The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 2, 1898, Page 27

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 1898 100000000 ‘ 00 C0000! r Frawleyis to have a new | At first blush ‘this does not | g00d news.: T should have | anager: -The theatri- spects for the mew year are not ling that we! can lose Frank thing and Blanche Bates without us regret. The ‘Frawle bit down on its popularit: it strikes me that the eas arivu company 1 know, érand less alternative would be to get anager of' sound nse and me artistic accomplishm. and to gthen the present company by the screet i sion of new blood. A new company will mean a new bat- > i$ nothing in that suggests 0000000 an age a selector of fatal. What ow associated with have been earned f those actors could contrive to eral mismanagement that had been previous r. other managers. Mr. plays he Honor name is nearly pu the so long as he can laries to players of At one time, not so had perhaps the happiest tors of any stock com- United States. But his of having them de- foolhardy ex- the scorn made vagance of what should have been shrewa, legitimate expenditure. The | ity “of . Mr. wley never has {hat he $tages his own produc 7 to save the y nt. = In the ause he just loves to. I think the foot- lights ne nor the stage its illusion for Mr. Fraw- I think Mr. Frawley is incurably iey. stage-struck. . b 1f T seem to be going out of my way to discus: day, when we all more or less are fa- miliaf with every side of the Frawley question, it is that the year 1898 prom- S to be one of peculiar significance in. the theatrical fortunes of San Fran- Gisco, and that with t fortune er mor ti F -understand it, the policy of the I monopoly is to devote the Co- to the lighter entertainment. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQOOOO DOO000O0000000000000000000, 00, BY ASHTON STEVENS. OO the California to music, and the Bald- | win to the drama. The Frawley Com- | pany will occupy the Baldwin for a | considerable part of the season. This means that while the Fr wleys are with us ail touring attractions of the higher class will be shut out. We will have to take our drama of the Fraw- leys or. go without it. We must look to the Frawley Company for the new plays—for, particularly, the new Eng- lish plays, such as were sent in other days by the Frohmans. And since it is my pleasure, as well as business, to go to the play, I should like to think of the coming stock sea- OCO0000000N0'00 0000000 0! 300000000 son at the Baldwin as successful, be- cause of clean, discriminate perform- ances rather than because it offers cheap prices and the only place in town where one may look to find the serious drama. A Western manager needs no es- pecial gift to enable him to journey to New York and purchase the rights to new plays which have already won distinction; but at this end of the line is required some one especially quali- fled to coach and cast these produc- tions. Is Mr. Frawley the man for the work? a 1 do not wish to go on record as the blighter of the coming crop of Fraw- leys, nor to seem unfriendly to the lo- cal monopoly, for whom I hope to chronicle many a comely enterprise; but the responsibilities of Messrs. Friediander, Gottiob & Marx for the vear 1898 are heavy—and the heaviest of them all is Mr. Frawley. B e 0,000000000000000000000) WHAT THE COMING SEASON OF THE FRAWLEY COMPANY REALLY MEANS TO SAN FRANCISCO. 0000 000000000000 lins” in its present shape appears to be | another mistake by Augustus Thomas, the cleverest of American dramatists. There is no telling what the commer- cial fortunes of the play may be in the hands of Stuart Robson and his ac- complished company, but I should shrink from predicting for it success. I saw “The Jucklins” twice within the past week, and with greater disap- pointment the second time. Some of the lines are masterly, and often the charactersattain to ideal identity; and the awkward virtues of shy men are handled as only Thomas handies such local phases; but the motive, plot and construction are deadly. A strong third act wilts away to nothing, and | the last act is not only a banal anti- climax but to sane it is in direct antithesis playwriting. It is a crude | and unreasonable surprise to the au- | dience. A OTHER GOOSE. ANDO THE CHILDREN If by a single line in the last act it be said that young Jucklin did not kill the man, then where is the sense of the three preceding acts ILLA WHITNEY WHITE CALIFORNIA | rivoLl. which say Thomas issues of a play must be inevitable and duly presaged—else how is the in- terest of a play to survive a second sitting? Practically Mr. Thomas has tried to write three acts of a sensible that he did kil! him? Mr. play to no better purpose than that of | saying in the fourth “I was only fool- | ing.” A dramatic contribution of anuther order and one that laughs deflance at the caviling critic is “At Gay Coney Island,” now playing at the Columbi. | quickest, snuggest, | It is the sleekest, funniest thing of its sort that I have | seen in ages; and, strangely enough, it is as clever in the writing as in the de- livery. So far as construction may be applied to shows of this kind, “In Gay Ccney Island” has got it. Not that there is a plot to be worked out on legi- timate farcical lines—but each comic climax, each specialty, falls into the general rush with a patness that is really noble. If Matthews and Bulger planned this work, they are wonders. They are wonders anyway. Nothing could be more effective than the calm, assured monotone in which Mr. Matthews voices the relentless songs and jests of Dr. Aiken Payne, and the genial, juicy temperament which Mr. -0 -Gquestioned;. 1 mever have heard | parts only for the sake | actor’s s 7; 1 do not | - | ing. rice of stage- | bottom of my ve that from the bottom of | Mr. Frawley acts and manages be- er have lost their glamour | Mr. Frawley at this time of | Many of us will miss Frank Worth- He is an artist and—to use an old-fashioned phrase—a gentlemen. Save us from snobbery; but in this age | of rush and brusquerie it is worth the going to the play just to see a person or two who have the time and instinct | for fine manners. Where ten of our iaclurs can play the ancient king with | royal conviction, not more than one | can do as much by the modern gentle- | man. Worthing has the air, the s Bulger looses on Hi Price, the plum- ber. Miss Jane Whitbeck, too, is very much to the good; especiaily in a dark. razor-edged cocn song called “My Love's a Gamblin’ Man,” which she sings with the real squash-colored in- sinuation. The piece would be even better without the musical row in the second act. ASHTON STEVENS. Baldwin. Mr. Robson will devote the second (and last) week of his engagement at the Baldwin to a revival of Bronson Howard’'s celebrated comedy, “The Henrietta.” -One could enumerate the many parts Mr. Robson has played in past years—all the way from the farc- ical to the Shakespearean—without | chivalry—to say nothing of his being the best all-round actor in the com- He smoothed_the_Frawleys on “weakest point,” deportment, and he will be missed. I hope that some | day Mr. Worthing may visit us again— say with a company of his own. In a | part on the Hnes of Von Vinck in “The Two Escutcheons” he is unapproach- | inding one so well adapted to his ed, even by John Drew. unique personality as “Bertie the 87 53 o] Lamb.” “The Henrletta” is a vivid From any point of art “The Juck- | representation of bustling, contempo |is suggested | has forgotten that the vital | | CO00000000, DOO00O000000000000. ary human experience, full of the spirit that actuates the men and women we see about us to-day. - It has a clean moral tone that never dis- agreeably obtrudes itself, but rather in a4 modest indi- rect way through the illustrations of wholesome life and innocent mirth. Mr. Robscn’s supporting company, which does such splendid character work in “The Jucklins,” is said to be equally happy in the more urban en- vironment of ‘“The Henrietta.” = Mrs. Robson has a brilliant opportunity in the part of the Widow. Willie Collier, the quaint comedian, will appear in Du Souchet’s farce, “The Man from Mexico,” following the engagement of Stuart Robson at the Baldwin Theater. Mr. Collier, it. is said, will .be supported by a well-bai- anced company of comedians, includ- ing Louise Allen, Maclyn Arbuckle, Dan Mason and Violet Rand. The star is a favorite ‘with theater-goers here as elsewhere, and is remembered in San Francisco in Charlie Reed. Galifornia. farewell performance at the California Theater this evening prior to its parture for the East. Augustin Daly’s “An International Match,” and this evening's perform- ance will be the last in which Miss Bates, Frank Worthing and Harry Cor- son Clarke will apepar under the Frawley banner. Clarke leaves the or- ganization to-night and neither Miss Bates nor Frank Worthing will return with the company when it comes to San Francisco in its reorganized form. The next attraction at the California Theater will be the soprano, Villa Whitney White, who will appear in a next Thursday and Friday evenings and at the matinee on Saturday. Miss White is a singer of reputation and t The Frawley Company will give its | ! association with ; will come “Jolly Nellie McHenry” at | | | | | de- | The bill will be | series of song recitals and lectures on | | the scene of their festivities, with their -and the company contains several ca- TAT GAY CONEY ISLAND’ idea of these recital-talks originated with her some seven or eight years ago. She has carried on her unique work with considerable success, making an especial feature of German folk songs, running over the period from the fif- teenth century up to leading compos- ers of the hour. Miss White will be accompanied by Miss Mary Dilling- ham. The prices for seats at the re- citals will be 50 cents, 75 cents and Columbia. “At Gay Coney Island” has proved a record-breaker at the Columbia during the past week, every seat in the house having been occupied at each perform- ance, and great numbers having been unable to gain admission. Much of the music is new and taking and is accred- ited to the authorship of Maurice Levi, musical director of the organization. The managerhent has provided good scenic equipment for a musical comedy, pable entertainers in addition' to a | well-dressed and well-drilled chorus | of pretty girls. Notable among the specialists is. Miss Jane Whitbeck, a soubrette with a gift for darky songs, apd Miss Josie de Witt, with' some skill on the violin. The engagement continues throughout the . coming week, including Sundays. | Following “At Gay Coney . Island” | | THRERESIA ROMBELLO oM TCOLUMBIA | | ters through to a satisfactory finale. | The scenic features will be up t&® the | Whitbeck. MISS FLORIDA KINGSLEY, seem to have reached a dangerous cli- | max, the two men get out of their pre- dicament by clever stories concocted | on the instant, and peace and quiet | marks the reuniting of four wedded | hearts. Morosco's. “T'le District Fair,” a comedy-melo- drama, with sensational features, and a great racing seene, will be the next production at Morosco’s, and the big stage will be utilized to its full extent for the production. All of the stock | company will be in the long cast, to- | gether with several additions, among | which are a couple of handsome race horses. The scene of the drama opens in rugged New England, and | depicts farm-life, with the various types of character that form interest- ing studies in country life. Mr. Pascoe has been cast for the part of Arthur Graylock, a young man of the period who has been drawn into trouble by his own waywardness, aid- ed by the influence of Jacob Rentz- law, who induces him to risk his em- manages matters so that he will lose, and hoping thus to ruin him in the es- | timation of Nellie Fielding, his affi- | anced wife, to whose favor Rentzlaw | aspires. A complicated plot with in- | teresting features carries the charac- | | | ployers’ money on the races and then “ | usual standard, and the comedy ele- | ment will be more than usually inter- | esting. Orpheum. The event on the bill at the Orpheum for this week will be the comedy sketch, “A New Year’s Dream,” pre- sented by the winsome Patrice, sup- ported by Alf Hampton and J. F. This comedy is said to be full of funny situations and to afford the trio the best display of its tal- ents. An acrobatic act by the Farnum Bros. is said to be strong. Fred | Brown, coon singer and rag dancer, and Kitty Mitchell, singing and danc- ing soubrette, will appear in new spec- ialties. The hold-overs will have sev- eral new acts, which, together with the four new turns, should make the Orpheum programme a strong one. Tivoli. The Tivoli holiday spectacle, “Moth- er Goose,” or “The Strange Advent- ures of Jack and Jill,” has made a hit with both the young and old, particu- larly the young, and will be continued until further notice. Since the open- ing nights much cutting has been done and many new songs, dances and sit- uations introduced. The cast includes Edwin Stevens, Thos. C. Leary, Phil Branson, John J. Raffael, Robert Dun- bar, Florence Wolcott, Edith Hall, Tillie Salinger, Gracie Gray, Jennie Stockmeyer; also the six children— the little Misses Claire Fex, Hazel Callihan, Georgette Orr, and Masters Jack Robertson, Arnold Grazier and Arthur Fex. The three ballets under | the direction of Sig. Remonde are much admired, and Oscar Fest's transformation is applauded nightly. A second edition is in preparation. Chutes. At the Chutes Theater an attractive bill is offered for the coming week Starkey and Rathburn, triple horizon- tal bar performers: Harry Robzart, a | bass and soprano singer; Capello, con- tortionist; the Martelles, trick bicy- clists; and Andy McKee and William | King, in a comedy sketch, “Tricks on | Dad.” The chuteoscope has a number of new European, Asiatic and Egyptian scenes. Matinees will be given daily. Oberon. the Columbia Theater for an engage- ment limited to one week. Alcazar. Belasco and Fyles' military drama, “The Girl I Left Behind Me,” which | The musical has played to crowded houses both at | Oberon last wee matinees and evening performances for | the past two weeks at the Alcazar, will | run for another week. “Esmeralda” is | lsx:ll:fignl: 7% Bimber DOUTIaRHALY now in active rehearsal and will follow | the war drama. and “Forbidden Fruit,” a three-act farce by Dion Boucicault, will follow “Esmeralda.” “Forbidden Fruit” tells the story of two erring husbands who, tired of the humdrum of married life, go out for a good time and a champagne supper with a couple of actresses. They tell a tale of “press- ing business” to their respective wives and the wives grow suspiclous. It is only after leng and untiring efforts that the two men succeed in reaching programmes at the k gave satisfaction to large audiences, and the new year was Olympia. Ferdinand Stark and his Vienna or- | chestra are Rolding torth at the Olym- | pia every evening. A matinee will be | given this afternoon. Miss May Lucine Potvin, planist | made her home in San Fragciaco.'vri:t'} | the intention of teaching. Eoa e e A certain learned professor in New | York has a wife and family, bus, pro- | fessor-like, his' thoughts are always wivs hot on the trail. Just as things NEW “TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS. FRIEDLANDER GOTTLOB 6 C° Lessits B nameiss TO-Night! Farewell! Fasiar FRAWLEY CO. Augustin® Daly’s Comedy, AN INTERNATIONAL MATCH.” Good-by: o tire favorites. enings and aturday Aftermoon, VILLA WHITNEY WHITE, amous Sorrano, .in Song Recltals. treat ‘I‘rr all * classes of music from.the. fifteenth century times. Sets. ready Lo-mOrrow. Pricesr 50c, 75¢c.and $1. the to’ Gur TIVOLI OPERA-HOUSE. | Mits, ERNESTINE Proprietor & Manager EVERY EVENING. 2 _FOH 1898, ' {Oun Hollday Spectacte. “MOTHER - GOOSE. es to make up a for .the young ...25¢ and 50¢ NEW TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS. LAST WEEK, Beg. Monday, Jan. 3. BSO —== HENRIETTA | 5 g !AN ATTRACTIVE REVIVAL OF PRONCUNCED EXCELLENCE.! MR. ROBSON BHRTIE THE LAMB. IEDLANDER GOTTLOB 8 CF Ltssees & manaum NOW COMES! SN WILLIE COLLIER " .5 COMEDIAN, “THE MAN FROM MEXICO,” From Hoyt's Theater, N. Y., Arrives MONDAY, Jan. 10, ‘ NEW TO-DA MUSEMENTS. ALCAZAR ## 554, TO-NIGHT—SUNDAY. ALL SAN FRANCISCO IS TALKING OF DAVID BELASCO AND FRANKLIN FYLES' AMERICAN DRAMA, THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME! Seats Now Selling for Next Week. Evening Bulletin says: *“The production” of “The GIrl I Left Behind Me' has ‘enhanced the rating of this cozy theater with lovers of high dramatic art.” NEW TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS. e e e e e e e & 3 90©00000000000000000000000000 ; m‘i/ [e TO-NIG"T g 6 Y | o AND EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK, g PRICOLANGC.GOTTLOD & @+ +1 8% o marpsths o | ©0000000000000000000000000060 The Harly Bird of Musical Farce. QCO0000000000TC000C000000J0000R0000000000 CO00000000000) S THE BIGGEST HIT IN YEARS! 00000000000000000000000 THE ® ¥ Maflhews @ CLEANEST & ask 8 «r & ® BRIGHTEST & SOME ® MAKES -5 g GAYEST ® ONE . ® yvou AN S AND ® WHO S LAUGH.” o ggnml—:s'r 3 FIA_\W ® S.F. 3 ® ALL Bulger © THEM 3 G ® ALL! ® “AT GAY CONEY ISLAND.” Week January 10-Jolly NELLIE McHENRY. MOROSCO’S GRAND OPERA-HOUSE Walter Morosco......Sole Lessee and Manager., Last 2 Performances of “UNCLE ToM's CABIN.' Commencing To-Morrow, Jan. 3, 1808, Initial Production of the Great Racing Drama, “LHE DISTRIC: FAIR.” The Fire Scene! The Racetrack of the District Fair! The Great Race Scene With Blooded Race orses! Evening Prices, 10¢, 260 and 50e. MATINEES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. VELODROME, | - OLYMPIA_cmgg s e (Comfortably Heated Throughout). Corner Baker and, Fell Streets, Park Pan-| -:§TARK’S . VIENNA-. ORCHESTRA.". New Year's Day, January 1; Sunday, Janu- ocalists. In Conjunction With Operatic Vi o MATINEE TO-DAY—SUNDAY. GRAND SUCCESS AND RETURN MATCH. —YOUNG_LADIES' T! —O’FARRELL STREET, UNG LADIES FoOTE) OBERON i P % va. . Grand Concert ning by ‘FRISCO GRAYS." CARL MARTENS Gates open 1:30 p. m. Game called 2:30 p. m. And tne Popular prices, and S0c. COSMOPOLITAN ORCHESTRA. with his books. One evening his wife, who had been out for some hours, re- turned to find the house remarkably quiet. She had left the children play- ing about, but now they were nowhere to be seen. She asked what had be- come of them, and the professor -ex- plained that, as they had made a good deal of noise, he had put them :to-bed without waiting for her or calling a maid. . “I hope they gave you no trouble,” she said. “No.” said theprofessor, “with the exception of the ore in the cot there. | He objected a good deal to my undress- ing him and putting him to bed.” The wife went to inspect the eot. “Why,” she exclaimed, ‘“that’s little Johnny Green from next door!"”—Min- neapolis Journal. —_—— 8000 YEARS OF TIME. It may be consolation to reflect that great Caesar was not fortunate in the matter of timekeepers. A water clock marked the flight of his imperial time. It is interesting to note in'the progress of clock making from that crude state wherewith Caesar was doubtless con- tent, to the highly complex and ap- parently perfect system now in use, that the heavenly bodies were usually represented. Those landmarks in the history of clock making whose import- ance has led to their preservation, either in chronicle or in fact, show this comprehensiveness of effort. The celebrated clock in the famous cathedral at Strasburg describes the motions of the planets. A clock pre- sented to Frederick II by Saladin in the thirteenth century marked not only the hours, but also the course of the sun and moon and planets. A clock made by an English abbot in the four- teenth century indicated in addition to these the ebb and flood tides. s In the eighteenth century a Gérman who invented astronomical clocks con- ceived the still more comprehensive idea’ of measuring time in its whole ex- tent. A hand of universal history in- dicates principal epochs of history in the Old Testament and the great events of the future founded on the Apoc- alypse. Eight thousand years were em- braced in the revolutions. A century hand marks the year of the century and makes the circuit in 100 -years. This clock also represents the motions of the planets, and they make their revolutions in the same time and man- ner that they actually do in the heavens. The heavenly orbs alone were con- sulted for marking the passage of time when no other method was known. * At the same source to-day are regulated these masterpieces of human ingenuity, whose complex of precise mechanism would have filled with wonder the minds of the old monks of the middle ages, who made these contrivances for the marking of time a possibility. —_———— SOME STRANGE VERDICTS. In a certain case of death from intox- ication, the verdict was, .“Death by hanging around a rum shop.” At an Alnwick inquest, about twenty years ago, an Irishman having been killed by a heavy blow from the land- lord of a public house, the jury return- ed a verdict that the innkeeper had struck over hard, which they brought in as justifiable homicide. At an inquest on a man killed in a quarrel, in which it was stated that the deceased was the aggressor, the ver- dict was, “We find the deceased, John Regan, came to his death through call- ing Michael Doherty a thief,” and from that unique but indisputable find- ing the jury would not budge. A Coroner’s jury in the Midland counties, on a death through an ex- plosion, gave their written verdict, “Blode to pieces bi the biler a-bustin® an’ killin’ of him dead.” A jury at Warwickshire Quarter Ses- sions, through 'their foreman, said, “We find the prisoner not guilty, but we should like the court to reprimand him,” which was very near “Innocent, but don’t do it again.” An American Judge out West, ad- dressing a jury, said, “You ken go out and find a verdict; if you can't find one of your own, get the one the last jury used.” This they did, and returned with a verdict of “Suicide in the ninth degree.” ———————— Mrs. Tiars—Oh, I just hate washday. I wish we never had to wear our clothes more than once. Mrs. Wheeler—Ah, that shows you're not up to date. My. husband has rigged up a set of belts and pilleys so that I can sit on my wheel in the laundry and run the wringer. . I've already reeled off nearly one thousand miles this fall.—Chicago Record. ———— “It's utterly absurd,” exclaimed King Cheops, rising to put an end to the argument, “to say ‘there is always room at the top.” I'll show you there is not!” And he went out and built the grea NEW TO-DAY—AMUSEMENTS. Week Commencing Monday, January 3. The Legitimate Star, PATRICE, Supported by ALF. HAMPTON and J. F. WHITBECK; ' FARNUM BRi America’s Actobats; KITTY M ELL, Winsome brette: FRED BROWN, Rag-Time Dance ELINORE _ SISTERS, ' Character Artist MLLE. ROMBELLO, Sand Paintress; MUS. CAL DALE, Campanologist. Last Week of the BALLET SPECTACLE. MATINEE TO-DAY (SUNDAY), Jan. Parquet, any seat, 25c; Balcony, l0c; Chils dren, 10c, any part. BUSH-STREET THEATER. The i -Hebi O Co Saturay tad Bundey Mino: Tan. Lani 2 R0, DARKEST RUSSIA. - Great Melodrama by Professor Lateiner. Box office open daily from 10 a. m. to 5 p. m, THECHUTES AND FREETHEATER Every Afternoon, and Evening TO-DAY—Positively last appearances of tha BOSTON LADIES' MILITARY BAND AND A BIG VAUDEVILLE. SHOW! ‘Admission and performance, le: children, 5c PACIFIC COAST JOCKEY CLUB INGLESIDE TRACK. y RACING FROM MONDAY, Dec. 27, to SATURDAY, dan. 8, inclusive. Five or Mors Races Daily, Rain or Shire. FIRST RACE AT 2 P. M. S. P. R. R. Trains 12:45and 1:15 P, M. Daily. Leave Third-street station, stopping at Va- lencia street. Returning immediately after the races. ELECTRIC CAR LINES. Kearny street and Mission streat cars every three minutes, direct to the track, without change. Fillmore-street cars transfer each = 8. N. ANDROUS, Presidest. F. H. GREEN, Secretary. i