Life, 1909-10-07 · page 21 of 44
Life — October 7, 1909 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page reviews theatrical productions from the early 1900s. The main cartoon depicts an audience watching a pastoral landscape scene—illustrating a review of "The Intruder," a play about divorce and its complications within a family. The text critiques the play's awkward exposition of its divorce plot and praises certain performances while finding the overall work mediocre. Below, a section on "The Rose of Algeria," a comic opera by Victor Herbert, celebrates its transformation from initial failure to successful revival through script rewrites and added comedians. At bottom, a humorous section satirizes the contemporary **Peary-Cook Arctic exploration controversy**—both explorers claimed to have reached the North Pole around 1909, sparking public dispute. Life mocks this by suggesting old polar plays are being revived to capitalize on the scandal, and joking that Cook chases Eliza across ice like Peary pursuing a rival. The closing joke plays on the phrase "hitch your wagon to a star"—the wealthy broker's father meant ambition; instead, his son literally hitched his motor car to an actress.
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plot of “The Intruder.” Here divorce supplies the complication—which is so intricate that simply to state it to the audience makes an awkward first act— and the problem is the status of the daughter of a divorced couple in dealing with her father’s wife and her mother’s new This naturally leads to interesting and amusing situ new step-son. tions, which the author and his company do not handle with cnough expertness to bring out all the fun that might be in them, The character of the neglected and spoiled daughter of the divorced couple left largely to bring herself up is full of possibilities which are not made the most of by either playwright or Adelaide Manola who ha the part. In the climax of the second act, where she pours her woe into a telephonic appeal to her own mother, both author and actress struck the true note and it found immediate re- sponse from the audience. Mr. Arthur Byron was at his usual ease as the father and husband of the young step-mother whose dilemmas were agreeably pictured by Janet Beecher. MOW BEAUTIFUL 1S NATURE! “The Intruder"? lies in the indefinite borderland between good and bad, and is rather indeterminate as a test of its au- thor's abilities. 0 =&a Oo 2s AST year “ Algeria’ viewed by Lire and com mended for the beauty of some of Mr. Victor Her- bert’s music, but summed as being, not of distin excellence. The comic-opera-lov lic did not take to it kindly. It has since then been taken away, its book rewritten, its comedy parts reinforced and recast, new business and new musical numbers adde “The Rose of Ali It is the unusual case of turning a Waterloo into a victory. As “The Rose of Algeria’ is now it is a really amusing and attractive musical comedy and well acted and well sung. Mr. Cowles has been added to the s force with strengthening eff comedians, Messrs. Gaston and Diamond, was re some fresh methods of creating laughter and Mr. Herbert's music, espe- cially the characteristic Arab song in the second act, has lost none of its original charm “The Rose of the Herald Square have Igeria '' was put in at $a stop is entitled to stay on its merits au ay All the old polar North Star plays, thanks to the dispute, are bein out of storage and sent on the road, add to the devastation already created by the rival discoverers. There is even Ik of a spectacular production of Uncle Tom's Cabin,"' with Dr. Cook as Eliza being chased across the ice by Peary as an Arctic bloodhound. Meteaife The Devil Wagon HAT wealthy young broker has given his motor to a known actress.” “Yes. He says his father taught him to hitch his wagon to a star. well- comicbooks.com