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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 (Suppressed emotions, than anything she may do or say. But though at times her enunciation seems im-perfect, im-perfect, and the necvous twitch of 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 scene. And speaking of the color, the whole story is - told in the shades she affects trom the purploish red of the bejeweled courtesan to the spotless white she wears in the closing scene of the ijlay. The audience was spellbound, reverential, 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 work B of art. The Judas of Hobart Bosvorth was mC6. H ly done, though he has a tendency to rant in thia B very intense part. Frank Gilmore as Aulus Fla- H vius created a splendid impression, with his strong H manly bearing, and easy, natural stage presence m There never has been a better mob scene on a & H cal stage than that in this' play, and the final 8 act in the ravine near Jerusalem is a powerful H example of the realism of modern stagecraft Hi fc?v 5 tv IB HERALD BAUER. H t$ & Bi Under the auspices of the Philharmonic Guar. H anteeing Society, the wonderful pianist, Harold H Bauer, will be heard at the First Congregational H church on the evening of March 28th. He has recently taken San Francisco by storm, H as witness what Blanche Partington says in the H San Francisco Call: H When is a piano not a piano? K When it is an orchestra, with Harold Bauer H at the baton! H Mr. Bauer's "Walkurenritt" of last night's re- H cital his own and a brilliant arrangement, by the H way set one to suspecting the superfluousnesa H of the orchestra. It was superbly adequate as a H transcription and played with a wild sweep, a H massive volume of tone marvelously differential- H ed in color that gave the noble turmoil of the H Walkyrie ride with true orchestral magnificence. The applause that followed bordered on the H hysterical. H & & & H A FINE CONCERT. H The efforts of John Held and his band to fur- nish a musical program of standard excellence once a week, was apparently never more appre- ciated than last Sunday evening, and the organl- zation with its additional attractions grows in favor week by week. The Enterpe Ladies' Quar- tette was the feature of the last concert, and the duet for cornets by Messrs. Johnson and Leslie, B and the cornet solos by Mr. Held were of a very B high order. The band was especially pleasing B in the variety of music, and the rendition of the B selections. B A great concert is in preparation for April B 24th. fl i& 5 tv l THE OLD HOMESTEAD. B There are reasons why "The Old Homestead" fl has been so successful for nearly twenty years. One of the most important of them is that the B characters are drawn from real life. The audi- B ence seems to appreciate the fact that Cy Prime, Aunt Matilda, Seth Perkins, Rickety Ann, Eb B 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 Hfe and he made copious notes of the humorous and pathetic incidents with which New England country 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 became in time the finished drama and which he aptly called "The Old Homestead," thereby giving to the stage ,one 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. |
