San Francisco dramatic review (1899)

lO TITE SAN FRANCISCO DRAMATIC REVIEW A])ril 26. IQ13 Columbia Theatre In IJ. H. I'lazcc's proiliniicn ( 1 Fine Feathers, which is coiDin,!^ for six nis^htv aiwl two itiatinoi'- in- ning SundiyV local playgoc'-. w:!! I)e i^ivcn a siijht of the rarest thnii; on the stage—a tjrcat play perfectly pre- sented. Xot only lias Lvi^cne \VaI ttr wriuen his best Mran a iP J-'inc l'"eailiers, bnt it is acted bv an all star cast, and with >t:iq^e settin;,'s and ac- cessories in keeping with the ,nality of thi play and the plav^rs. l/ine Featht rs comts here i'.ircct from its rrni.-n kable run at the Astor Tixatre. Xtw York, wliich followed its great snrccss in C'liicago. an 1 .he ni i-;t won- iVrful fealin"c of tliL- ])ri)diunion is the fact tliat the all scar cast has not been changed since ^h'.' openuig i::ght. With Robert Kdeson ni tiie '"le or the young engineer, w ith Wilton I.ackaye as the man of big lousiness, with Max Figman an|)earing as the young new spaper reoo' ter. with Rose Coghlan i)laying the par', of tl:e go.;- sipy neighl)or, with Lolita Robertson ai)])earing as the wife an 1 .\n)e!ia Su- niers as the maid, h'inc heathers of- fers the finest dramatic cast on the American stage. Tlie local engage- ment of the play is witliout a doubt the most important dramatic iiappen- ing in several years. Cort Theatre Oliver ^Morosco's fairyland fantasy, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, was dis- closed to a San I""rancisco audience for the first time last Monday night. The Tik-Tok Man of ()z is wonder- fully produced. Elab(jrateness in its ultimate expression is the keynote of the performance. Expense has ob- viously not been spared in any detail of the presentation. Scenery, costumes and eflfects are quite the most lavish that this city has known. The cast is excellent. ^lorton and Moore who play the Tik-Tok 'Man and the Shag- gy Man, respectively. Eugene Cowles is Ruggedo, Dolly Castles is a dainty Polychrome, the Rainbow's daughter. Two new stars were added to the cast Wednesday night, and are emphatic hits. They are Edith Decker and Chas. I'urcell, the latter being the clever portrayer of the name part in The Chocolate Soldier, who ai)peared at the Cort on the occasion of the last two visits of that comic ojjera. The second week of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz starts this Sunday night. Alcazar Theatre The Woman, one of David Belas- co's latest .successes, is to be given its first presentation in a stock theatre next Monday evening and throughout the week, w ith Charles Waldron lead- ing a carefully-chosen cast. Written by William C. de Mille, The Woman fairly reeks of Belasco's incomparable stagecraft. All the action is laid in a Washington hotel, and much of it hinges on the refusal of the girl who presides at the telephone switchboard to expose a secret which means the making or breaking of a political leader and the preservation or ruin of a woman's good name. A gang of congressional ringsters, headed by one "Jim" Blake of Illinois, have been or- dered by "The System" to • put through a railr-):id bill which practi- cally legalized .-tuck jobbing. This pro])osed measure is lilocked by Mat- thew Standish, the insurgent leader, whose character is without blemish, and Ulake's only hope of defeating him i- to find .something di.screditable in his life. ,\t this critical juncture the "gang" discover that fiv.e vears previously their opi)onent had an in- discretion with a woman, l)ut in order to make good their charge they must estai)lish her identity. In the execu- tion of her duty the telephone opera- tor, Wanda Kelly, accidentally learn.s that the woman is the.wife of one of the machine politicians and the daugh- ter of another. When the gang hears of the girl's secret they determine to wrest it from her, imt she shrewdly and sturdilv resists their "third de- gree" methods and is only saved from nialicious arrest and prosecution when one of the des])erate men guesses the truth and realizes wdiat its exjiosure would mean to the woman's husband and father as well as to their enemy. Thus the girl's courageous stand results in saving several peoi)le from undeserved misery and also in killing the dishonest railroad bill. She becomes the wife of the brother of the woman she defended. Mr. Waldron will be seen as Congressman Mark Robertson of Xew York, Louis Hen- ni.son as Congressman "Jim" Blake, Edmond Lowe as his son, Kernan Cri])i)s, (specially engaged) as Con- gressman Matthew Standish, Burt Wesner as .\ttorney X'^an Dyke. Roy Clements as Congressman Silas Gregg of Kansas. Thomas Chatter-- ton as Congressman "Tim" Xeligan of Pennsylvania. Rhea Mitchell as the tele])hone girl and Clara I'.eyers as the woman in the case. Savoy Theatre Daniel I-roliman, who first pre- sented James K. llacxett in The Pris- oner of Zenda. will oiTer the same styr in the same play in motion pictures for a limited engagement beginning at the matinee next Monday. This won- derful motion picture production has created a ])rofound impression nil over the east and will be shown for the first time in this city at the Savoy. In the meantime Atop of the Worl 1 in Motion, that wonderful iiict'irial story of life in the frozen north, is de- lighting large audiences at the Savoy where it will be shown every af'.er- noon and evening up to ard includ- ing .Sunday. The Orpheum The announcement for next week will repay careful j)eru.sal, for it con- tains an exceptionally fine list of at- tractions. An entire vaudeville per- formance condensed into one act is ])robabIy the most succinct description of the mono-drama-vaude-logue which Henry li. Dixey will present. Colonel J. .\. Pattee and his company of Old Soldier Fiddlers, who play .solely by ear, will be another interesting feature. They consist of three I'nion and two Confederate s(jldiers, and they play the old-time war tunes and indulge in the pastimes of the camp. From the sands of the desert come Bobker's \\'hirlwind Arabs, who will exhibit their skill in pyramid building and whirlw ind tumbling. Harr\' B. Lester will introduce in his monologue his impressions of numerous theatrical stars. The Edison Talking Moving Pictures will be Votes for Women, a suffragette subject and The Anniver- sary of Jerry and Mandy. Next week will be the last of the Maskeleyne- Devant illusion, The Window of Ap- ))aritions. It will also conclude the engagements of i-"ranker Wood and ilunee Wvde, the Ishikawa llrnthers and Ik lie Baker, The Empress .My Lady's Fans, an art posing in- vention which serves to depict famous fan ])aintings^from the brush of Ju- lian Dove, a Parisian artist, who has made a specialty of fan decorative work for society folk, will be the heail- line attraction on next Sunday af- ternoon. The La \'ine-Cimeron Trio will offer a travesty on physical culture entitled Imaginatitm. ^larie Russell, who styles herself The Belle of Kentucky, is the best impersona- tr)r of the dark brown variety of ne- gro in vaudeville. \'alentine \ ox Jr.. vaudeville's artistic ventriloquist, will comede himself into ])opular favor with the aid of his wooden dummy. .\ nervy and at the same time fujiny athletic act called Fun on the Revolv,^' ing Ladder, is another attraction that will elicit praise. The Pla Trio of operatic j>ingers ])romi.se a musical treat with a .selected repertoire of classic and popular numbers. Cam])!)ell and Reno in a comedy-dramatic sketch entitled A Rural Schoc)lmaster. and Twilight Pictures are other additions. The Pantages .\ gorgecuis electric sixctacle. en- titled X'isions in I''airyland, will head the new bill. This act is in fourteen .scenes. La Gracie.sa is a beautiful young actress who was the rage of the artistic world of Paris, will be .seen in a spectacle. Fred Ardath's dainty maids w ill be seen in the merry rural musical farce entitled Hiram. .\rdath takes the principal rube char- acter, with Muriel Arlington as the I)rincipal support. Diamond & Beatrice will present their favorite nuisical se- lections on the Irish harp, harpsichord and clarinet. Miss P.eatrice is a saxophonist of note and the duo have one of the most musical acts that has ever played the Pantages time. Crimm & Elliott, a team of black-face come- dians with excellent voices, will offer their dialect playet, the Boys From .Missouri. Donita, a dainty little char- acter impersonater, will make a wel- come rea])pearance in a brand-new rei)ertoire of the latest popular songs. Jack Crippen w ill assist Donita at the ])iano. Leddy & Pony, a duo of pretty young girls, will make their first vau- deville appearance. Kizal & Atima are a team of sensational acrobats who have a combination ^of flexible and gynmastic stunts, wdiich call for con- siderable *ability and grace. Frazee's New Theatre When H. H. frazee's new Long- acre theatre is formally opened on .Monday evening .April 28, it will be found to represent the most complete structure in modern theatre construc- tion that it has been possible for the architect and contractor to erect. Lo- cated on Forty-eighth street, just west of Broadway, the Longacre theatre is in the heart of the new theatre dis- trict. The late Georgian .style of the eighteenth century English architect- ure has been followetl. The facade is of gray limestone and terra cotta. very simple and dignified in treatment and resembling more closely the famous Whitehall palace. The lobby is treat- ed in gray-green tones, with a sus- picion of gold and seqientine marble. The main auditorium, containing an orchestra floor, one balcony and a : r-i—^ 1 LT "Pf/V The Trunk Man • LtCd V I HAS MOVED Now locatoil at 707 Mission Street ^^^^^^^^^ ^ HESS HIGH GRADE MAKE-liP mBifflnxP ""^ But How Good" SKlBSlfi '^"^^ ^'^ leddltij Druggists ^^^^^^ Costumers, Hair Stores and " Department Stores family circle, with four boxes on each side of the ])roscenium, jjresents the most recent innovation in intimate or wide auditoriums. This is espe^cially noticeable in the balcony and famjly circle, both of which are unusually low and afford direct sight lines to the stage from any seat. The jiredominat- ing colors are Roman gold, topaz W;ith rich wistaria and g<jld draperies. The carpets throughout the theatre are in topaz tones. The seats are of Circas- sian walnut, covered with a wistaria l)lush. The ceiling, which is in light relief, is a warm tone. The electric light fixtures are in the-Georgian per- iod, and the lighting treatment is dif- ferent from that employed in nijost theatres, the house being illuminated by means of two large crystal chan- deliers which are hung from the ceil- ing on either side of the hou.se, diffus- ing a mellow light throughout the auditorium. The .wall brackets are cu- rious and interesting in treatment, be- ing designed along the lines of the old English candle brackets of ormolu and crystal. The decorations, however, are extremely simple. The proscen- ium arch is simply a wide frame of old gold and breccia violet marble, perfectly square, and the box treat- ment is simply a subordinate replica of the treatment in the proscenium opening. Between the proscenium opening and the ceiling is a frieze in bas-relief, which leads the eye from the vertical walls to the horizontai treatment of the ceiling. The stage it- self is one of the most commodious in the world, with a depth of thirty-six feet and a w idth of nearly .seventy feet enhanced by every modern appliance applicable to the theatre. It is partic- ularly noted in the plans that the stair- cases "to the balcony and family circle, while they communicate with the main auditorium, also have direct exits to the street, so that in case of necessity the audience from these parts of the theatre can exit to the street without coming in contact with the audience from the main floor. Above the thea- tre and connected bv elevator service are the general oft'ices of H. H. Fra- zec, who will directly supervise the new playhouse. F'or the initial at- traction xMr. Frazee now has in prepa- ration the production of a new farce, Are You A Crook, by William J. liurlbut and Frances Whitehouse. It is in three acts, the locales of Uhich are laid in Long Island and New York city. F'or the limited season this spring an unusually notable cast of proHii- nent players has been engaged, among whom ^Marguerite Clark, Joseph Kil- gour, Cieorge F'awcctt, Scott Cooper, Robert Ober, Ivy Troutman, Fore.'^t Winant, Marion Ballon and Elizabeth Nelson are to create the principal roles. Rehearsals are now in progress under the direction of Robert ^lilton.