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J| RAMATIC r'^rPWPBIBfF?
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THE STAGE IN GOTHAM
Artfar Cmoin's BikM
of Gowip From the
Theatricaf Hetroo
olii of America
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SCENE FROM "THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN."
to which he uri-nifd better adapted than
Mias Morton's "Brother John" and '"A
Fool of Fortune.”
Mr. Crane Is now playing his annual
engagement in this city at the Knicker
bocker theater. The play Is a comedy
In four acts, entitled "Worth a Mil
lion.” by Eugene W. Presbrey. the hus
band of Annie Russell. At the begin
ning It may be as well to state that
this comedy Is not worth a million or
anything like it. It is, In fact, a very
sloppily constructed piece, with a plot
ns diaphanous as the drapery of a skirt
dancer.
The role allotted to Mr. Crane is that
of Colonel Amory West, a retired Chi
cago millionaire, with a predilection for
globe trotting.
When the play opens, Colonel West
has Just returned from a trip around
the world. He Informs hie friends that
he hss had consigned to his care 1100.000
worth of diamonds, which are a sort of
cfns ience fund to be applied to the
support of Miss Phyllis Gregg, whose
father, it appears, had been wronged
by th-> man who had confided the Jew
el ■* to the care of Colonel West. An ex
ion Vet. John Gregg by name, is taken
Into the employ of a hank through the
influence of Colonel West, and he is,
of course, the father of Phyllis Gregg,
who is known as Phyllis Gray. A por
tion of the plot dealing- with heart af
fairs make., him the susceptible victim
of a woman who had Jilted him In hie
youth, and who In the meantime has
married three husbands, but who still
is, so the author evidently intends us to
believe, heart true to the colonel. Taka
this little thread of a story, with the
inevitable s de issues which the most r.-
experlenced playwright could Interject,
shake them well together and throw
them Indiscriminately on to the stage,
declare that It is worth a million, and
it will be "Worth a Million."
If Mr. Crane's play is worth a mil
lion, -Whaf. shall be said of "Trelawny
of (he Well;-. ' which is tin- reigning At
traction at the Lyceum theater in this
city? If Mr. Cranes play is worth a
million, "Trelawny of the Wells” ia I
easily worth enough to buy the Philip- j
pines and the- Carolines ami pay oil
th.» national debt besides. In other
wards, while both are comedies, there is
absolutely no comparison between the
tty 4 -plays - One is- an example. of how
imte-i* is necessav” to put hit-- a stellar
f *01"} MigfMuM ijrjs* |i M»# m#mm mnm
ilensatlon of the story. It Is one of those
Play* In which the greatest charm lie*
in the many little turns given to an
otherwise commonplace story. Most of
the dramatis persona- are people of the ■
stage connected with the "Bagnlgg
Wells, Royal Olympic and Pantheon j
theaters In London."
The first act deals with the farewell |
dinner tendered to Rose Trelawny. the |
leading lady of the "Wells," by the oth- |
er members of the company. Phe la
about to pay a visit to the house of
Vice Chancellor Sir William Gower, to :
whose grandson. Arthur Gower, she has (
become engaged to be married. It Is ,
really to he a sort of probationary term j
for the young actress. who Is Inclined j
to be a bit wild and unconventional in
her manner and whose urt. as is de
veloped later, is of that class in which
the ability to rani Is considered con
clusive evidence of perfection.
In the second act Miss Trelawny is -it
the mansion of the "swell people," as
she calls them, and ther- she Is a con
stant sonn-e of Irritation to the testy
old .vice chancellor and his Impossible
sister, Miss Trafalgar Gower. The girl
torn from her more familiar and more
congenial surroundings and transplant
ed Into an exotic atmosphere. Is miser
ably unhappy, and when some of her
former eompanlons call to Inform her
of the marriage of two of their num
ber she Instructs the butler to admit
them, despite the fact that the rest of
the fam !y have retlr -d. The p aye! folk
do notseemto be at all awed by their un
usual surroundings, and the male mem
bers proceed to take off their coats, r ut
their feet on theohairs and tables, smoke
pipes and otherwise to make them
selves thoroughly at home. A quarr -i
ensues between two of them, the family
is alarmed, and the aristocratic vice :
chancellor almost goes into an apoplec
tic fit when he discovers the actors in
his silting room. It all ends with -Ulss
Trelawny declaring that she will go
back to her old Ufa, which she done.
In the third act it develops that |
things have not gone well with Miss
Trelawny. In fact, she is. very poor.
Alter her return from the vice eiian
ce;lor"9 It was discovered at the ' Wells”
theater that she was no longer able to
act with the dash and hurrah which
had made her such a favorite with the
. management and clientele in the old
day- .' Sic- bad acquired a .repose, re-
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U \l woodruff
Mrs. Teller Mrs. Charles Wsieoi
Imogen Parrott .Hilda fipong
MONTH BATRICAL FOLK.
Vies Chancellor Sir William Gower.
lit Charles Waleot
Arthur (lower Henry Woodruff
Miss Trafalgar Gower Ethel Hornlck
Without any desire to appear In
vidious where the acting of nearly ev
ery member of the cast left nothing to
be desired It would be unjust to Ignore
the magnificent work done by Eliza
beth Tyree (who, by the way. used to
be called Bessie) as Avonla Bunn. Her
role I* that of a soubrettish sort of a
creature, and It Is as true to life as
anything that has been seen In Mow
York for years. Miss Hilda Spong, the
much heralded beauty, Is probably very
handsome, but no one can discover
whether she Is or not. owing to the pe
culiar costume and hcaddresslng in
vogue at the time of the play ill the
early sixties. Edward Morgan Is, as al
ways, dignified and gives an excellent
performance of Tom Wrench, the gen
eral utility man, but it seems almost a
shame that an actor of such transcend
ent ability should be wasted In such a
comparatively worthless role.
If Mr. F. F. Proctor and his general
manager, Mr. J. Austin Fynes, keep on
as they have started there Is no telling
what possibilities the continuous per
formance houses may b< demonstrated
to contain. Mr. Proctor, as Is well
known, owns the Twenty-third street
theater and the Pleasure Palace in this
city, and the Leland Opera House in Al
bany. It is rumored that he is to have
houses in Philadelphia, Washington,
Providence and Boston, though of that
I know nothing. At any rate. It is a
fact that he is a very large, important
and straightforward theatrical opera
tor, and he and Mr. Fynes have long
been on the lookout for anythin* which
would tend to lift vaudeville from the
rut into which it had fallen. Finally Mr.
Fynes hit upon the plan of reproducing
tie charge of our troops up San Juan
hill back of Santiago. Mr. Proctor fell
In with the Idea at once, and the pro
duction has been made with a great
deal of success. The old- palm garden at
the Pleasure Palace has been removed
and all of the space formerly devoted to
that has been given up to the hill, so"
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Whr« n«» trail 14 ?#MfM Ml »Kc, Jam##
rarrta Hamiltm* »mi of a mtatour at
OraM Uam4# i* «t hh Hr an
arrMN'fit H* «m( to «M# MkHlftß
fy M«*ol For til# Hliiul «fi4 ftiduaH
aiih M*>«*r*. *a»ly p**^»«nt
on (lie piano. Then he went to Europe,
paying his expenses by tuning pianos.
In which hi- was wonderfully proficient.
He learned the languages of Germany
and France. After going through Al
bion college he entered the University
of Michigan and graduated well up In
hi-- class
In |w In mirrlc! a bright intelli
gent. young woman, and the h-tppy
couple left soon for atudv in Italy and
Ore-••• Hi* reception there was re
nt n i tble specially In Gr« ee e
the blind are expected to In g f‘-r a liv
ing Nothing more than this was Im
agined of Mr. Hamilton, but. on the
contrary, he van a worker and needed
no donations. He soon became the sub
ject of extensive articles in the vari
ous Grecian pup rs. mid large crowds
flocked around him wherever he went,
so that soon the attention or the no- j
blllly was attracted.
Mr. Hamilton is not only a scholar, h
lecturer and a piano tuner combined,
but a musician of exceptional m>-rit,
having medals and testimonials from
leading conservatories of America and
the old world. His execution on the
piano is marvelously sweet and pathetic
in Its shading and expression.
if has th" usual wonderful power of
memory which often. If not always,
characterizes the blind, and he is able
to give the entire lecture of any man
from notes taken during the delivery,
provided the lecture Is not over an hour
In length. When writing, he use* the
Brail system of perforating the paper,
so that It Is read on the reverse side,
and he writes from TO to SO words a
minute.
A surprising feature of his life is the
fact that, he holds seven medals for
wrestling catch as catch can and has
never been beaten unless he wandered
out of his class. He won the champion
ship medal, and honors at the Intercol
legiate meet when It was held at Ypsi
lanti. Mim Hamilton is ambitious, ac
tive and never content at being Idle. He
has prepared a lecture, "What a Blind
Man Saw In Europe." It is unique. In
teresting find bright, and has been de
livered many times. When the new
school for the blind is completed in
Greece. Mr. Hamilton is to have the
same In Charge, at tho request of her
Jnitj'-siy t.h'- queen of Greece.
REVIVAL Of
ROLLER POLO
Mr. Jacob C flor*c. Presl-
Jem of (be National Asso
ciation. Writes of lb:
Game anJ PreJlcb
Great Popularly
For IL
im |
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i if?*
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%m» prop*#. wlo wrro wildly onlMuai
i **u. osTf (M fl«r fMitnto «f th# gam*
| »>|(d Mr Jacob C Mw. IM# prw*
| nffiit of ill# Xuimnal l*ol» Maatwr an*f
i on# of tMo fin- at raporla IffAfdMf IM#
* gamo in lh# country, a ftw day# a#c
! for a rhofi ifcotiot of tMr ht*i«ri n»»d
i ‘t« «« *«*• ■!*•« lh -* •••*•• Tfc *
follow me t» W* r*piy
uo kthcrincton.
I The prr.!«wk>Wll gam* »« !
I rntkr pole l« wiw I* }«•*<* 014 Anton*
dun that tint lock tl up arc N**a-
I ppd, j,, J,, ti.l U a*U. -Mas* The
game v.tf heat plaved with wi n***n
<>n each skip. hut this number »a* afl- ,
erwai I reduced to Civ, the present
num* i When the *aine *« Bret play
ed the ccdtte*! w«a far the beet thr>-e
real* <*ut r>r be*, but It «u found that
| ruth a plan made the *ame» of too
1 .hurt dilution, and a time limit naa
| made as two halvee of IS minute* each.
1 and this *g.la %en* aubaenuently chanii
| ,d *•* that three period# of U mlnut.-a ,
. *ch were played
The reme «ul klv took root when first
| introduced and lea*ue» were numrr- ,
I ou* ea*t or. 1 weal, but in a few year*
I the »i>or! campletelv died out In all ret
tl,,na ryerpt New En»tand Hf« the
Inter.*! \va» krpt alive New ftedford.
Brockton Salem and Ibiaton * ere old ,
' atandbya of the name. The Int 'real In
I'oat on began to wane when o rh»n*a j
i war made In the location of the rink
Thia was flrat ottunt.d In the Back Hay I
1 illatrlet. an admirable apot Society |
people flocked to are the eonteat* The j
! lant attempt to revive Intereat In th<
K ime In Itoaton was made two aeaaon* i
ago.
The aport war loot to Hrm-kton on nr
eouut of the deatruction of the rink by |
| lire In New Bedford aupport Of the '
| game *la< kened an'l laat aeaaon the
I manager. Ft«d Doe had to give up the
1 battle. The well known bualneaa man
ager of the Cincinnati Baaebal! elub
Frank Bancroft van for many year*
manager of the New Beiford team Sa
lem war very much In the game until
a.iiW n.( in . I.«W w. t 4
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| mtiit M# f#«*xl in tli# meft H*
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T«*tn work li *MV t#ll# TM# P«#P
in a chit, mud (day with and for each
..tber to obtain the beat result*. In
■llklAual tsl 11 m< is ill hf fitit isl W«#t
n«M»* It M Ihst paxlng |»im «Mt
Win# Nothing I# tnor# iMiytifMl (hilt
I*l M# * t , n .,. K, ; Ar«t Cti*P IMHII
It will bo replete with Hue juggling,
aknlfui paaaing amJ grruratr driving
I. I* not *a>log too much that no
aport bring* forth the rgctlement and
' the enthuatnam a* do.* lb* gam* of
roller polo
I wit for many year* secretary or
lb* N.*w England and NaHoiial it J*u.t
and tu tbl* year chaser, pr.sldent of
the National league I think th* fu
ture of lh* gam* |* egreedtngly bright.
I fee! poeltlve lhat New Tork will b*
in the national etreutt In another aea
aon ttnd ahnttl.l not be surprised If
Brooklyn and Jersey City atao mad*
nppllchiions for admlaaion. In that
! case there I* little doubt the gam*
' would ones more spread Into the west.
Boston. _________
t uraell to Bolld Shell*.
An Innovation In the college navy *ya*
j tem i» to be tried at Cornell during th*
i nilng aeaaon Thl* ronaiat* *>f the ad
dition of u boatbuilding establishment,
Th> ptevprrlive auceeaa of this scheme
i* expect' d to be so emphatic that It
le already being predicted bv the Cor
n. Ilian* that In the future all the Cor
nell shell* will be built at Itha. a The
veteran rowing coach of the institution,
Courtney. I* to have eliarge of the work.
«* he I* an expert builder of shells The
outcome of the plan Will be wst. hed
with Interest, particularly by rowing
college*, for if It Is found that a shell
can lie so adapted to ihe rowing system
in vogue at Cornell a* to Increase the
epeeil of the crews we can expect all
the college* to add a boatbuilding de
partment to their navy.
JACOB G MOPSE.
CHRISTMAS
ArtONG THE
PLAYER FOLK.
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.lay* la regard, d hr th* p--*ptr of Hi*
•> age with a calm equanimity, oml
Hi her prraeed In enjoy It a* nearly HIM
otter folk* as their p., altar and dr.
ismcilM Mmiwunrat will peruMU
Th*r* t* in almost every r»«4" o>m|»*
ay a rhrtatuuia tree the right before
the hol.day Thia Is prepared tu ad*
i v , n , ,„( nmrse. and after th* v< nlttg
p rformance it is pushed out to the * **n•
icr of th* stage, and the fun ImflMl
Th*re are present* foe every one, ln
i eluding the stage hands, fur "flw* pew*
pm are aa it ii«-r<>u* a* they are im«
I*evident, and Hint member of the
; puny who repair* to th« hotgl at the
, .mcluslon of the festlvltteo with lesu
1 ih.n half a d'.gen gifts most be a very
unpur itsr individual with his fellows.
Kttntai ha* tteen known to no u' gg
i ih.-ne Thespian juittflcatlung, and tlpltu
I is usually a good deal more of Ibrln'g
iban of the egg In the beverage " fclch
: in aei ved under the old fatnlllnr tltK
i Th* landlord of th* hotel or I
j houae at which th* •'troupe' happen* to
! oe stopping always "lays himself out**
to provide a fine Chrlatmas dinner for
! the actors, t ’miai Iy. too. he succeeds,
for actor* are *o used to poor fare on
the mad that any sort of break Iron*
the dull routine la welcomed gleefully.
It la not uiiuaun! for the bonlface to let
It be known to the towgapwopta that tha
players will have their Chrlstmaa din
ner nt a certain hour, no that those of
the young men of the place who usplre
to bring considered blase and well post*
ed u* to the affulr* of the stage may
have mi opportunity-to Invest their
half dollurs, or dollar*, as the c.J*e may
be, in a repast with real actors.
After dinner, which on the road lg
usually partaken of about midday,
-there la a great hustle for Ihe theater
*o that the player* may have time to
dress for the matinee pmformance.
After that the hotel furnlsl.vs a good
supper. It is usually made up of what
Is left from the midday meal, but It la
such an Immense Improvement upon
what la generally served that the actor*'
pleasure Is manifested by "Jollying - '
the landlord Into the belief that he ia
about the best fellow in the whole wld*
world.
Sometime* there are proaentg from
home for the players, hut It is seldom
that the express companies are ainbar
raased by the volume of bualnesa In
lhut line. Some theatrical organiza
tion* with liberal managements fare
extremely well ut Christmas time If
they should not liapncn to be "laying
off" for the week, as is too frequently
the case, but of all "road" companies
■ those who find Christmas most pleas
ant are ihe repertory people. They re.-
muiti in the very small towns not leas
i thnn a week at a time, and as they go
back year after year they make ac
quaintances in the different places vis
ited, and an invitation to dinner on
Christmas from a resident la not at all
uncommon. It may be added that It Is
almost always accepted.
To the credit of the actor folk be It
said that any child member of a com
pany I* always well provided for at >
Christmas time. All W the performers
make it a point to give some present to
th* little one, thereby demonstrating
what is so generally known to those
who arc closely alllllated with the the
atr r. that, whatever actor* are not. They
arc g«*nerotif» in the extreme.
Yankee Ice Artist* Going Abroad.
There are strong' probabilities that an
amateur International contest in figure
skating will take place in Europe This
Winter with American cracks among
the competitors. Germany. Austria.
Norway and England are agitating Win
Idea. A number or American cracks w.II
attend and participate. Not since I*. '.
when Joseph Donaghue represented .tv
old Manhattan Athletic club as an ama
teur with a spotless reputation, ia'
the amateurs of Europe had the pleas
ure of witnessing the gyrations of i an
it«e iw artisu, and Dozmghutf competed
: only in tha apeed events. Back ia the
seventies and eighties American cham
pions had no dlffloxlty in "eating the
tost of Europeans, and it IS predicted
that thoee of the present day will b*
able t<> make as good a record.