The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 29, 1899, Page 29

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 1899 29 A D BELLE ARCHER IN “HA Contented Woman.” VCOIDIBEO 0O 0 6 HOHCHOBGLOL L ITH Belle Archer is con- ably less of an actress than she used to be or else my taste n play-acting is something bet- r than it was in the old Fraw- “ompany day Then 1 thought Archer to be an actress of de- 1l address, a bit careless in her sometimes, but fairiy easy and in the technique of her craft ed of a certain worldly v admirable in many g her at the California the night in “A Contented Woman.” 1 all sorts of disenchantment. s almost as bad a performance of rt of Grace .iolme as the one v the late Caroline Miskell Hoyt. certainly it was just as overposed nateurish. A good stage balance is such a hard t g for a player to quire that, having once acquired it, you wonder how it eve. can be forgot- Miss Archer seemed to have start- ed work all over again, and in decided- g wa Even in her voice is change; it is high-pitched. and stringy and monotonously ed. The lines that are supposed t taliatory and satiric she reads obvious is that voung encounters as “Indeed!” Her gestures, They would be more » the role of Lady Mac- no illusion whatever rsonation. In fact, it is not r t all; it Is exagger- make-believe from one end to the hardly more human in effect than 1 children play at being adults. nly ¢ able feature of Miss Arch- venture that I can see is There is a personality in all things, and Miss graceful costumes appear to tailored es; cclally for her- to be admired without seem a pity that Belle 1 to know her. should out of them. A her's been With one exception the rest of the is the usual vague crowd of revival—staccato women and deportment is hampered by ning thes. Fve often wondered W S any men of uniformly anners contrive to find their way i ir suits” of the Hoyt plays. ps they are the gentlemen whom rmed “legitimates” have crowd- f the vaudeville business. Their r manners especially are most curi- M uits” are in- accompanied by cigars, which ry moments are usually worn and, until such time as the woman, where- transfers his weed a smoke. times I noticed the other Contented Woman.” In lady came peril- the carefully perfecto on her chin. she had spoiled that rmance - would have | middle. Another was the plenitude There were times when d “hells” were thick as oles out of a railway car- 1 wondered if Mr. Hoyt A e a to young smashing gl raph 1dow supplied them all, or did the actors sulphur their lines at will. There ought a limit. Profanity is too popular to be comic emphasis to lose its 7/ through over usage. The ex- mentioned in the beginning of this paragraph is Mrs. Fanny Denham Rouse, who gives a vigorous identity to the part of Aunt Jim, the best char- acter work of the new-woman mother- in-law variety that T have seen. o5 e In the Aldazar's performance of “Men and Women,” I noticed some bad P that was strikingly similar to Arche It was contributed prin- the new leading woman, Miss Fitzallen, in the part of Agnes This part, one of the most 1n Libbyish ever achieved by will stand for a great Miss strenuous treatment without any more comical than it But Miss Fitzallen, in her quite exceeded the possi- y role in the literature of Her effort was simply She loosed upon the char- ter asily the emotions of three strong women and ten men. And her gestures—well, and her gestures in Contented Woman” and I'd like to see the middl weight cigar specialist who would blow smoke into her beautiful features. As theater rodigio put Miss Fitzallen ‘A 1 was saying, it was Miss Archer’s case ain—large, obvious, make-be- lieve y acting. I am coming to think that good acting, like a good cock- i1, depends more on what you leave it than what you put in. Howard Scott, who played the lawyer with stupend elaboration, would do well to bear this in mind. Nearly everybody in the company worked too hard for this world, except perhaps the . manager, whose restraining hand s nowhere felt. The Alcazar people 2ys make quite a snug little company, and 1 believe that they can give a much more definite performance this of the past week. Mr. Os- of course, did his usual strong, te work in the Jewish banker, and Ernest Hastings handled the un- fortu e cashier with likely dignity and preoccupation. In the “handcuff” scene Mr. Hastings' performance was in remarkably good poise. ASHTON STEVENS. The Golumbia. t performance of “The Wizard of - will be given at the Columbia ank Daniels and his clever Monday commenc third eek of the Daniels engagement, week will be devoted to " which of the two Her- | ith pieces has been voted the The Daniels season has n bourne, delibe been a big success from every point of view. Both productions are bright and clever to a degree, and the girls of the llest that have been comps are the s here in years. Coming'a week from Monday night are Louis James! Frederick Warde and Kath- ryn Kidder, under the direetion of Wagen- holg & Kemper, in revivals of standard ¥ Among the support of this trium- virate are Harry Langdon, famous for old o parts, and Barry Johnstone, who was leading man for Mr. James during the two seasons just past. Collin Kemper and ENCE IN OVER ‘ | 1 BY ASHTON STEVENS. MRS. ANNIE YEAMANS. Mrs. Henry Vandenhoff are also members of the organization. The_Gallfornia. This theater. promises a big farce at- traction for the new week in “Why Smith Left Home,” written by George B. Broad- hurst, author of “What Happened to Jones,” and presented by a company that includes s. Annie Yeamans, Maclyn Arbuckle. B. der, Fred W. s Harry Webster, Jay William: Stuart, Blanche Chapman, ( Roosevelt, Rose Snyder, Dorothy Usner and Jessie Conant. At the end of the first act occurs the in- cident which explains why Mr. Smith le home. His conduct is placed in an ex tremely equivocal light and his wife's aunt, who has had two matrimonial fail- ures of her own, easily induces her niecc grows the this plot, cumstance. Out of which is s frivolity o comedy farce and the credibility of The Alcazar. Sol Smith Russell’s old suceess, “Peace- ful Valley,” will be given at the Alcazar this week. The piece is by Edward Kid- der, author of “A Poor Relation” and successfully played by Mr. Russell for several seasons. San Franciscans last w the plece in 1890, when Mr. Russell produced it at the Baldwi The plot laid in the White Mountains in Hampshire. The first act opens up on th Age Top House, a summer resort, on the summit, and finds Hosea Howe, a coun- iving on one of the heavily mort- ghland farms with his mother. working in a menial capacity at at which are stopping try lad, ga| Hosea is action to_ Virgie. favor with ¥ for New Yor 1 the mortgage and finish his schooling. The sequel finds Virgie and Hosea engaged and everybody E:lpvp:\‘. i The Tivoti. Offenbach’s melodious comic opera, “La Perichole,” will be revived for one week only, commencing this evening, at the Tivoli, Anpie Myers will sing the role of the street singer, La Perichole; Bernice Holmes, her companion, Pequillo; Wil- i Pruette, the Viceroy of Peru, Don Adres: Willam H. West. Don Pedro, Governor of Lima; and Phil Branson, the fussy Premier, Count Panatellas. Edwin St ns will be seen in one of his best eharacterizations, the old prisoner, Mar- quis de Santarem. This charming opcra will be given for a week, after which comes ‘“‘Madeleine, or the Magic K which will receive its first presentation in this city. The Orpheum. The Orpheum has four new acts for this week. Of the new people the best known to the theatergoers of this city are Mii- ton and Dollie Nobles. They come in an act entitled “Why Walker Reformed.” It was written by Mr. Nobles and is said to be very clever—at any rate, the act as presented by Mr. and Mrs. Nobles has made a great hit in vaudeville. Giacinta Della Rocco, the violiniste, is another strong card. Willie Ozeola, the balanc- ing acrobat, and Derenda and Breen, world's champion club swingers, are each said to be of the best In their line. *Clo- rinda,” Rice's rag-time opera, remains with new songs and coon specialties by the aggregation of thirty colored folk. Others on the bill are Max Cincinati, the comic juggler, the Avolos, xylophone won- ders, and Wilson and Leicester, clever operatic duo. New Gomedy. The Comedy Theater will -present, com- mencing Sunday, February 5, the new production of M. B. Leavitt's “Spider and Fly” spectacular extravaganza, with fifty people in the cast. The theater will be closed the first six nights of the week on account of preparations.for the pro- duction. The Ghutes. There will be a big bill at the Chutes Frece Theater next week. Carlos Vouletti, acrobats, gymnasts and pedestal performers, who made a hit at the Or- pheum recently; Weston and Herbert, non ball tosser and club swinger, from Orrin Brothers’ circus, Mexico, will ap- pear. Pianka, who I8 cleverly dubbed the “lady of llons,” will continue to startle LEOLi O SLOVOTIOLIOLLOTN S04 to do the important thing in such a eir- | id to lie happily between the | New | New Yorkers, among coung heiress by the name of | Virgie Rand. Hosea happens to see Miss Virgie in company with a man hom he recognize; s the betrayer of his siste Hosea separates l)}\]r’ (‘uuplr;-, x’;‘l‘m'n« e v one a thrashing and expi = e B iry Aflg('r that she finds Hosea, who soon after leaves | k. to find his sister, liquidate | ~ FRANK DANIELS and | musical comedians, and Cal Godfrey, can- | DILEOL L0 DOOOTOVODOD@ | ACTING. l ADELAIDE FITZALLEN N “Men and Womnen.” feagetoed | the public. Willilam F. Sapp, the ossified rr:un, is the hardest thing in town to look at. The Olympia. | The Olympia has Violet Dale, the New - | York acrobztic buck and wing dancer, and | the three De Bolien brothe acrobats. AMUSEMENTS. COLUMBIA i | | TO-NIGHT—LAST TIME! | “THE WIZARD OF THE NILE” Third and LAST WEEK. Beginning | MONDAY. g And His Comic Opera Co. THE SEASON’S GREATEST HIT, ‘ .. THE.., | IDOL’S EYE 'NEXT ATTRACTION - - FEB. 6 | | LOUIS JAMES, KATHRYN KIDDER, FREDERICK WARDE IN REPERTOIRE. SEATS READY THURSDAY. A long str ing of vaudeville specialties fill out the bill s THE OUTER WORLD Last Thursday night the New York Casino presented “La Belle Heleng,” an up to date edition of the noted French opera bouffe, “Rialtoized,” as_one critic calls it. Libretto improved by Louls Har- Heon and music added to Offenbact by Englander. It was a success. The public often wonders what is the attitude of opera singers toward news- paper criticisms. The De Reszkes, Nor- dica and Sembrich read their press notices very carefully; Melba 1s indifferent as to what is written about her, and Eames’ husband uses the scissors liberally before he permits his wife to read the crities. Listen to J. E. Dodson on the eternal gubject of acting as an art: “Of course, I consider acting an art, but I know there are many who do not. To be sure, it 1s much abused, and, like many other arts, LA i amount of training received. Do not un- derstand me as trying to belittle dramatic studies, for my intention is anything but that. What I wish to convey is that, in my oplnion, no amount of study will make an actor out of a man unless it is born in him. Study—and constant study—is to be desired at all times, and no matter how talented an actor is, if he does not ap- gly himself with the greatest ardor to is profession he is not much better off than his less gifted brother. “Speaking of mechanical actors,” con- tinued Mr. Dodson, “naturally leads up to the much-disputed point as to whether | an actor should or should not feel the emotion which he ig depicting. It is a subject which would be discussed with interest ad infinitum, and. of course, there would be people who would always take opposite sides, as now. In my humble opinion, an actor should to a certain ex- tent feel the depicted emotion, but at the same time he must control it by his art, and never let it take such hold of him as to make him forget it. He must pos- sess a dual consciousness, as it were. As 1 once heard it expressed, the balance counterpoise. There is nothing less pa- thetic to me than a crying woman unless I know and am interested in her. With red nose and eyes, she is anything but pitiful to me. Now, on the stage an act- ress portraying a weeping mother or wife is expected to make it so effective as to hold the sympathy of an audience, and this she cannot do if she allows her emo- tions to get control of .er intelligence so as to make them dormant, when she should be guiding them by her art.” Mr. Belasco’s “Zaza” and Mr. Belasco’s “Mrs. Carter” are the talk of the hour in New York. This is part of what Ed- ward A. Dithmar writes on the subject in the Times: The portrayal by Mrs. Leslie Carter of Zaza in the shocking play taken from the French of MM. Simon and Berton by David Belasco is noteworthy for unfail- ing wverity, extraordinary vitality, variety of expression and moving force. It is audacious beyond comparison with any but very few theatrical exhibitions inse; arably allied with dramatic art ever s here. The variety halls and some the less reputable theaters have som: times put performances on view quite coarse and audacious, but they ha never commanded the attention, as this exhibition does, of view the drama as have had no esthe thetic value of Mrs. Carter’s portrayal of Zaza, the female outlaw, % indisputable. often deteriorates into a trade. is born, not made. indefinable something, call that but alw the quality of wh on h depends An actor 1 do not believe in the | made-to-order actor, and while I admit | that by training one may reach a state | of respectable mediocrity, unless he po?; what you will, he never becomes an artist, s remains a piece of mt‘(‘hmflstfilv e Moreover, the play i3 an uncommonly | skillful example of dramatic realism.. { truth to nature. N | From_beginning to end, in every episode, does Mrs. Carter's acting have the effect of direct, undeviating, often deplorable, Only in act I can it be called positively indecent. There vice, unrelieved, is rampart. The central fig- ure is a low woman employing her arts. But as the play proceeds it is all found to be as common and vulgar as the life it treats of. It is, also, from first to last, human and understandable, and the realistic art employed in it is potent and owerful if not refined and beautiful.. hat, however, will never excuse “Zaza" in the minds of persons who think the theater should be the abiding place of childlike innocence and purity. Such folks ought to be warned away from “Zaza.” Charles Frohman, in accordance with his declared intention, makes a new pro- duction each year at the Boston Museum, of which house he is one of the lessees and managers. For ius production season he selected the latest work from the pen of Willlam Gillette, adapted bv that gentleman from the French of Bisson and Leclerq, and entitled ‘‘Because She Loved Him So"—a title that, for tho who are familiar with Mr. Gillette’s ju; glery with captions, Is pregnant with nu- merous farcical possibilities. The piece been produced in New York. the story: Though the most jealous and unreason- able of her with a firm conviction that all men are monstérs of iniquity Gertrude West is really, if she wouid be- lieve it; one of the happiest of women. | Married to a husband who adores her, she would have, but for her suspicious nature, no bitter drops'in her matrimonial cup. is true that there is some seeming for alarm. By a Mephistophelian Susan, her maid, who has her rea wishing to provoke a domestic broil, spills upon her master's coat some most com- promising perfume, and places on hi sleeve two of her own long, golden hairs Quite enough evidence is this to arouse Gertrude to fury, and she begin o think of nothing short of divorce. arned be- forehand of the impending avalanche, Mr. . Wether| her father and moth- er, make arran; 2nts to meet it. in order to disgust the young couple with the notion reling, tem of the Spartans. cure for inebriety, ibit, children a drunken’ Helot. they were found by their daughte son-in-law in a blaze of conjugal though in a married life of thirty cears they have never had a cross word. r a time, accordingly, until this confla- gration can be extinguished, the hero and heroine have to sink their own grievanees and declare a truce. So rooted in her bellef in masculine baseness 4s Gertrude that she strives at once to. prove her father at fault. By an accident she brings to light a past escapade of Mr. Weather- by, and converts into a real quarrel the mock feud. As at the same time her inquisitorial proceedings succeed in setting by the ears ir. and Mrs. Jackson, previously one of the ‘happiest of married couples, and ruining the matrimonial chances of her only brother, she has, when in the end = AADA Prany CHL)TE& l The Lady of Lions and Her Baby Lions. this | It ; | stance. -1 medieval romance | the truth s brought to Hght, reason to fongratulate herself upon having wrought yin a given time us much mischief as 1could well be crowded into the space. f\z‘:r;h‘ffig- from the whole story is this, are many varie T mplienyare many and varied humorous Music. coming of Teresa Carreno will mark the-appeagance of an- other famous piano player'this season. From all the big critics this woman has | received high praise, and there can be | little doubt that she ranks z vhere but at the top. She has been called every- thing, from the Valkyrie of the keyboard to the lioness of the pianoforte. Sha plays Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin | The week next | and Brahms, and is sald to excel in Ru- | binstein and Liszt. Her technique is said to be next to flawless and her tempera- ment simply Vesuvian. The recitals take place in Metropolitan Temple on Monday, | Wednesday and Saturday afternoon of the week to come. Mme. Agnes Fried. soprano, will give | on Tuesday noon of this Minetti. man, piani |0000006006000000606006006 i: The Sunday Call, 32 ® pages, delivered at your o home by mail for 8150 le a year. Subscribe for it * PePPPODO lecoovccoocooceosse e e | At first thought it may seem para- | doxical to say that a man is the most original of writers and at the same time the greatest of plagia Yet acs surd if applied to Shakespeare, for in- The moral of this is that “original” and “originality” are words possessed of a certain amount of am- | biguity. The writer says: | “We all know that Shakespeare's | borrowing arm was a very long one in- | deed. Old chronicles, North’s ‘Plutarch,” | medieval English poetry, Italian novel- ists, contemporary playwrights—all | were laid under contribution; and in the same way Milton probably _con- | veyed “L’Allegro’ and ‘Il Penseroso’ from Burton's ‘Abstract of Melancholy,’ |and certainly made conside use |of the Dutch poet’'s ‘Lucifer’ in the construction of ‘Paradise Lost.’ ‘“Tristram ~ Shandy’ is one of the most ‘original’ books in English litera- ture, and yet it is a_patchwork of cut- rageous thefts, and Melancholy Burton himself, from whom Sterne stole, con- trived to get the effect of ‘originality’ into his ‘Anatomy,” which is a mere cento of quotations. “In-one sense of the word there is no such thing as originality, in another sense it is not uncommon. The Italian novelists from whom Shakespeare pla- giarized were themseives but copyists from older sources, and folklorists are aware that the Europeans of the mid- dle ages enjoyed tales that had amused Asia in far antiquity. The matter of a literary work of art mav come from nature, from life, or from another book, while the form is created by the author. “In some of Poe's tales it is easy enough to detect the influence of Mrs. Radcliffe, and Mrs. Radcliffe drew her stories from a very imperfect and dis- ‘tarted notion of medieval romance, and was founded to a considerable extent on early Celtic legends, and Celtic legends must owe a good deal to prehistoric Turanian in- fluence—and so the ladder mounts till it vanishes as in the Indian juggler's trick; but for all that the ‘Fall of the House of Usher’ is original. It is barely possible, of course, that the Paleolithic Age swarmed not only with monsters (now happily extinct), but with purely original geniuses, but in modern times it would be as useless to search for the one as for the other.” Parliamentary candidates will find something to interest them in the most recent pub.ication of the Historical Manu- scripts Commission. Among tnhe Ailes- bury papers we read that at Marborough in 1712 the Duke of Somerset offereu an |"elector for his vote, on behalf of a nomi- nee, a pension_of $100 per annum for life, and to make him porter of Sion House. | To another he offered a pension of with a post worth another $200 : and to others he varying from $1000 promised to educate the and_present him to a good living as s gave as he w old enough. Stranee to say, the Duke’ andidate w. unsuceessful. He was a Whig, and it is suggested that the Tories must have been more liberal. — e———— To prevent domestics breaking any- thing—keep a cat in the house, and 1 never hear of anything being broken by the servants. ANUSEMENTS. | Week Commencing MONDAY, January 30th TO-NIGHT, LAST TIME. BELLE ARCHER in A CONTENTED WOMAN. Beginning MONDAY, GEORGE H. BROADHURST’'S MIRTHFUL PLENITUDE, A GREAT CAST, Including MACLYN ARBUCKLE. | METROPOLITAN TEMPLE. s GARRENO ' TERESA World’s Greatest Pianiste! THREE GRAND PERFORMANCES MONDAY EVENING | W NESDAY EVE SATURDAY MATINE I E February 11 Seats on sale to-morrow morning, § o'clock, | at The San Francisco Music Co,, 225 Sutter st. PRICES—$1.00, $1.50, $2.00. CHICKERING PIANO USED. CHUTES AND 200! EVERY AFTERNOON AND EVENING GREAT BILL in the FREE THEATER! PIANKA, THE “LADY OF LIONS."” THE SENSATION OF 2 CONTINENTS. VOULETTI and CARLOS, Comedians AND A H(\M OF NOVELTIES! SEE WM. SAPP, THE OSSIFIED MAN. ALMOST MADE OF MARBLE. THURSDAY—Amateur Amazon March 10c, including Zoo and Theater; Children, bc; Sundays and Holidays, 10c. R, Gymnast: Acrobats; WESTON and HERBERT, 'Mgual.c“ng AMUSEMENTS. ALCAZAR THEATER. TO-NIGHT! M=y anD WOMEN! TO-MORROW NIGHT! SOL SMITH RUSSELL’S BEAUTIFUL COMEDPY DRAMA, PEACEFUL VALLEY NEW YORK, || RAVED EOSTON, CHICAGO, OVER IT A GREAT BIG SCENIC PRODUCTION. SR lICES AMUSEMENTS. TIVOLI OPERA-HOUSE. Mrs. Ernestine Kreling, Proprietor and Mgr. UL COMIC OPERA, TO-MORROW EVENING—— The Greatest of French Comic Operas, “LA PERICHOLE.” LOOK 0 FOR THE COMEDY OPERA, MADELEINE | , 08 "H5s. POP.LAR PRICES....... 5 N. B.—A reserved seat fo; Our telephone, Bush 9. Matinee, Ze. the | The Wedding Day 25¢ and 50e 7--NEW VAUDEVILLE HOTABLES--7 The High Comedy Stars, MILTON and DOLLIE NOBLES | AND COMPANY, In Mr. Nobles' Latest Comedy Hit, «WHY WALKER REFORMED.” GIACINTA 1) 42/ mu ROCCO Europe's Greatest Concert Violinist. acific Coast Debut of .OLYMPIA... Fddy St.. Cor. Mason. Most Beautiful Music Hali in America. ONLY FREE THEATER ON PACIFIC COAST PLAYING EASTE STARS. Tremendous Hit by The New York Favorite. POSITIVELY LAST WEEK OF KELLY AND VIOLETTE, Greatest “Coon’” Song Singers of the Day. ALSO OF— The Wonderful Acrobats. THE 3 DE BOLIEN BROTHERS TEN ALL STAR ACTS. ADMISSION FREE. MATINEE SUNDAY. INGLESIDE COURSING PARK SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. SAPLING STAKE— TWENTY ENTRIES. OPEN STAKE— SEVENTY-TWO ENTRIES, JOHN GRACE, Judge. JAMES GRACE, Slipper, Take a Mission-street car and it will land you at the gates. ADMISSION, 2c; LADIES, FREE. ING, Jan. 31, and SATUR. AFTERNOON, Feb. 4, MME. AGNES FRIED, Soprano, Assisted by GIULTO MIN HILDA NE TUESDAY EV Pianiste. on s RACING! CALIFORNIA JOCKEY CLUB Jan. 23, to SATURDAY, Feb. 4, inclusive. OAKLAND RACE TRACK Racing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thurs. day, Friday and Saturday. Rain or shine. FIVE O E RACES EACH DAY. Races Start at 2:15 p. m., B 1:30, 2, 2:30 and 3 p. m., 12:30, 1, ¢ & Track. Buy your ferry tickets to Shell Mound. Returning—Trains leave the Track at and 4:46 p. THOS, H. WILLIAMS JR., President. R. B. MILROY, Secretary. SHERMAN & CLAY HALL. TTI, Viclinfst, and RACING! RACING! Winter Meeting 1888-99, beginning MONDAY, Ferry-boats leave San Francisco at 12 m. and | connecting with trains stopping at the entrance to the! 'm. and immediately after last race. | DERENDA BREEN Champion Double Club Jugglers. = Initial Appearance of . WILLY 0ZEOLA... Buropean Equilibrist. Overwhelming Success of | RICE’S | RAG-TIME OPERA [[*CLORINDY” 30--PEOPLE--30 El W SPECIALTIES! WILSON and LEICESTER peratic Stars. NEW .. THE.. STEEPLECHASE At CENTRAL PARK. A HUGE SUCCESS. OPEN DAILY FROM 1 TO 1L EVERYBODY RIDES. & ADMISSION 10, INCLUDING HORSES. Last Week of MAX CINCINATI Inimitable Juggler. —And ofr—— THE MUSICAL AVOLOS World's Greatest {ylophone Players. Weekly Call,$1.00 per Year MATINEE TO-DAY, 5 al Parquet, any seat, 25 ots. Ba v, Children, ‘10 cts., any part o hogse 10 <8