Life — February 5, 1903 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

*LIPE he Wizard of Oz was a very wicked old wiz, indeed, and made bunches of trouble for little Dottie from Kansas and her amiable friends, The Scarecrow and The Tin- man, But this little band of adv turers, carried into the Wizard's do- minions by a Kansas cyclone, took their troubles not much to heart, and as the bulk of their ex- periences were of a most spectacu- Jar nature, the whole thing makes an amusing entertainment for York audien: With it goes any amount of fun, some music not difficult of comprehension, and a bewildering array of pretty and shapely girls in costumes elaborate in design but scant in material. The s is gorgeous and the lighting effects are utilized in a way going to show that there is no limit to the possibilities of e accessory. Mr. Julian Mitchell is responsible for the mounting of the piece and for the stage management, and his results are calculated to dazzle and bewilder the spectator. “The Wizard of Oz” is the opening attraction at the new Majestic Theatre, which marks the extreme extension of Ne York's theatre district to the North and West. The theatre is handsome in design and decoration, and the roominess of the seats and aisles is a delightful departure from the stinginess of space which makes so many of our theatres places of torture for the average-sized citiz e . . JE: LOUIS MANN will be remembered gratefully as a very AVL clever comedian of the German dialect school in a play where he was a subordinate character, His ‘It isto Laugh” has become almost classic. But Mr. Louis Mann as the hero of a four-act play, involving his almost constant presence on the stage, is a very different matter. He is very funny, to be sure, as the German-American who, victimized by a practical joke, holds a com- mission from the Department of State of the State of New York as American Consul to a German principality, but it must be ad- mitted that his dialect and grimacing pall upon one after the first hour or two. ‘The Consul” condensed into a two-act comedy and preceded by a curtain-raiser, with Mr. Mann in a different line of work, would give him better opportunity and please his audiences more. . ¢ his former plays is Captain Robert Marshall's “The Unforeseen.” b From the light vein of “ His Excellence 3, The Governor” and “A Royal Family” it f\ XY isa serious drop iuto a play which opens with a death in the first act, and whose whole atmos- NS i phere is permeated with the dead gentleman's ghostly presence. Add to this a blind clergyman asa hero, aud we havea sense of gloom which even the sunny vitality of Mr. Fritz Williams as a sixteen-year-old boy is not able to dispel. Nor can Captain Marshall be justified in his choice of material by the display of any great expertness as a playwright. The principal interest centres in Margaret Anglin as the bride of the blind clergy- man, impersonated by Mr. Charles Richman, This lady, who has one of the customary I-am-going-away-from-here parts, seems to have gained better control over her facial expression than she had last season, and in the emotional scenes shows very considerable power kept under good control. The other characters are subsidiary and well done. ‘The Unioreseen” is certainly not very blithe and merry, and is not remarkably interesting. Metcalfe, LIFE'S CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE TO THE THEATRES. Academy of Music.—"Florodora.”” Like the brook. Belasco.—' The Daring of the Gods.” Tragic siory of Japanese lite, ‘A most artistic production. Bijon.—Me, Clyde Fitch's “The Bird in the Cage." Not for the young person Broadway,—" The Silver Slipper.” Musical comedy, chiefly notable for Mr, Seabrooke's ** Mr. Dooley.” Casino.—" The Chinese Honeymoon." Musical comedy, Moderately amusing. Criterion —Julla Mariowe in “The Cavalier." Play of the Rebellton, Interesting. Daly's—"The Billlonaire.” Mustcal comedy. Commonplace and not very refined. Garden,—Mr. Sothern in “If | Were King. Excellent play, well acted. Garrick.—Anpie Rassell tn * Mice and Men.” Notice later. Herald Square.—De Wolf Hopper in Mr. Pickwick." Not Dickens, but musical comedy on rather unusual lines, Knickerbocker.—""Mr, Blue Beard," Notice later, Manhattan.— Mary of Magdala.” Mra, Fiske as heroine of New Testa ment story. New York When Johnny Comes Marching Home Tuneful fan. Princess.—Louls Mann tn * The Consul,” See above. Savoy.—Mr. Fitch's “The Girl with the Green Eyes good as the star. Amusing. i —"The Eternal City” and Viola Alien, na of life in modern Rome. Nack's—" The Sultan of Sulu. Bright and tuneful musical comedy, Weber and Fields's.—Burlesque and vaudeville. Diverting. Persons wishing good seats Can secure them from near-by speculators, with Mrs, Blood+ Fairly interesting some OF THE PRETTY GIRLS IN “Tue WIZARD OF 07.” comicbooks.com