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Show Bright Idea Is Marred 1 Miss Donnelly Is Star M V DOROTHY DONNELLY. ;"The Right to Be Happy" Too Artificial; Other Metropolitan Productions Deserve l ; and Receive Rebuke. iertiiM -V ne ttflll pWM ill' By Vanderheyden Fyles - TBW YORK. April G. If tlio 18 9 J V author of "Tho Richt. to Bo ; 1 i Happy" asked for my ad-fiO ad-fiO vico' which I readily admit tie$ !( I do not oxpoct he will, I should erita; urgo him to hurry it off tho stago i Bw J- cvn morn rapidly than unantis-jjw unantis-jjw ; factory business will iu nuy caso; fa) I to destroy every shvod of tho imin- oi i; uscript; and then, rcvortiujr to his jriii ; sound and promisinjr fundamental r'i t . idea, write a wholly now Tlny. l"'or nap 'j it seems seriously too had that is Sf mch a human, pregnant scenario , Jhould ho lost becauso of insincere i yk0 and artificial dovelopmout. 1 tuH i" Tho widow and threo children of atei, J " an old Now Yorker, resident in lu ; Stuyvcsant Squaro and of tho best !erfil I blood, arc left badlv off financially, icd W Tho mother is a mid-Victorian doll, ' coif I helpless and bewildered by tho loss o of her protector; tho younger j"r , danjMcr and tho son aro frivolous IS . and shallow; the older Rirl alone . is competent to find and take pos-! pos-! vision of a raft that will at least -? float thorn on the stormy soa of . metropolitan life, if it cannot bo J j depended upon to oarrv thoin into M l karbor. That is to say. leaving H -i Ofep-fca flowers of spooch to pub--.'1 he speakers and tho poets and pet- tine down to busiucss the self-j self-j "liant tiuartcr of tho quartette ... H 1 finds that sho can niako herself so i '"cfnl to a fictional Rubber Trust . , s to cam a vcrv considerable pal-4 pal-4 although it is cs.sontial that her connection ivith tho concern bo H sfPt a secret. She is. in short, a !VJ '?V: birth installed her amonir poo-1 poo-1 who aro inaccessible to the 11-' 11-' :f Jfcd macunlo of the Trust, and - ;j, r Jitauty, brains and tact enablo her . y , to find nut necessary secrets. There jif . surclv havo an interesting char-.jjSi'. char-.jjSi'. f'fr and cnviroiimont: onlv the ' 'J ?femo of Dorothy Donnelly, as in-'-'M- lrPreter of the woman. wu5 necd-, necd-, 'd to arouse anticipations of sort-J sort-J ""s and virile studv in American "V "mininiiv. J)VT Avhat docs M r, Kollctt .j IJ Plumbers dot Having con-K con-K 'fived vigorous! v and freshlv to "Is Point, ho bpoomcs . tjtherfv up cnouuh junk, long . Jodoncd bv dramatic who nourished in the 'nighties nd nineties, to carrv off his engaging Jino and dnnip her in a verit-"le verit-"le bog of stativ refuse. Im.y, 1 r ftocat; for 1 refuse to believe thnl : jojoue capable of starting so wtU ' ?'ihl have ended o impotontly " pa he exorcised his own powers of H .. wvention instead of falline back H fi 'n nioldv and lethargic memory. H cdiatolv he throws his prom- I ; 'nc Jlig;, An Roof "into ho V A Oaenalc's power" bv makinc him . er hrothor's emplover. to the Int - r lje i-aucht at some crooked K j ork which the siatev can nnd does M ' ?kc straight. Then, having sup-M sup-M ; Plied tho Rubber Kinc with an in- Hnowife whose existence prevents-1' prevents-1' ?im from mnrrvintr Mis ran Roof, author "makes that, self-1 self-1 J "Ciscd voune woman civn hnr-, hnr-, "If williuch- to j,-,,,,. dI v tll's happened lone before v.l !?e..leninir of the play; but the f-jM ot,,ve3 for theso moves. hc man- WI xl t W,litfh thP nvc hccn m0d.e : 1 f? lh decrees to which the vnn-JJ vnn-JJ i charnPter5 aro nwaro of them. M Iri a11 woefnllv confused, when a,,sollclv disregarded. So iStfB' iTtlle several persons borin to '- Mi,1"1"20 tho tnto natures" of one another, tho shocks fall rather llatulontly on a dazed audience, unapprised un-apprised of what natures tho pup-pots pup-pots had belioved in formerly. Tho three persons vitally concerned loarn their "tmo natures" all of a singlo evening, in spito of having hav-ing been intimately acquainted for a long time; wliilo the other characters char-acters enjoy their own little shocks on the side, suggesting the younger childron's circlo of toy torpedoes about tho big ones' giant firecrackers. fire-crackers. THE inventor of a process for making artificial rubber can break the rubber trust, the head of which details his mistress-spy to discover the ingredients, inasmuch as the invention hs not yet been nntoutcd. This is made "easy for her by the author, who asks us to boliovo that love for her has so unbalanced tho inventor that he insists in-sists on leaving a detailed description descrip-tion of his process in her keeping. A lenient critic might designate this as the point at which tho drama foil to piocos tho proceed ing was so incredible that ouo understood un-derstood tho embarrassment and shame that made tho actor who had to offer some excuse for such au action nuimblo his words so that they were hardly audible. Tho lio'-Iownos8 lio'-Iownos8 of the expedient had so utterly ut-terly undermined an already-wobbling structure ne to bring it crashing crash-ing to tho ground. During tho rest of tho play Miss Donnelly. Edmund Brooso ami Leslie Pubor wandered portentously about among tho ruins, emoting heavily and reviving reviv-ing no conviction whatsoever. Miss Donnelly, looking nn loss than superb in a dinner gown worthy of a better plav, learns that the insane in-sane wifo had died as far back as the first act, and is wounded that hor lover has not immediately asked her to become his wife. A few hours after the death, Miss Van Hoof mentions it to him. whereupon he covers his eyes and gasps: "Don't don't remind mo of thnt painful subject." Then he chokes her. PERHAPS I should in .iui-tico mention that the magnate argued with the lady spy before he choked her. He wanted tho paper. He demanded it! But Miss Van Hoof was beginning to realize tho suporioriU of the inventor: in-ventor: indeed, with almost super-human super-human insight she began In discern .shortcomings in her lovor which ie was at groat pninh to impress on t ic audience before ho had been on the stage five minutes. Possibly 1 should say ho drove t hem in on us hammered them in fired them in; for Mr. Hrece never allows sub-tlptv sub-tlptv to interfere with the straight, sure nim which lie conceives to bo the manual of dramatic force-, lie hn compiled a tried and trust;; formula for a King of hinanco: it h now as widelv known and recognized recog-nized as the stage Irishman or Jew. Enter where or when ho may, in motor coat or evening clothes, having been announced or coming on us unuwnros, we immediately exclaim. ex-claim. "There is a King of M-nance." M-nance." J.. P. Morgan may be actually sitting unobserved in the third row of the balcony., James Spever may have been .3amm,a against ue in the subway, Jnmos Brown Potter mav have been ped-dling ped-dling poncils on tho corner as wo p"5cd, but tho moment Edmund Brecso appears nnd our oyea travel from Ms powdered hair to his farrowed far-rowed cheeks, from his authoritative authori-tative hand to his masterful etrlde. we kaow we are before a King of Finance. Though a individual Barnum and Bailor are no more, their sonla go marching on. With tho great show at tho Hippodrome recognizing recogniz-ing the return of the Barnum & Bailey entertainment to tho Madi-eon Madi-eon Square Garden, in which famous fa-mous auditorium it may now be appearing ap-pearing for the last tima, by adding circus acts to Its spectacular spectacu-lar acniovumeutf, tho B. & B. meets mnssive Mr. Hippo on his own ground by adding pantomime and ballets to its circus riugs. A vast stage has been erected at the far end of the Cardon, and, in place of the "grand parade" of animals in cages, "dressy" elephants and all the " artists " subsequently to perform, per-form, Barnum & Bailey's now begins be-gins with a respectable incident in thn Antony ana Cleopatra scandal. The curtains of brown, leathery-looking leathery-looking stuff, with u scarlet border of Indian figures, parts, and a tern- j pie in Cloopatra'p palace in Alex- i andria is revealed. Egyptian priests appear nnd solemnly saluto the sun. After some townsfolk come upon . the wono. the imminent arrival of I Marc Antony is mado known. He enters with extraordinary pomp and splendor, attonded bv an endless end-less armv on foot, on- horsoc elo- I phants and camels, and in Roman chariots, in the trail of which comoj slave gir'a. After Antony, accompanied accom-panied bv his stondard-bearor. drives on in a flaming chariot, the Serpent of the Xile appears. She pleads with Antony to spnre her people, finally removing her double dou-ble crown and offering half of it to him. He refuses: and an Egyptian feast, ensues. I nconiorntod in it arc a colorful and dazzling bnllct and a series of the more thrilling sports of the Roman arena by which I mean, the horso races and chariot races that used to end the circus. In short, this year's Barnum & Bailey's begins where previous shows left off. AFTER three-ciuartcr? of an ! hour of ancient splendor I that wp are willing to believe cost tweuty-fivp thousand American dol-1 dol-1 lars to reproduce, the clowns and , athletes and elephants all come tumbling in; the bands crash rag-I rag-I time; and, here wo are again! Of course the clowns bring on the famous houn' for everyone to kick ' nroun': and then too wo havo a T. R. clown who throws his hat in tho ring, for Speaker Clark to kick it out again. A remarkable troop of elephants anticipate the baseball season most amazingly, and there are feats of strength 'by Katio Sandwina and thrilling jiu-jitsu stunts by the Royal Mikado Athletes. Yet tho great first place mav be said to be accorded to Mav Wirth, inasmuch as all other rings and platforms aro deserted so that attention may bo concentrated upon her "act." Sho is a girl of oightccu aud comes from Australia, where hor relatives still conduct a "wagon show." She makes her entrance on a horse white enough to have belonged to Sir Galahad, or to have stepped out of "Alice iu Wonderland." A dor.cn armored knights attend her. Yet sho has hardly started when she leaves them miles behind, for she bounds about and dances on the back of a forty-horso-powor horse if ever I have seen one. Ilowcvor. he proves too slow, or is shorter of breath thau Miss Wirth, for prcscutly he is dismissed and a fastor. steed appears to carry on the "specialty." Finally the whirlwind ends, with May Wirth still alive, and, as a successful defiance de-fiance of death appears to bo tho object and the triumph of a circus star, T feel safe in cheering May, in person or in print. APREMTERE without al least tho promise of a riot is hnrdly worth while nowadays. Since wc all stood on tho chaiiy in the Mnxino Elliott theater and dodged potatoes, Watorbury watches and other missiles siz.ing toward tho Irish Players, a mere successful first-night strikes us as insipid. If Margaret Anglin wnnts to hold our interest she will havo to rouse the ire of the militant suffragettes; and if John Drew really counts on being noticed when he reappears he had hotter instigate a shirtwaist-makers' riot. Paul Orlcnoff. the fnmous Russian actor, made his first appearance in "Czar Paul I." a matter of momentous mo-mentous expectations, calling for police protection and appearing; before be-fore an inaugural audience highly seasoned with central tofiicc men. Tho play, like tho novel on which its author based it, has been sup- , pressed in Russia; and, according to the Orlcnoff management, its performance has boon prevented throughout Europe, indirectly or directly 13' Russian itiflucucc. Then, too, the actor-manager received threatening letters from St. Petersburg, doubtless from a Northern branch of tho Black Handsky; so six detectives from tho United States postoffice were "nmong those present." NOT to forrc mv modest person into international uphomals iudced. I can mu from an upheaval faster thnn any man now living i T mav mention that T hao ( evolved a costume for modern , metropolitan first-nights. As a basiF, X exhumed an ancient evening even-ing suit, upon which a squashed potato po-tato makes no ill effect. Underneath Under-neath it I conceal a tin-plate waistcoat; waist-coat; while from an adjacent lire-i lire-i house, T havo secured a low-bncked holmet thnt. protects my neck from i missiles from tho rear. To complete com-plete my thoatnr-costiune, I wear spiked shoes nnd swing a jaunty .Mvord'Ktick. from Toledo, Spain; and, on the whole. I find modern first-nights reasonably safe. THE initial New York perform-anco perform-anco of "Czar Paul r," was actually its first on any stage: and though it came off without blood t?hed, two nights later two men were reported to havo followed Paul Orlcnoff to tho apartment honiro in which bo lived, fired nt him. and sp;d away in a taxicab. The building, by the way, is the samo to which Mrs. Suydam nnd her boy lover eloped Inst summer and in which, a week after they had been married, they committed suicide. "Czar Pan I." takes ?o long to get to the point, thnt only the most serious or most patient plavgocr may be counted upon to be 'in nt the death. But Paul Onest's death is cortninly worth waiting for In the first act wc see him at a military parade, nn insulting, spitting, wenk-mmded 1 1 . . I J FLO SWINNEP.TON 9 New Prima Donna of tho Majestic Mttslcul Comedy Company, Which Is Playing Tabloid Musical Farces at the Majestic Theater. and dogeuerate wrock of royalty. The military-govornor of St. Petersburg. Count Von Palcn, wants to rid tho nntion of him, and sounds the cznrovitch on tho matter. mat-ter. The latter, however, is what dear Lady Macbeth styled "infirm of purpose"; so Yon Palcn veers over to anothe rtnek. Making it appear that the ministers and roynl family nre actually in league to luurder Paul, he tells the monarch that they are. That brings forth tho expected decree of banishment, or worse. With that. Von Palen is able to wring consont from tho Czar's elder son to murdor tho old tvrant and mount tho throno himself. him-self. All that takes much more timo to tell in tho drama writton for Orlcnoff than to sketch hero. Finally it is bedtime yours and I mine and Paul's. However, after the terrifying rudeness of tho czar's awakening, you and I go home in a mood to put off, by any-reasonable any-reasonable expedient, putting out the light. Paul, on his part, has heard of tho conspiracy and is nnturally reluctant to closo his oyes; it' takes the Countess Taga-rina. Taga-rina. who is considerably better-look-ing than the hefty Empress, a lot of timo and trouble to lull him off into slumberlaiid. Tho murdorers 'break into the chamber; drag the emperor from his bed; aud, securing secur-ing a rope about his throat, haul him up a flight of stops and drop him down to death in hideous agony. I doubt whether any sight more terrifying has ever been witnessed wit-nessed on our stage. Orlcnoff 's extraordinary ex-traordinary power over the features of his face insures an awfulncss that few, if any, actors of the day could give to tho final struggle. Van Palen announces that, tho czar has died of apoplexy; his trembling, trem-bling, nauseated son Is noisily proclaimed pro-claimed emperor; and, truo to Russian pessimism, tho last words spoken are: "Ono tyrant is dead, another is alive. " At the end thero wore no calls for author; but then, how could there be his namo is Dmitti Mcrcshkovskj'! |