Telegraphic News - Chicago - The Tide of Life

CHICAGO, Dec. 10

With Mrs. Uuske, Ada Rehan and William Gillette to entertain all at the same time, what more could any amusement loving community ask? At the Grand Opera House to-nigit Mrs. Fiske began the third week of her engagement and her wondeful performance of Becky Sharp still prove a potent attraction, as the box-office records testify. Tess, which has been put in zehearsal in response to demands, will be given shuring the fourth and anal week of the engagement, and the advance sale promises a record-breaking week. Margaret Sylva will follow for two weeks in Princess Chic, and then Arizona will return for a week.

As the regular Forty Club date for December is the 25th (Christmas) it has been decided to give a dinner at the Wellington on Thursday, Dec. 20, when William Collier and other wealthy stars who can afford to rest during the week before Christmas will be in the city.

During her first week at the Illinois in Sweet Nell of Old Drury Ada Rehan has clearly demonstrated that she is in the Ponce de Leon class as to youth. Whittlesey, Harkins, Brown and her other associates give her excellent support.

Over at the Hull House settlement tonight I was carried back to the good old days through a revival of Eiayn Barron's play. A Mountain Pink, presented by a cast of amateurs and Miss Laura Dainty-Pelham, who followed Louise Sylvester as the first Sincerity Weems.

Mr. Gillette isn't doing a thing to the records at Powers' with Sherlock Holmes. The business is phenomenal. The star faces "the capacity" at every performance and smokes cigars and cigarettes galore, in spite of the fact that he has never had a 5-cent cigar made in his honor. Mr. Gillette will be here for three weeks to come and "he has no whiskers to deceive you."

In Old Kentucky and then — Quo Vadis! The toga drama opened to the capacity of McVicker's last night and will probably do a big three weeks until we get Joe Arthur's latest, Lost River, which is already on the bill-boards. Ted Lyons and Arthur Forrest repeated their hits of last year with Quo Vadis, by the way.

Down at the Dearborn The Burgomaster closed Saturday night, but it might have remained longer, as the "standing room" sign was out every night. Henry E. Dixey was here to look over the role of Peter Stuyvesant, which he is to play in New York, but Gus Weinberg, who worthily succeeded William Norris in the role, satisfied the people here. Yesterday the Dearborn stock returned to revive Mme Sans Gene.

Through an error last week I told you that Harold Heaton, of Mr. Gillette's company, had assumed the name of Henry Harmon. But he hasn't. He is still Harold Heaton.

I have a number of pleasant notices of Howard Kyle's revival of Nathan Hale, in New Haven, and the writers all speak of the triumph of dainty little Nannette Comstock as Alice Adams. When it was first announced that she would play the part I believed she would be an ideal interpreter of the role.

The grand opera section of the Castle Square company did well with Il Trovatore at the Studebaker last week and opened to-night in Martha. Next week the house closes and the singers have their mid-season week's rest. Christmas week, Rob Roy, with Maude Odell as a newcomer.

Robert B. Mantell pleased the patrons of the Great Northern last week with Othello, etc., and yesterday McFadden's Row of Flats followed. However, Mr. Mantell had left the city. We cannot have everything to please us, though, for the Rogers Brothers in Central Park will follow Ada Rehan at the Illinois.

Reaping the Whirlwind went over to the Academy of Music yesterday, and it was followed up at the Alhambra by Across the Pacific.

My friend, Amy Leslle, of the Evening News, sends me a couple of soubrette names that are worthy of niches in the album. One is a female wrestler, Puss Catina, who belongs on the "tab," and the other is Gladys Roast, a hot member.

Chattanooga is Lincoln J. Carter's offering over at the Criterion this week, while the Bijou has

The Tide of Life, in which a real man is electrocuted in full view of the audience. Thomas A. Edison, please write; regards to Nikola Tesla and Ben Franklin.

All doubts about revivals of the stock were set at rest here last week because of the unprecedented success of the annal live stock show. Thousands of stock enthusiasts attended and the leading heavies brought wonderful prices.

The Grau-Savage company will open at the Auditorium in Aida Christmas week, with Martha, Mignon, The Bohemian Girl, Lohengrin, Faust, Carmen and Il Trovatore to follow. Esmeralda and The Mikado will be given during the second week.

Always up to the times in local matters, Col. Hopkins is having his stock company present Fallen Among Thieves this week.

A production of The Telephone Girl will be seen at the Great Northern next Sunday.

Jerome Sykes will soon be seen at the Illinois in Foxy Quiller, and Alice Nielsen also comes there in The Fortune Teller.

The underline at Hopkins' is On the Rio Grande, to be given by the stock.

My friend "Red" Hamilton writes me that he is still ahead of South Before the War and hopes that his sentence will not expire for a year yet, as the "spook" walks regularly. He recently met a man ahead of one of Lincoln J. Carter's companies who told him he had bought an oil-well at Youngstown and would soon quit the show business. It appears that Manager Carter issued new cents of the 1900 issue, pasted upon cards on which was printed the statement that Uncle Sam had used Miss Mohawk as the model for the Indian head on the cent. The past week the agent called for 1,000 of these, the second week he called for 2,000, and the third week he called for 3,000. Manager Smith Turner, with the company, thought it strange he never saw any of these "ads." Hence the oil well and proposed retirement on the part of the agent.

Joe Standish, manager of Eddie Foy as David Scarem in A Night in Town, as well as "others," has sent me the note head of the Lindell Hotel, of Pattonsburg, Mo., which recites that commercial men may have meals at 50 cents and farmers at 75 cents, but that the rates for "theatrical people" are $5 per day. Mr. Foy is eager to play the town for a run.

Will Crimans, of Maloney's Wedding, writes to offer the name of Lizzie Fuel for the album. She is at present laid up with a burning fever. He also sends the transcript of a soubrette sign in a Missouri horse-car: "To Let — Furnished Rooms. By Angora Furiet." His third offering is from a local paper: "Rev. Rivers and Moppins were pleasant callers Saturday" — for a scrub out, he adds.

Manager Lincoln J. Carter will give a Christmas performance of Kidnapped for the North Side poor children at 11 A. M., Dec. 25, at his own expense, and Mrs. Carter will deal out candies and fruit to all comers. "BIFF" HALL.