OCR Text |
Show H, . , , Hi1'; ' It "WUh the ITir$tf$igh'ter4: Hi! I THE WIZARD OF OZ. iHj If you go to the Theater to see The Wizard of Hfl I Ox next week, you will get anything you want Hlf I from opera bouffe to comic pantomine, and there Hlji is something doing every minute. Hi 1 1 It is Impossible to say all that we could if f Montgomery and Stone were to be here as the J Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, but the man- I agement of the production gives the usual assur- j ance that the Wiz is "just as good," and in just I' as capable hands as the first company now play- Hi 1 1 1 lng in the east, and headed by the inimitable Hi I ' Montgomery and Stone. H( !' ' The production itself is a pippin, and it would Hji j take a bunch of actors very much to the sand-Hf.;1 sand-Hf.;1 i -. paper to spoil all of the sport provided for young H ' and old in this fat musical hit, but it is a disap- Hf L j pointment not to get the men who originated two Hyjj'i . of the oddest characterizations ever seen in ex- Hi j ! travaganza. HV' H 'HE SCARECROW IN THE WIZARD OF OZ. H The Denver papers, however, say everything H that is good for the company we are to see, and H it is safe to say that it win be a big hit here as H it has been everywhere else. H When you go to the Wiz next Thursday, or MH Friday or Saturday vnight, or take the youngsters H Saturday afternoon, be sure to get there on time, H w-hlcU means 8 o'clock or 2. The clever illusion H of the Kansas cyclone, the opening scene, gives H the keynote to the story, and not only that, but H it is one of the cleverest bits of scenic work on H the stage today. H And speaking of the scenic embellishments, H the performance is divided into three acts and H nine scenes, affording brilliant opportunity for the H , scenic artist, an opportunity of which Walter Bur- H ridge availed himself to the utmost. The first act K shows a Kansas farm and its demolition by a ter- K rific cyclone; a picturesque view of the land of M the Munchklns, which 16 only another name for H fairyland; a road through the forest at sunset; K , a poppy field in midsummer, which is a most ex- B qulsite creation of scenic art; and the same poppy B, flel(1 in winter, a dazzling and beautiful triumph B of the imagination. The second act discloses the K gates of the Emerald City and the courtyard of HH "The Wizard's" palace, while the setting of the H third and last act shows the domain of the sorcer- H ess in dreamland, an environment of remarkable MB spectacular beauty. The most gorgeous and elab- H orate effects are secured in all of these stage plc- H cures, and the representation of the poppy fields with the chorus posed as flowers" ranks among the very best achievements In modern scenic art. There can be no doubt of the merriment that "The Wizard of Oz" affords and the popular acceptance ac-ceptance of it everywhere. The pleasure excited by this exhilarating show, with its hearty fun, its glittering pageantry, its legion of pretty girls and its jingling music, is indubitiable. No one who loves spectacular extravaganza of the wholesome kind ought to miss the oportunity which the coming com-ing visit of "The Wizard of Oz" affords. tv t w HENRY MILLER. When Mr. Miller walked off the stage for the last time Tuesday evening, after making, what in the patois of the in-field, would be called a sacrifice sacri-fice hit, so that Captain Lovell might win out, h,e stole a line from Jessie Busley or rather "Little Britain," and said shaking his head in dejection and referring to that miserable excuse for a play "Mice and Men," "I'm looking for a place to bury it in." And it is safes to say that he will never attempt to produce the thing again. From a box office .standpoint, it was probably expedient to put on a different play the second night of the engagement, but Miller has handed out a fierce one for two or three seasons, and the prices have been the same, and the gullible public, which loved him for "Heartsease" and many another beautiful play, wont just once more to see if he really wouldn't make it worth their while to sit through the performance. But of all the stupid, draggy performances, that act as a narcotic on thje senses of both the audience and the actors ,this "Mice and Men" is the worst. The lines are not bright, the people peo-ple played the thing as though they hated it, and the audience that part of it which kept awake fidgeted through four acts that were just about " as interesting as a couple of pages in the dictionary. dic-tionary. "Joseph Entangled" was little better, though a slight improvement, but when It is suggested that Mr. Miller means to make a New York success suc-cess of the piece, he Is to be pitied, for it is almost al-most sure to be a failure. It is distinctly a company play, and Miss Spong and the rest worked hard to make It interesting, but It will never be a great success. Mr. Miller, as Sir Joseph, made love in .the same old way with his mouth contortions a little lit-tle more exaggerated, and his right hand waving with each expression, MIs Spong, as the Lady Verona, stood for it much longer than many women wo-men would have dona, and her acting was excellent, excel-lent, though she is not dowered with that personality per-sonality and charm of manner necessary to such a part. The whole company were just as, good in "Joseph "Jo-seph Entangled" as they were Dad in "Mice and Men," and if you saw this latter piece, you maw know how excellently they played in the former. How a company of people can be real actors in one play and real hams in another is hard to reason rea-son out, but this is the truth, whether or no there is any explanation. Mr. Frederick TIden's Harry Tavender was beautifully done, and one of the really pleasing things in the performance, while Stanley Dark's Jermyn Pyecroft was a gem, containing some of the fattest of the few brilliant lines in the play. Another bit of refreshment was Mr. Allen's Al-len's Prof. Tofield, and among the ladles, Miss Busley, as Lady Fanmere, played opposite Mr. Tiden with fine effect The plot was really marvelous in its originality origi-nality a man in love with another man's wife, and a lesson, that one should be cautious about judging from appearances. Such a novel arrangement should makes an Instantaneous, In-stantaneous, hit in the great metropolis the coming com-ing winter. |