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Show The Drama and Music NO sooner had Oscar Hammerstoln stepped from the gangplank of the ocean liner that bore him to these shores than his name blossomed like a blazing sunflower in the display dis-play headlines of every paper in New i York. Not even the Rosenthal mur- 1 . dor case could keep him off of some f of the first pages. , So much for having a plcturemiuo taste in hats and a capacity for saying say-ing things the papers like to print, not to mention his ability from time to time to do great things as wen aa talk about them. According to his first reported statements state-ments his intention was to bring nis London opera company to this couu try next winter for a tour ' or the larger cities at theatre prices. He would, as the earlier reporters had it, introduce grand opera to the middle mid-dle classes at prices aproximately half the regular rates. Later reports, however, credited the international impresario with no sucn altruistic plans. He would tour America, Amer-ica, omitting New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago, but it would bo at regular opera prices. As Mr. Hammerstein expects to be on this side for a month, he will doubtless favor the press with otnei. variations of his plans, all of which will be Interesting reading, and none of which he will feel himserr Dound to carry out. Possibly one of the secrets of this remarkable gentleman's ability xo command the attention of the public lies in this very uncertainty as to what he may or may not do, after having hav-ing given speech to numerous apparently appar-ently impracticable propositions. He has a habit periodically of making mak-ing good. THERE iB much to be said in behalf be-half of Mr. Belasco's plea in defense de-fense of the charges of piracy which have been made against him by obscure authors. In the thousands of plajs that have been submitted to him and that have been hastily read or not reacr at all and returned, there have no doubt been numbers of ideas, and even I plots, that may have been Brmilar in I some degree to those he has employ- ed in his own dramatic compositions. Similar ideas and plots inay easily form themselves in different minds, and anyhow, it is not the plot and the idea alone that constitute the play. The successful play depends on the uses made of the plot and the idea. But Mr. Belasco's experiences with troublesome near-dramatists furnish no good reason why he or ary other producer should refuse consideration hereafter to all manuscripts by un known writers. Indeed, on the face of it, such a policy pol-icy must bo out of the question, or it would at once become Impossible for new, successful dramatists o be recruited. Even Mr. Belasco, himself, had to have his first start. Fortunately, not all producers are of Mr. Belasco's avowed mind. New writers will continue to break in by i one avenue or another, and the thousands thous-ands who are writing what they believe be-lieve are to be successful dramas will not be too much discouraged by Mr. Belasco's determination. Two Belasco productions inside of three weeks is a record for any theatre thea-tre in the country. The glad tiding is forthcoming on the part of the management of the Orpheum that commencing Sunday matinee the second sec-ond big Belasco headllner will be 'jtaged here in the form of that gripping grip-ping one act drama "The Drums of Oudo" which played for two years without a break at the Duke ot York's theatre, London, and was transferred to the Orpheum circuit direct. di-rect. It is a story of the Indian mutiny mu-tiny and the playlet carries a cast of six men and one woman. The oldest old-est quartet in existence Is the Empire Em-pire Comedy Four, and Incidentally one of the most entertaining. For fifteen years they have sung together in the leading music halls of America Ameri-ca and Europe. Joe Jenny in the feature of the aggregation as an eccentric ec-centric little comedian. Venlta Gould Is a clever Impersonator and has at her command the mannerisms of Anna Held, Emma Trentlnl, Madame Ma-dame Nazi'mova, George Cohan an many other stage favorites. Sealby and Duclos, French dancers, are direct di-rect from Europe where they recently recent-ly completed a successful toui. Roe Belmont and Mattle Harl call their act "The Man, The Girl and The Piano." They have one of those classy acts that Invariably score heavily. The Robert Do Mont Trio are destined des-tined to furnish an acrobatic novelty under the title of "Hotel Turn-over." "Silhouette Fun in Shadowland," a clever manipulation of an assortment of figures, is the offering of the Stanleys. Stan-leys. The world's news in motion views by the Animated Weekly and some new music by the concert orchestra or-chestra complete the new bill. A bill that I3 easily one of the best of the summer months and that really Is up to mid-winter standard graces the Empress at present and will continue con-tinue there until Tuesday evening of the coming week. Clarence Wilbur and his famous company of comedians come-dians and show girls in Billio Burke's new sketch, "The 'New Scholar," heads the sketch end of the bill in one of the cleverest and best playlets seen hero in many months. The performance perform-ance of Coo Coo and Laura, the two talking birds that Victor Niblo presents, pre-sents, is little short of marvelous Elizabeth Kennedy and Anna Mack Berleln have a laughable sketch called "Darby and Joan," and Princeton and Yale in their slang sketch, and Bert Cutler In hla exhlblton of billiard playing, complete a bill that is meritorious meri-torious all the way through. For its forty-sixth week the Empress will offer, of-fer, beginning next Wfednesday afternoon, after-noon, a realistic Idyll of the plains, entitled "A Wyoming Romance," with ten real cowgirls and cowboys. The new bill Includes also Hanlon and Hanlon, acrobatic marvels; May Ell nore, a topsy turvy comedienne; Rlc-cl'a Rlc-cl'a symphonlous quartette, four masters mas-ters of the saxaphone; E. T. Moore, monologulst, and LeRoy Harvey and company In a western tabloid, "Rained In." Wlllard Mack, Marjorle Rambeau and their excellent company will present pre-sent "What Happened to Jonea" at the Colonial theatre next week and in so doing they expect to show a versatility that permits the artistic presentation of comedy as well as heavier productions. "What Happened to Jones" is one of the funniest plays ever created. It Is not new, by any meana, hut it ha- never lost Its vogue. The play is just the kind that the friends of Mr. Mack, Miss Rambeau and their company would like to see them present for It seems so richly adapted to this company. The stock company has been playing play-ing to excellent business this summer, sum-mer, presenting a variety of plays and wining favor from large audiences. The class of stock productions offered of-fered during the coming weeks is really real-ly of a higher order than those already al-ready presented, if possible, and "What Happened to Jones" will come within this classification. The usual matinees will be given during the coming week. The company to present Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm in London, under management of Klaw and Erlanger, on September 2, sailed on August 1, on the Baltic. The company is headed by Edith Taliaferro, Archie Boyd, Hayward Ginn, Marie L. Day, Eliza Glassford, Sam Colt, and Ada Deaves. In his role as theatrical manager, not for decorations on his real estate holdings, Henry W. Savage has contracted con-tracted for one thousand eighteen-inch eighteen-inch plaster of Paris reproductions of the Venus de Milo, and the same number of copies of the Winged Victory. Vic-tory. They will be used for the studio-smashing scene in The Million, one at a time, but there will be two companies of The Million. Miguel AngolettI, of Hoboken, has the other end of tht contract and the Italian colony is happy. ElBle Janis and her mother were prominent in assisting to save furniture furni-ture and other property during Nar-ragansett Nar-ragansett Pier's $100,000 fire on July 27th. |