the first three nights, and An American Citizen and The Cowboy and the Lady each succeeding night respectively. A special matinee on Thursday afternoon to which all the leading professional artists were invited is one of the features of their engagements. At the Lyric Theater the Jeffries-Sharkey fight is represented, and the biograph pictures are probably the finest that have ever been produced. On Sunday evening, Dec. 3, the German Dramatic Company gave the first production in America of VV'alther and Stein's comedydrama, Die Herren Soehne (Our Sons) at Powers' Theater. The limit of Mrs. Leslie Carter's engagement in Zaza at the Powers' Theater is twelve nights and two matinees, beginning Dec. 11. The success of Mrs. Carter in David Belasco's version of Barton and Simon's Zaza is well known. It has been said that we have a new Camille and another Hernhardt. In April the entire organization will go to the Garrick Theater in London. Anthony Hope's novel, Phroso, which has been so cleverly dramatized, is presented this week at the Columbia Theater by Charles Prohman, with Odette Tyler in the title role. Miss Tyler has made some successes in vShakespearean roles. She also played in Secret Service. The engagement is for one week. For one week the boards at MrYicker's Theater are held by William H. West's Minstrel Company. Among the newcomers are the three Marvelles who join the company here. The Marvelles are grotesque dancers. On Sunday, Dec. 10, The Carpet Bagger, written by Opie Read and Frank Pixley, both of Chicago, will be presented at the same theater for one night. On Dec. II will follow the dramatic version of that remarkable story, "Quo Yadis." Mr. Smooth to be given this week at the Grand by Mr. Collier is a farce written by himself. It is very well accepted. Sol. Smith Russell is due Dec. 18 at the Grand, in a revival of his celebrated play, A Poor Relation. At the Great Northern this week there is a new farce-comedy entitled, A Wise Guy, with Emily Lytton and Edmund Hayes in the leading parts. The farce was originally a sketch, and has been elaborated into three acts by George M. Cohan of the four Cohans. Among the vaudeville favorites at the Chicago Opera House this week, Helen Mora is billed at the head. She is a wonderful baritone, and her repertory includes the newest descriptive ballads. The Haymarket Theater has for a star attraction this week, Patrice, a dainty comedienne, in Edna's Ghost. At the Studebaker the Castle Square Opera Company are giving the comic opera, Tarantella, by Jacobowski. The repertoire week begins Dec. 11, and includes Iolanthe, Chimes of Normandy, Marth, and Beggar Student. The chorus work is very good. Maud Lillian Berri, Maud Lambert, Reginald Roberts and William G. Stewart are favorites. The company will go to the American Theater, New York, after the repertoire week. The New York section of the company will come to the Studebaker for a season of grand opera, opening with Aida on Christmas night. Frederick Boyd Stevenson. DENVER Special Correspondence. Denver, Col., Dec. 7.— Things in the amusement line are a little quiet this week. On Sunday night a concert was given at the Broadway Theater, the attraction being Mrs. Frederick Smutzer, a young society woman of this city who has just returned from Europe where she has been having her voice cultivated. She was well received by a small audience, and was ably assisted by Prof. Cavallo's orchestra. On Monday night at the same theater, Frederick Hill's School of Acting produced Augustin Daly's comedy, A Night Off, an adaptation from Der Raub der Sabiuerinnen. The house was only fair, but the play went very well, the honors being carried off by Mr. Hill as Brutus Snap, and Miss Leon Herrold as Nisbo. Eddie Smith, a professional comic opera comedian, who was engaged to play Professor Babbitt, forgot himself in the third act and introduced several funny falls which were out of place in a piece of this kind, and almost ruined Mr. Hill's best scene Mrs. E. L. Scholtz, the wife of a prominent druggist of this city, made her first appearance and wore some beautiful gowns. The only real drawback on an otherwise good performance was Lew Kelly, a brother of our clever comedian Joe Kelly, who starred with Mason in Who's Who. In justice to Mr. Hill be it said that this young man is not a regular member of his school, but his services were enlisted for this occasion only. Miss Irene Lorton gave a capital performance of Susan, and gives every evidence of marked ability. Others in the cast who deserve mention were the Misses Hayford and Polly and