A NICKEL'S'WORTH OF DRAMA.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10592, 22 October 1910, Page 3 (Supplement)

A NICKEL'S'WORTH OF DRAMA.

AN EVENING OUT IN NEW YORK CITY.

(By Annie WakemanO

Within a' biseuit-throw of a once, flourishing theatre in the Palmy days of the New York drama, a "picture play' show is running successfully. All day long, condensed dramas are presented over and over again, with intervals of ten minutes in between.

"A-band, atl one side of the entrance lobby, play s popular airs- .-*- perky voung womau sells tickets in a littL centre booth. A boy bawls out: ""Wall up, ladies and gents; five plays for : nickel, five plays for a nickel, wall up!" The gathering crowd pushes me to tin box-office. I produce my nickel (two pence-halfpenny). The young womai whose elaborately coiffured blonde lock: are accentuated by a broad black rio bon-wired bow, outspread an eighth of r yard each side of her ears, pushes f scrap of pasteboard in my hand, and 3 become a student of Thespis. The theatre is shrouded in semidarkness. What would you? Electric light and programmes thrown in loi vonr nimble nickel? ■ 1 grope ahead. An attendance take* my hand and conducts mo to a seal near the orchestra, advising me in i stage whisper to "Look out for m\ watch," on which I. pop the time-piece nto my wrist-bag. A mechanical piano i s playing a pop[jar melody, "Who is kissing her now? The • air is disinfected witlr cheap ,obaoco smoke. A girl with a huge hat .Us down beside me. Her chum plants icrself immediately in iront of me. tier nit is the circumiercnce of a Japanese am iiimbrclla,' a "Chanteeler" with a jarnyard of "fimble fowl" on the rear >rim'. It is a formidable barricade beweon the -stage and me. I touch lici irm gently. . ""Would you kindly remove your Jiai,, nademoisello?" ' Slowly that hat veers around. J.lie 'xprcssion on her face is helpless. In he raucous accents of the Ncthcr-sidc Sew York shopgirl she replies:— "Gee! I would, hut how can I get ait the hatpins? There's six!" "Oh, 'Vnngcline!" This irom the rii-1 on my right. "Play ball! ! !1 ake out your pins." The hat is removed, pijy i—"The Courtship of Hiawaha." AVc.see Hiawatha doing doughty !ecds for Alinnehaha and wading tumulous waters, hearing lier safely aloit. Chore is much arrow throwing, much calpin"-, much boiling down and editing if l,on» fellow. At last, in a transpon if joy throws herself in liawatha's arms. * A tent appears in the woods. I ho noon sinks down in a lake on whoso bore a canoe is mooicd. The piano >lays the bridal music from "Lohcn;rin." . ~,, - 'Vangelinc: "Who's Longfellow f ■ Liz.: "Keller that wrote 'Tdols ol ,he King.' " . . Play 2 —"Transfusion. Scene —A lorse-shoer's. Brawny blacksmith shoeing a frisky hoTse. Young lady standing besides dandified sweetheart, botn "heavy swells." Brawny blacksmith gazes'enraptured at girl, scowls lnrtivelv at dandy. 8.8.'s arm s have muscles'like young ropes. Couple gallop off 8.8. sinks on bench in misery. Scene shifts to country lane. Horse stumbles, throws girl on stones mJowwater brook, -chen dashes back to 8.1 i., who looks at him and with stage instinct divines spot where lies the stunned girl. He jumps on horse, •caches her in a jiffy, picks her up, car--ios her, to her baronial halls, where landy is wringing his .hands, looking ibout room, presumably to find girl jehind a screen. 'Jov -over girl's return. - She is car■ied," still in dead faint, to boudoir glides away. ' -' Next scene, consultation . of specialstsl Girl. must, have blood- to, "stimuate heart, skin-grafting to cover flesh Jandy declines contract; hag - happy in .piration —why not B.B.? ~ Rushes off to forge.' "Why, certain v! 8.8. will give quarts' of "bleed ind layers of-skin for fair girl in morta. langer. . , - ..- Next scene. 8.8. in one couch, gir >n t'other. Room filled ivith scientific mpedimenfa, X rays, etc. The deed is done! Girl recovers 3.8. disappears. No one has offeree lim even a "B. and S. n - _. • " : Tis you, Alonzo, to whom Vow nv life."' she exclaims. 'She throws herself at dandy's feet.^ "Nav, nay, maiden, it was the 8.8.' 3'aiden frantically tears off to 8.8 T inds him gazing nowhere in particu ar in lonely hut, coyly fills Ins pipe vliieh curiously enough she. know; vhere to find. She up behinc lim. puts pipe in mouth, lights mate!, or him to draw, then throws herseli it his feet, her second acrobatic per■ormance of the kind in one day. She

pantomimes over her scarred arm. Ho crushes her to his braw nv breast. D.uidy disappears through garden gate. Piano plajs- 1 "See the Conquering Hero Coincs." ■Vaweeline: "I call her a brazen cat to" do all the courtin'!" " Liz: "Shut up!" Play 3—"The Thief." Scene—ltailvjay station. Young married couple with small child. H starts oil on business trip. Leaves wife in charge of mutual masculine friend. M.M.F. plays role realistically. Small child being of the precocious Yankee breed ot kid, scents mischief. -Loads up "Popper's" revolvers. StcL in where "Momnicr" and Sr.M.i''. arc having a "heart to he.i. I talk." Fires oft both rcvolveis, wasting enough shot to kill entire community. II.MLF. falls dead. Husband frantically appears on scene, ahead of schedule time. ■ "What do I see?" he roars. i "A thief, Popper; he tried to steal Mommer," pipes tllfe kid. Husband embraces wife and kid Piano plays "Yankee Doodle." 'Vangeline and Liz merely giggle. Play 4 —"Teddy in -.the Jungle.'' Scene —A vast forest. Every animal ever known to a self-respecting Zoo is prcked in that jungle, fairly bogging to be shot. "Teddy," - our Teddy, "Kunher Roosevelt" is popping away at 'em, bringing down scores, with a proud look on his bronzed face. His verj e) es seem to twinkle out "I've eaten the canary," a la Tabby over emptv biidcage.' House roars out cheers. Piano jingles out "Star Spangled Banner." 'Vangeline. "Saj, Liz, there's no flics on Teddy." Liz: "You bet! Thein pl.ijs Lamv you a lot."