Life — April 24, 1902 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Real Imperialism on the Stage. OYALTY and the trappings of roy- alty have considerable interest for us Americans just now. Whether it is on account of the recent visit of Prince Henry, or the prospective one of the Prince of Wales, or the nearness of the Coronation, or bec we are getting along pretty well in the imperialistic line ourselves, thank you, the fact remains that getting next to court functions and court cere- Is, even on the stage, possess a very o-date glamour. he Last Appeal,” under a thin dis- Is with the Court of Francis nperor of Austria. In fact, the ently suggested by the tragic of the Crown Prince Rudolf. To fit the story for the American stage it had to be given a happy ending, and the scan- dalous part of it was wiped out by making Waldemar, the Crown Prince of the play, an unmarried man. Other complications are added, however, which supply the dramatic interest, and Mr. Ditrichstein has written in “The Last Appeal” a clever and enter- taining emotional drama. ‘The first pres- entation was almost ruined, from the of view of picturesqueness, by the ph breakdown of the actor to whom was allotted the important part of the Emperor Francis Joseph, here called The King. Even this misfortune failed to rob the ste of its interest, and with the part in stronger hands the play seems likely to find a firm place in popular favor. The cast was a fairly good one, and two of its members gained a pronounced suc- cess. These were Miss Katherine Grey as Melitta, the young woman on whom the Prince's love has fastened, and Mr. Robert Drouet as Waldemar, The former evinced both versatility and strength, and was thor- oughly charming and womanly in both the hter and the more emotional scenes, Mr. Drouet showed himself one of the manliest and most natural lovers seen on the New York stage fora long time. He can stand a little more ease and polish, but he pos- sesses the right foundation for making very good actor indeed. The play is not staged very extravagantly, the last scene, representing a function at the Austrian Court, being niggardly, where, with com- ‘LIP B paratively slight expense, made very impressive. The Last Appeal’ is an interesting play and worth sitting through. It is worth a more elaborate and liberal setting. might have been ° ° ° AN TOY” has come back to Daly's from its travels on the road, and in the main is as agreeable and amusing as ever. Mr. James Powers, whose Chinaman, Li, is remembered as an un- usually clever performance, is out of the cast, and his successor is very far from filling his place. ‘The old favorites, Marie Celeste as San Toy, George Fortescue as Yen How, and dainty Minnie Ashley as Dudley, with the famous “Rhoda” song, are still “among those present.” “San Toy” is a good care-dispeller, and its music will endure being heard more than once. ° ° strong - handed brigade is with us again. When the road companies begin to close their seasons t new productions are filled with enthusiastic Thespians, who testify their sympathy with their brethren and sisters on the stage by vociferousness of applause in- tended to have its effect not only on them, but on the remainder of the audience, in- cluding, perhaps, even the critics. This is an amiable intention and speaks well for the warm-heartedness of the profession, but it rather defeats its own purpose. Noisy ap- “PING-PONG.”” plause at the wrong moment, or undeserved applause, is apt to provoke resentment on the part of the unbiased spectator. The clacque — paid or volunteer — doesn't accomplish much in America. » Metcalfe. LIFE'S CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE TO THE THEATRES. Academy of Murte.—Last week of “ Under Two Flags." Spectacular and exciting. Bijou.—“ A Modern Magdalen.” Fairly inter- estlog and well acted. Broadway.—Gorgeous and amusing spectacle, “The Sleeplog Beauty aud the Beast.” Criterion. —"* Du Barry,” with Mra, Lestte Carter as the berolne, Very tateresting. Daty's.—« San Toy." Not new, bat very bright and musi Empire.—Stock company In “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Notice later. Garrick.-- Last week of “Sky Farm.” Itnever will be missed, Herald Square. —* Dolly Varden.” Comic opera ; pretty, musically anid otherwise. Knickerbocker.—" The Toreador.” Comic opera of about average merit. Manhattan.—"* Ver Lord and Master" *Tam- Ing of the Surew "in modern guise. Moderately tnteresting. Madison Square —" The Diplomat. Laughable and diverting. Very light comedy. Savoy —'' Soldiers ot Fortune." Robert Edeson and competent company in amusing stage version of the novel. Victorta. French opera company in répertoire, Cheap productions, Wallack ‘The Last Appeal." See above. SPECIAL CABLE FROM LONDON, (A la New York Herald.) Loxvox, Tuesday.—Charles Frohman is at the Hotel Cecil. Charles Frohman has bought the Ameri- can rights to Pinero’s dramatization of the New Testament. Charles Frohman had beefsteak and onions for breakfast this morning. Ic is stated that the Prince of Wales is about to go on the stage under the manage- ment of Charles Frohman. Charles Frohman, the great American manager, yesterday drove in Hyde Park. Charles Frohman will shortly begin tear- ing down Buckingham Palace, which he has purchased as a site for a new theatre. Charles Frohman “presents” himself at Court next Tuesday. The Sure Way. a E OW dare you send a collector to my house? ’? “To tell the truth, sir, we were some- what doubtful about you.” “Then why not have looked me up? You would then have known that I never pay my bills.” “ ‘W HAT an original fellow he is!" “Yes. He has made a study of it.” comicbooks.com