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Show FISKE. The beauty and the power of such a drama as Mary of Magdala as played by that marvelous woman, Minnie Maddern FIske, is fascinating in its intensity and compelling in the interest that follows the evolution of the story. FLORENCE ROBERTS. Mrs. Fiske makes it so, but no one can say why, and there's the phenomenal part of it. For she has a subtle magnetism that holds her hearers 'with breathless interest rather by the things she leaves unsaid, and the isuppressed emotions, than anything she may do or say. But though at times her enunciation seems imperfect, im-perfect, and the nervous twitch or her mouth is a constant reminder of her greatest work the portrayal of Becky Sharp the depth of poetry in her voice overshadows every other charm. Mrs. Fiske is highly intellectual and she Is equally artistic, and for those reasons her appearance ap-pearance in the opening scenes of Mary of Magdala Mag-dala is disappointing, because she seems passionless, passion-less, too much so for a wanton, and the Impression, must be gained by the color of the scenG. And speaking of the color, the whole story is - told in the shades she affects trom the purplelsh red of the bejeweled courtesan to the spotless white she wears in the closing scene of the flay. The audience was spellbound, reverential, applauding ap-plauding little, held by this story woven around the life of the Master. There was everything to command, and nothing to offend the most reli gious enthusiast, and the production was a wort H of art. The Judas of Hobart Bosworth was uiC6. H ly done, though he has a tendency to rant in this B very intense part. Frank Gilmore as Aulus Fia. H vius created a splendid impression, with his strong B manly bearing, and easy, natural stage presence fl There never has been a better mob scene on a lol fl cal stage than that in this play, and the final fl act in the ravine near Jerusalem is a powerful fl example of the realism of modern stagecraft, fl O w ? H HERALD BAUER. H p& 5 c5 H Under the auspices of the Philharmonic Guar fl anteeing Society, the wonderful pianist, Harold Bauer, will be heard at the First Congregational fl church on the evening of March 28th. H He has recently taken San Francisco by storm, fl as witness what Blanche Partington says in the San Francisco Call: H When is a piano not a piano? H When it is an orchestra, with Harold Bauer fl at the baton! H Mr. Bauer's "Walkurenritt" of last night's re- fl cltal his own and a brilliant arrangement, by the fl way set one to suspecting the superfluousness fl of the orchestra. It was superbly adequate as a fl transcription and played with a wild sweep, a fl massive volume of tone marve! 'y differential- B ed in color that gave the nt .urmoil of the fl Walkyrie ride with true or. AieaJrai magnificence. B The applause that followed borctered on the B hysterical. H 3t fcy tV H A FINE CONCERT. B The efforts of John Held and his band to fur- nish a musical program of standard excellence H once a week, was apparently never more appre- H elated than last Sunday evening, and the organl- H zation with its additional attractions grows in I favor week by week. The Enterpe Ladies' Quar- I tette was the feature of the last concert, and the I duet for cornets by Messrs. Johnson and Leslie, and the cornet solos by Mr. Held were of a very I high order. The band was especially pleasing I in the variety of music, and the rendition of the selections. M A great concert is in preparation for April I 24th. B tv 5 t H THE OLD HOMESTEAD. I There are reasons why "The Old Homestead" has been so successful for nearly twenty years. One of the most important of tnem is that the characters are drawn from real life. The audi- ence seems to appreciate the fact that Cy Prime, Aunt Matilda, Seth Perkins, Rickety Ann, Eb Ganzey, and old Uncle Josh are real live people and not fictions of the author's imagination. Den- man Thompson lived among these people for many years before he gave "Uncle Josh" to the stage. He became intimate with their daily life. I and he made copious notes of fhe humorous and pathetic incidents with which New England coun- try life is crowded. And so the thing seemed to grow in his mind as the years went by, until he had prepared a series of pictures (living pictures, in the 'truest sense of the -word), which becamo in time the finished drama and which he aptly called "The Old Homestead," thereby giving to the stage jOne of the most successful plays of this generation. And Denman Thompson himself, one of the most interesting characters on the stage is with the production. I |
