THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: DECEMBER 21, s 1919.
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Sothern Favors Little Theater
EH. SOTHERN is a cham
pion of the little theater
movement In a recent in
terview in Toronto the distinguished
actor said: ' ,
"I read an article by David Be
lasco the other day deriding the
idea of the little theaters. It seems
absurd to me. The possibilities of
these ambitious little play-houses
are very great. I should like to see
them all over the country. They
ought to be endowed by the govern
ment, for only in this way will their
real importance to the communities
be recognized. .
"It is a mistake," he continued, to
Ihink that the simplified stage deco
rations are used chiefly in the inter
ests' of economy. What we gam m
the swiftness of changing so many
scenes is of vital importance to the
dramas. With the neutral colors of
the- backgrounds, the attention of
the audience is not distracted from
the plays. The figures are thrown
out just as from a. painting. The
scenery in any production should
hold a position analogous to that of
the accompanist of a singer.
"The fact is -that so far this new
scenery has cost us more than the
old realistic settings. The bills for
production, including the pieces of
scenery,' the properties and the
lights, have come to over $33,UUU
and all the accounts are not yet in.
In addition- the costumes for the
three plays, "Hamlet," "Twelfth
M;rVit" anH "The Taminfir of the
Shrew," reached the figure of $3o,
000, which is an advance of 300 per
cent over what costumes were be
fore Mrs. Sothern and I left the
. stage. As we disposed of everything
we possessed in the way of scenery,
properties, lights and wardrobe, it
has been necessary to build up an
entirely new organization.
"We have been interested In the
new school of stage designs from
its inception. We followed its ad
vance in Paris, London and in other
foreign cities. Personally I have
nothing against the detailed produc
tions Sir Henry Irving liked so
much, but I believe that this pres
ent method is much more satisfac
tory for the, Shakespearean plays.
It might be extended to the modern
pieces by a few adaptations." ,
"Tea for fhree?1"" the sparkling
comedy announced for the Boyd to
night for Christmas week, with
matinees Christmas and Saturday,
was one of the genuine successes of
the past New York season. Pro
duced by the Selwyns at Maxine El
liott's theater in September of last
year, the piece was a hit from the
rise of the first curtain. The au
thor, Roi Cooper Megrue already
famous, for his "It Pays td Adver
tise," ,rSeven Chances" and "Under
Cover" was .hit& by dramatic
writer- ic .!". lleverest of Ameri
can plj--.trhts. "Tea for Three"
was given flattering comparison to
the works of Shaw, Wilde and
Pinero. The theme of "Tea for
Three" is not an original one, based
as it is on the triangular domestic
situation of a man, his wife and his
friend, but the development gf the
frtory is decidedly new and interest
ing. Everywhere the deliciousness
of its humor, the wit and brilliancy
of the dialogue and the novelty of
the presentment in its entirety
leaves a trail of gleeful delight The
action is modern, taking place in
the New York homes of the prin
cipal, characters. There are three
ccts, effectively staged by the Sel
wyns. Of the players, Norman
Hackett in the chief role, that of a
'fashionable man of the world, who
flits 'and flutters to pass away the
time, his only moments of real liv
ing being those spent in the society
of the ivrnan he has adored from
boyhood, now the wife of the other
man, is capital. His magnetic per
sonality, fine voice and diction give
sincerity and conviction to the part
and in the secdnd and third acts he
rises to splendid dramatic heights.
Hayden Stevenson portrays the
jealous, selfish, but lovable, husband,
whose greatest fault is lack of hu
mor. Mildred Evans as Doris, the
feminfne angel of Roi Cooper Me
stue's triangle, is lovely and gra
cious enough to quite justify, her
position in the. hearts of her two
belligerent males. She displays an
case of manner, combined with the
neesary touch, of humor, that
makes her interpretation exactly
what the author intended the char
acter should convey a tender, loyal
wife, yet a human, altogether de
lightful friend. Marie Newkirk as
the maid, Drayqottand S. Sydney
Chon as the efficient English valet
are excellent. The general atmos
phere of the production, while smart
and sparkling, is clean and whole
somely refreshing. It may truly be
said that lea for lhree is a de
lighttul mental stimulant with no
depressing after-effects.
Much interest is evidenced in the
list of principals who interpret the
roles in "The Chocolate Soldier,"
which will be heard at the Brandeis
this week, with a special matinee on
Christmas. The cast includes five
that were in the original New York
ctst.. George O'Donnell, the "Colonel
Popoff, is undoubtedly the most
satisfying comedian that every es
sayed that part, which he has played
more than ,UUU times, rle is the
perpetrator of the' most infectious
laugh the musical stage has known,"
savs a well known critic, which
completely upsets the house and
transforms it into a laugh exchange."
Ihis description is evidently, ac
curate. The leading lady, Helena
Morrill, the "Nadina" of the cast, is
the possessor of avoice of excep
tional beauty, power and flexibility
and in interpreting the Qifhcult music
which Oscar Straus pas assigned to
the part, she is at her best. Miss
Morrill is a favorite whose vogue is
not limited to Broadway, and having
a decided preference for genuine
comic opera rather than "jazz," she
is winning new partisans nightly by
her excellent singing and charming
personality. The others of the cast
are well known operatic artists.
"La La Lucille," a musical farce
which enjoyed t long run at the
Henry Miller theater in New York
the past summer and which just
finished a prosperous engagement
at The Colonial theater, Chicago,
will be the New Year's week at
traction at the Brandeis theater,
opening with a performance Sun
day evening, December 28. Among
the musical numbers that are
whistleable are, "Tee Oodle Um
Bum Bo" and "From Now On."
Among those in the cast are Sam
Hardy, Henrietta Brewster, Harry
Stanley, Marjorie Bentley, John
Lowe, J. Clarence, Harvey and Tom
Collins. There is also a large and
well-costumed choros. The matinees
for the engagement of "La La Lu
cille" at the Brandeis will be New
Year's day and Saturday. There
"will be no matinee on Wednesday.
To the Oroheum this week comes
the dance celebrity, Albertina Rasch.
It was as a solo dancer in grand
opera that she , won her place of
distinction. Compositions of the
great masters she has chosen, such
as those of Lizt, Tshakowsky, Cha
minade and Massenet. These she
has arranged and utilized in her
if ml
Interpretive Art of Alber-.
tina Rasch Will Never Die
WE have seen dancers come and
go, those who claimed to be
exponents of one technique or
another of those who profess to
be the evangelists of blues, jazz,
Hawaiian twirls and Mexican evolu
tions, and finally the advocates of
the deplorable "shimmy." Each and
every one had indeed its short-lived
day to soon pass into oblivion.
The future will of course bring
similar style and with it some nerve
racking noise pretentiously called
mnic, and then again those new
dances and new wiggles and wig
glers will have a few days of ap
proval by a certain set to soon be
forgotten and left to die in solitude
and so on perhaps till the end of
man.
Midst this -ever-chanting chaos,
which has appropriated itself of the
name of "dancing," either through
the lack of another word, or to dis
guise itself under such, there re-
the other at 10:10. The seat sale for
these performances will begin on
Thursday, December 25. ;
"Fair and Warmer," the farce
classic of its season and a good 10
seasons before it, the finest thing
Avery Hopwood ever wrote, and
the best money-maker Selwyn & Co.
ever produced, will be presented by
Castle and Call at the Boyd for
New Year's week beginning De
cember 28, with matinees New
Year's and Saturday..
Charles Dillingham will present
fFred Stone at the Brandeis theater
for the entire week beginning Mon
day evening, January 5, in that mus
ical fantasy "Jack o' Lantern."
Dave Marion, at the head of his
own company of funmakers and
songsters, comes to the popular Gay
cty theater for his annual visit this
week. Marion threatens to retire
after each season, but the lure of the
footlights has always called him
back, and it seems that, like wine, his
work improves with age. This sea
son he is offering a burlesque fan
tasy in two acts and seven scenes,
entitled "Stageland." Chief in " hij
support will be found Babe La Tour,
who returns to burlesque, this season
after an absence of four years; Will
II. Ward. Sid Gold, Joe Argus, John
Willard, Ray Magruder, Conn and
Whiting, Thomas Duffy, Joseph
Rooney and Roya Conroy.. 1 he fem
inine principals are Agnes Behler,
Inez De Verdier, Bobby Roberts and
Billee Repaud. The chorus is an un
usually large one for burlesque It is
a fine singing organization and the
costumes displayed, are m keeping
with the beautiful scenic productions
of P. Dood Ackerman. Ladies mati-
mains and always will remain the
real artists, exponents of a classic
art which unlike the other will never
die and the memory of those artists
were all great artists in their art
When recalling legitimate dancers
of today, Adeline Genee, Anna Pav-j
Iowa, Karsavina, Ruth St. Denis,
Isidora Duncan and many others,
each of those of a different style,
were all great artists in their art
Albertina Rasch, the latest Balle
rina to grape the stage with her in
terpretive creations of classical
music, has been predicted by press
and public, both here and abroad, to
overtake the better exponents of the
Choreographic art. Of Polish origin
she began her studies at the age of
7, and made her debut at the age of
16 at the Imperial theater of Vien
na, as premiere ballerina. Since,
she has atpeared in various coun
tries, and later at the Metropolitan
opera house of New York city, as
well as the Century opera there."
Her life has been orte of hard stud
ies, and her career filled of con
tinuous successes due largely to her
creative genius, her perfect tech
nique, her great understanding of
music combined with strenuous
work which has , filled close to 20
years of her life.
Bubbles From
Tea for .Three
nee every weekday at 2:15. TodaVs
matinee and the holiday matinee,
Christmas day, will start at 3.
Coming as the featured act of the
new show opening at the- Empress
today, the three Murani brothers,
specializing in character and har
mony singing, have a real treat in
store for theater-goers." Their pro
gram embraces all the latest songs
and ballads, as well as a list of old
time melodies. .One of the pleasing
features of the bill will be the ap
pearance of Billy Scott, who calls
himself "The Versatile Scot." He
plays stirring Highland melodies
with bagpipes dances in the Scot
tish way, juggles and gives various
exhibitions of feats of strength
John Orren and . Lillian Drew pre
sent their novelty, "A Barnyard Epi
sode." In conjunction with whis
tling solos. , imitations of animals.
mechanical contrivances and sounds
that are more or less familiar to the
average man or women, are given
by this duo of clever artists. Ed
munds and Rogers in their offering,
"The Two Black Hawks," have a
line of talk that is snappy and cross
fire, and their' songs are of the class
Jthat are tuneful and melodious.
The Cosmo Hamilton play, "Scan
dal, made from the novel of the
same name, and which has proven
the biggest hit Chicago has seen in
ROI COOPER MEGRUE, au
thor of "Tea for Three," to be
served tonight at the Boyd un-
aer airecuon ot the Selwyns, has
been accused of-showing great par
tiality to the bachelor element of his
public in his new play. To use his
own words, "there are two kinds of
people in the world those who are
married and those who are not and
my play is meant to appeal to them
all." But in spite of this he makes
his bachelor hero pre-eminently the
most interesting of his characters.
And tae fact that Norman Hackett
who plays the hero, is bachelor
lends greater weight to the accusa
tion. vMr. Megrue claims it isn't
fair to judge a man bv his works
' when it comes to writing plays, and
' Norman Hackett waives responsi
bility for the lines the author has
caused him to speak. Here are some
of them and if they're not a trifle
audacious, corning from the pen of
an unmarried man, we don't recog
nize audacity when we see it:
"All wives lie to their husbands
all sensible wives." I
"A man may not have loved, but
there lives no man who has not been
loved."
"There is nothing so absorbing
in life as the love of a married
woman, and few married men know
anything about it."
'No man is so bad that his wife
cannot find an excuse for him."
"If forbidden fruit is sweetest, so
are forbidden men most tempting."
Doesn't this indicate a startling
knowledge of married life? In lieu
of explanation Megrue calls atten
tion to anbther line of the play:
"It takes a bachelor to criticise a
i husband a doctor doesn't have to
have pneumonia to know how to
cure it" the application being that
a man doesn't have to possess a
wife to know all about how to treat
one.
Strings" and "The Blindnes"s of Vir
tue," and "who has maintained a high
standard of merit in the selection oK,
his cast The locale of the comedy is
in the hills of Connecticut and has
to do with the week-end party of
haute monde.'
'
"Turn to the Right" was the first
and greatest of the Smith-Golden
successes and this splendid mixture
of love, laughter and heart throbs
is to be presented at the Brandeis
theater Sunday and Monday, Janu
ary 11 and 12
Opossums are raised for their
fur on some forms in Australia.
$iUy Scoi -C&iPJtEss
pleasing dance production". Her
talented pupils interpret the music
with skill and beauty and poetry:
As a feature act William Ebs will
present vaudeville's newest offering,
a ventriloquist. The act departs,
radically from anything ever before
offered in this line of entertainment
The singing comedian, Harry Breen,
is to be a feature of the bill. He
has composed many popular ballads.
James J. Morton is also to be a spe
cial feature of the bill. A laugh
able skit called "A Subway Flirta
tion," is to be presented by Jack
Sidney and Isabel Townley, capable
dancers. Bryan Lee and Mary
Cranston will appear in tire musical
comedietta, "A Brittany Romance."
by William B. Friediander. A trio
of Jananese known as Kanazawa
boys, offer a risly act. Character
studies and poses from old masters
and from original drawings will be
offered by the celebrated artist's
model, Robbie Gordone. Bright
sayings from the newspapers will
be featured in the films of "Topics
of the Day,'' and news events will
be pictured by ktnograms. On New
Year's eve the xOrpheum will give"
a decade, will be on view for the
first time in this. city on Sunday, Jan
uary 4. at tne Boyd for the week,
coming here as It does under the per
sonal direction of Walter Hast, who
will be remembered as bringing to
this country 'Bunty Pulls the
Matine
Dally
2:15
VHg HST IN VAUPCVILkC
Evry .
Night .
8tlS
WEEK STARTING SUNDAY, DEC. 21
u. 1
A Henry Christmas Bill
ALDERTMA RASCII
And Her Dancers '
IN INTERPRETATIVE DANCE CREATIONS
Jack " - Isabel
SIDNEY & TOWNLEY
In
A Subway Flirtation
Bryan Mary
LEE ft CRANSTON
In
"A Brittany Romance"
WILLIAM EBS
Vaudeville's Newest Offering
KANAZAWA BOYS
Equilibrists with a
Laugh
MISS ROBBIE GORDONE
(The Artist Model)
Character Studies and Poses
HARRY BREED
The Rapid Fire Song
Writer
An Additional Feature
JAMES J. MORTOII
Humorously Announcing Each I
Act of the Bill ,
t6pics OF THE DAY
K1NOGRAMS
MatlntM, lSe to 75c NighUi 15c to $1.00. Fatrnir Pay War Tax.
EXTRA--New Year's Eve, Wednesday Night, December 31, Two
Performances, 7:50 and 10:10.
OMAHA'S FUN CENTER"
Daily Mat. 15-25-B0c
Evnga., 25-50-75C.H
HOLIDAY BOOKING
HIM-
self;
AS? Own Company
BABE LA TOUR,' SID GOLD WILL H.
WARD. "Snufly'a1' Famous Horses Stun
ningly Gowned Chorua. Xmas Mat. at 3:00.
LADIES' DIME MATINEE WEEK DAYS
GALA HOLID
DAVE (Snuffy) MARION (i
NEW SHOW
TODAY
THREE MIRANO BROS.
EDMUNDS & ROGERS
, ORREN ft DREW
BILLY SCOTT
Photoplay . Attraction
- Wm. Fo
Presents
GEORGE WALSH
IN
"THE BEAST"
Oiiting Chester Fea
ture Paths Weekly
Mack Swain Comedy
Christmas and Saturday Matinee, 50c to $1.50 B E ggS? tyv'
THE SELWYNS SERVE . I PI - C
-U'-t-Dz-Ajian
' f 1751
for p
SWAF. ..... . ' , .. . -
il M..-v, i 1
A Wonderful Cast of Artists
A Comely, Competent Chorus An Orchestra of
Symphony Players A Production Unsurpassed.
A Consummate Achievement in Musical F unmaking
3RANDEIS Tonight-All Week
mmw m sTnl I mm mm I MATS. THURS. and SAT.
Kansas Citv Times. Dec. 15th "Surh
late Soldier" make the every week musical comedies even mor trit
and in different in comparison."
Prices 50c, $1, $1.50, $2. Matinees50c, $1, $1.50. fotf
NFW YFARS WPPfC commencing sunday
iij-i yy l Lati o W E.JJJV evening, dec. 2th
EVENING, DEC. 28TH
' Alex A. Aarons and George B. Seitz
v PRESENT
The Season's Snappiest Musical Play
HOTEL ROME
Announces the serving of - a $.1.50 Table
d' Hote dinner Christmas and New Years,
12 to 2 P. M. and 5:30 to 8 P. M. All
other days 5:30 to 8 P. M.y $1.25 per
cover, j I hope to make my Table d' Hote
dinners as popular as I have my Cafeteria.
Dancing Christmas Evening,
. $1.00 the Couple. .
ROME MILLER.
THE COMEDY HIT
By ROI COOPER MEGRUE
With
NORMAN HACKETT
And An Excellent Cast
1 Year Maxine Elliott's Theater, N. Y.
4 Months. La Salle Theater, Chicago
Love, Jealousy, Humor the three great ingredients of life
are the foundation of the drama in "Tea for , Three -and the
greatest of these is Humor.
Book by Fred Jackon U- Music by Geo. Gerh win
Lyrics by A. J. Jackson and B. C. De Silva .
Direct from the Colonial Theater, Chicago
100 Situations, Which Compel 1,000 Laughs, Accompanied
By 1,000 Bars of Melody Sung by
A Smart Cast and the Season's Most Handsomely Gowned Chorus
Matinees Thursday and Saturday. Reserve SeaU Now for New Year's Eve
SEATS TOMORROW.
fj El'J YEAR'S ATTRACTION
Week Beginning Sunday, Dec. 28.
Matinees NEW YEAR'S and Saturday
SELWYN and Company offer , v
The Brilliant Farce
FAIR and 'WARMER
Br AVERY HOPWOOD - . I
Make Arrangement for Your NEW YEAR'S parties NOWt ' -
NOT A PICTURE
ra
3
J1
L3
n
is
Coming, Week Beginning Sunday.Night, January 4
America's Greatest Entertainer in a Musical Extravaganza
FKEB STOW IE Jack Olanternl
fTr4rnnnn" Bfa?s?s?sTsTsTsTsTsTsTsTsTsTa s Tax 10 per cent additional.)
Night and Sat. Matinee Orchestra floor and first four rowg Balcony, $3; Sth to 8th row Bal-jt
cony, $2.S0; Sth to 12th row. Balcony, $2t second Balcony, $1. Wed. Matinee Orchestra floor
and first four rows. Balcony, $2.50 Sth to 8th row Balcony, $2; 9th to 12th row Balcony, $1.50; &f
R second Balcony, $1.
Two Daye Only, Jan. 11-12 Tuesday, January 13 January 14-15-16-1I
TURN TO THE ZOELLER STRING Mr. George Arliss in
RIGHT QUARTET "Jacques Duval"
January 19 fcr-21 January 22-23-24 Week Bef. Sun., Jan 25
"A PRINCE THERE 'The Better 'Ole" with "Fanchon and Marco
WAS" De Wolf Hopper Revue"
. .
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