The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 2, 1902, Page 9

ERHAPS it is the .trenuouJ ness of American life that made ized mediev: bis trusty don in th five, six, sleughtered in a single act, until it would appear that the “romantic” drama with the larges sure to enjoy the greatest popularity and flanancial “‘romantic’ gle-handed. killing any o £port by beco The stage has and that is Mr. Hamfiiton's E. H. Sothern was a fine battle, The Grundy vers O'Neil was the bry, Of the same s e} Frawley 1 with which he u sons past. Almos the play was give; worked up in pi elimax was not furniture on the cturesque sword before rive. In the Eastern revivals of Coay first appeared on th stage In & play called “Th, > i Wait,” 1n which he was supposcs. 1 kill five men with each pi sto] Was accused of outrageous i > 18 mel ; extravagance, but “hon S iodramatic pected to spit the entire cast John of on with his ‘halt-brother, Don J L‘hnm ‘ln.rmm..n- ty hbl‘da and brwd?:x: tx:;m' 2 ‘r::{ :m:‘.;am:; o air, much as & French che: he King's dagser. be = : YAy of a play to silver dim : & dozen birds on a i And this brings us to James K. Hack - 3 4 Lorimer Stoddard. it in the “Pride of Jennice,” and Kyrle \ 3 \ - 3 novel, has introdu! Eellew in “A Gentleman of France.” As f G . % 3 4 b sword fighters both men have become the talk of two continents. In the fourth act of his play Bellew goes to the rescue of his sweetheart and is discovered by a band of ruflians, who have her in their keeping. He stands at the top of a stairway; the entire cast, with the exception of his lady love, rush at him. With superb and miraculous dexterity he picks off one @fter another, until finally the stage is covered with dead bodies. One man falls head foremost down the long flight of stairs and rolls like a log into the foot- lights. Bellew escapes without a scratch. This scene is said to be a most thrilling 1d exciting affair, and the wonder is that t cast is not killed in reality. by telling the stage ach man wears a coat of mail doublet. Je up-to-date hero must needs b the “Pride of Jennico,” gu the two duel scenes in “The even carved out for himself the est honors, aude Adams and Willlam gisappointment as a fighter. possible the brilliant career of President Roosevelt, and which he in turn has shown us in its many Glfterent phases, that is responsible fos the extravagant herolcs of the modern- The stage hero of to-day must be swashbuckler with a lightning thrust to have startled his prototype of a century or two ago into an ague of fear. The latest historic plays have whelmed the modern stage knee deep in blood. Four, 88 1t would never do for any self-respecting The younger Salvin! was the embodi- [§ : { o ment of what a stage hero ought to be, but according to the standard set now for our applause he was little more than a hlust‘ermx braggart. In his version of Dumas’ “The Three Guardsmen,” which was the forerunner of the present day frenzy of nervous expectancy with his flery temper and ever threatening sword hard, but the nearest he ever came tq Wwholesale combat was when he met and conquered thres of the King’s guard sin- scarcely a decade ago. In enter into an altercation dinal’s Guards, with the sult that 3ixteen of Guards are Lilled, while not Sothern's men 4 even pen execute one ahaip aiale, executed skilifully in on, In which Jame: ] Eht particular star, and alwavs left the ‘ear that iIf the play t"’fl“ uous order was T, n “An BEnemy to the ‘i O 3 % company o g sed to thrill us F 2 to a dozen scars & Rt Theater only a few sea- S 3 F £ Tific hand-to-hand combal. t the entire last act of : S T 10 & duel that was reached until | : ) the good through and over a heay- 7 : : | m iy eurtained bed and spitted him on hru e reinforcements could gr- | » “Do; ar’ n Caes- ‘; fato o, YOTSL Was to come. When “Bur. Supposed to whem in “Romeo and Juliet” in New York in London, whers he first meets Eugen, the villain, the latter disarms “him and runs him through twice, leaving him on al play. blade and a desperate aban- the fleld for dead. Jennico finally recov- face of danger that would ers and goes to Dornhelm to seek his wife. Learning her true identity and also that she still loves him, he abducts her from the palace. Prince Eugen pursues the lovers and finally overtakes them. In the fight that follows Eugen knocks Jennico’s sword out of his hand at the first clash and is about to finish him when Jennico's 2 4 : coachman shoots the Prince. T 3 A ek 9 Now that is all very well in books, but reward. E and even a dozen men ara t mortality is the one which is hero in the modern ‘“romantic” on the stage. So the plot was changed to do honor to Mr. Hackett's skill as a swords- man. In the play which will be seen to- night at the California Theater, Cap- tain Jennico, after being tricked into a marriage where he weds the princess dis- | Eulsed as a waiting mald, and finding that after all he loves the supposed waiting maid, goes in hot haste to her rescue when ehe is abducted by her cousin, lhha Prince Eugen von Rothenbers, a thorough- £ e, T e T 2 i 7 going blackguard. In a ruined chapel at : tlmmlf'-«d.-m e ; ' ' @ & ‘ ; 3 i hetm, where he finds her a prisoner, St \ . ‘ od also learns for the first time tnat be proj since then— ard iso earne £ ficke oo h.! h: i into the hands of & band of Bugen's hir n recognizes him, and oy E“T of the secret marriage, " drama, he held us in a fin, version of the same play and the King’s Guards > g having learne in of instant with the Car- g o b commands Jennico on palf fvoren surprising re- ¥ : % pplication for & & the to sign an a =3 | A : - : ¢ b de:;:sfl stoops to sign ;ha pta;‘):r, !l::xnt‘-;um(;x -!mlC::; fl nnte"e:m its scabbard and 5 the whole crowd. Then comes l\?‘d “fl;: that does not end until he has ldh o fln‘(‘l eight of them, in;:llud‘ln:v efi“l:e;n e is superb reallsm. (o -:le:onlé thought 1t does appear 88 . height of e e | | 4 hero and his small arm = : | v ‘ ‘ ; in such constant risk o!t \rg:: . | to0, have been obliged to is, under their clothing. As l:“ Sow from one result of this ter ing suddenly ! one of Eugen's men ¢ fighters can “In the Palace of the HIng Viola Allen appears Theater to-morruiw ‘;‘gl:(;;h:x wous effect is gaine . While its story T Meood old days of \nnu.nd I ates, intrigues : co:r:yml:"e;! nothing of the ‘?“.‘}::‘1’:::,‘ cm?s ity th‘ Th}:fl:;u:keteer' dra- ¥ r’ or Zao gs:;: period. Yet while -wm—g{-X ::‘ mas jash in “The Palace of m: 2 o "o o the BIE scents if 1N oty chureh murder of the Cardin e ing of Spain. b\zu:\?ehnlj b:en sacrificed for ’thc n;:mme- ‘ » i recalled that in 2 ; : : Y (fiia-:“éos:x Philip II engages in an alter- same stren- together dif- harkens back y knights and detail. t, he B > \ half the evening, 4 ‘ ’ : E 4 supposed who dramatized the -~ g 3 ced = mew character— Cardinal Louis a: 'g;cfiohn " Austria. Killed instead of Joh “thus made This assassination scen \tartlingly effective. air Donna Don John's nweem;;;:t‘. }R‘ee: e Sepomond Dolores, played ¥ 4 or protection. While to her lover's me:n the King sends for they are CORYerwaE ' a Dolores alone Don John, leaving Dou: dinal Louis de Torres in the room. Car ars and is surprised to ““;“;,“{’“,‘,y P on John's apartment. oT "Fllu nrol has hardly had time to explain when the King and his brother are heard outside. The Cardinal, at Dolores’ re- quest, enters & secret passage, and she has just time’ to hide behind the curtains of Don John's bed when the pair enter. The King accuses Don John of rebelilon and of scheming to marry Donna Dolores, a poor girl whose “name is tarnished.” At this Don John draws his sword in a rage, but the King Bacifies him. However, ] 5 \ 3 A 5y ust as-he declares that Dolores has been ckett who first showed \ Y iscovered with the Cardinal, “her lover,” that potentate appears upon the scens and 2] P F B A denounces the King as a poltroon and a inate a dozen enemies alone } . 2 5 liar. nded. Before he made such & r 3 % £ Don John starts toward the King, his he > 3 - 2 brother, when Phillip rushes at him. The >me famed as a swordsman Cardinal, in his endeavor to separate the Pris. oy o brothers, is accidentally laid low by the f Zenda,” With his trusty sword 4 5 é King’s dagger. Phillip, the craven cow- r of Zenda. h his . ] - : ard, seeing what he has dome, compels high- A - ¥ his brother, on threat of giving Donna Do. when as Mercutio he appeared % 4 2 lores over to the Inquisition, to assume = : H A . 3 the crime. Yo Phillip drags his brother out of the 3 P ke death-chamber, when Dolores appears e : £ hiding place, and, crying.ouf e Captatn Bl Jonnico s a grievou § ;. “Don John shall' not! He shall not!” Castle, Captain Basil Jennico is a grievous o pitches head :foremost to the stage and ‘ : - it ings the scene to a dramatic close. S D s the ~Bride of Jenmico” and “In the Palace of the King” both playing hers at the same time, we shall have plenty of thrilling effects in new ‘romantic’ cs.