San Francisco Call Bulletin

September 14, 1908. This article is reprinted below. Our research shows that construction of Valencia Theater was completed August 1908. Opening night was Saturday, September 12, 1908. The Call Bulletin in those days did not print a Sunday edition and the review of opening night appeared in Monday's September 14th edition.


Valencia Theater Opens Doors With Cheering Throng

THOUGH "The Grand Ruby," which was used for an opener at the new Valencia Theater Saturday night, is not a test of the actors gathered as a permanent stock company, it was an excellent vehicle to exploit the possibility of the magnificient new stage - a generous affair, reminiscent of the old Grand Opera House, where the whole troupe of players could be lose between the wings.

The large audience that assembled - an audience gathered by no means entirely from the section in which the new theater stands - enthusiastically approved of every condition presented to their view or hearing. Loud and continuous beating of hands forced J. Charles Green to respond with a speech in which he had promised three years ago to give the Mission district the finest theater in the city and that he had exercised his best efforts to make good.

And indeed the Valencia will stand the most rigid comparison with any theater in San Francisco. It is large, roomy, solid, and is put together not for the occasion of a few years, but for all time. Every comfort for patrons which modern ingeniuty has invented is provided and anyone who attends a performance there may be assured of enjoying the spectacle at his ease.

Spectacular productions are specially adapted to the Valencia and will doubtless seek housing there at every opportunity, for they can be handled on a broader scale than any of the other local playhouses. "The Great Ruby," for instance, goes through sixteen scenic changes, all of them elaborate in the extreme, with a splendid tally-ho prancing upon the boards and an electric automobile to provide fashionably for one of the escapes. The production ran smoothly and every detail that could contribute to its success had been carefully attended to in advance.

Robert Warwick did not need "The Great Ruby" to establish his talents. He is a superior actor as all those who saw him with Katherine Grey, not long ago, here, will remember. Willete Kershaw, new here, is a beautiful woman and will surely be one the decided features of the Valencia season, once it is in full swing. Mrs. James H. Gamble appeared under the stage name of Peggy Monroe and evinced an ability which will render her a favorite in ingenue roles.

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