Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1867-05-31
AMATEUR THEATRICALs.

We had the pleasure duriuS 'He p"S1 WV"
of attending 'one of the most interesting enter
tainments, which it ever was our good fortune
to witness, in the shape Ct "Amdfc"r 1hcdrt-
Gals" which came off at the Temple Of HEALTH
some ten miles above the village, on Thursday
evening last. The .drdmatis pcrsonr, were
young ladies and gentlemen of the neighbor-
hood. vino obtained very innocent recreation
for themselves and presented most agreeable
entertainment for'their Friends by furnishing a
mimic representation. of some Of the cccentrici
ties, and amusing characteristics Of our pnr,i-
colored life, and nj the same time subserved
very worthy object, in raising fund for the
indigent poor Of the adjacent country.
To the kindness Of friend. We were indebte
for comfortable sea! behind his '' fast trottcr,"
md after a pleasant ride, maugre few steep
hills and uneightly ruts, and after enjoying the
cat fsnuffing the pure air from breezy h'i
md verdant mead, and co:,soling ourselves with
the bright hopes of future harrests, which the
laughing fields could scarcely fail TO awaken,
we were safely landed at the hospitable man
sion Of our friend. Here we found already
assembled, large representation OF the young
gentlemen of our village, whom the pleas
ure Of witnessing performances, in which
they themselves had often borne part,
had attracted thus fsr Here, too, were our
Young friends of the "Abbeville Minstrel
Corps" with all the paraphernalia of theiI
"divine" art, who had come up to contribute
their share TO the general enjoyment, aud to
lend the charms of their sweet music
TO the other attractions Of the occasion.
After we had all partaken of the hospi-
talties Of our host we wended our way to
the point Of attraction, where the perform
ances were TO commence at early candle-lght'
ing. Here the commodous piazza of an pdja'
cent building furnished temporary stage,
whilst comfortable seats had been improvised
to accommodate large audience, and "cabin-
cd, c1ibbcd confined" from the outer world,
hy wide circumference of canva., were
canopied overhead by the blue vault of the
starry heavens. Here were assembled at An
early hour, the blooming bellies and dasIing
bcaux Of the surrounding country, and formed
not the least attractive part Of the scene-au
upprecia,ive audience, keenly alive to each
stroke of humor or touch Of sentiment, aud
whose rapt enjoyment of the performances.
constituted the best compliment to the success
OF the actore, in holding the "mirror up to
turc.'
After an overture Of sweet minstrelsy, the
performances commenced with the opening
charale >of "Phantom" with tho following
cast Of characters:
Afr. Debit, Merchaat,- R. o. Mc.ADANs.
Mrs. Recves,-A1,ss A. A. B.
Miss Wrn.-SIiss G. d. J.
Tom Xiyhtlon, C1erk, k,-Rop'r HADDoN.
Julius. Serrant,-G. =. BEowSLEE.
Many Of our readers have seen the piece rep.
resented, and recolect the thread Of the story
how advertisement Of n lost fan, in the
New York Herald, brought the heroine, Miss
Ellen, to the Office uf the Wall street banker.
where Tom figured as clerk-how she came,
eaw, aEd conquered and carried off, not
only the far, but the susceptible heart Of our
young hero-how the "course of true love"
was impeded by an inexorable old lady, who
set the negro Claudus TO guard tho golden
rrize-how love triumphed over the fears of
the keeper, and how Tom arrayed as a
veritable Phantom bore off his willing can
tive-how the old people submitted gracefully
to what they could not prevent, and Tom mig
ed up the prose and poetry Of life finally,
by forming partnership with the father, and
more intimate and blissful union with the
daughter.
The piece wac very well' represented,-the
love scenes especially-the role of the fair
heroine particularly, "who would be wooed
and anot unsought be- won." The part Of
Julius. the servant, was especially well rer
formed.
After an interlude. enlivened by the sweet
strains of the band, followed "Theres no Rose
without Thorn with the following dramatis
pcrSon0:
Mr.. 7horme,-A. C. JOHNSON.
Miss Rose Ihorne;-Miss H. .. B.
Kate, Serpant-Mss p. VIC.
Jack Upson, Young Lawyer,-J. w. PaArr.
In this piece, whilst all the characters were
well represented, We would particularly allule
to tho spirit, vivacity, and full appreciation of
character, with which the role of Miss Rose
Thorne was performed d and which received the
unqualified eommendations Of the audience.
Another iEterlude of greater length,
with many a winding bout
Of linked sweetness long drawn out"
and next followed the Repular farce of Clash.
er and Thrasher," which never fails to bring
down the house. Dinah aud Rosa, were all
that could be wished,-Benj jamiD. Sampson
and Christopher, ditto,-Benjamin beat the
"Jews," Christopher, the "Gentiles," and
Sampson fairly distanced his Austrious ances-
tor Of the same name. The character of Lieut..
Brown was also we'll sustained.
The following was che cast OF. characters:
BENZ. Blowhard-Dxvrp Kahn.
Sampson Slasher.-WM. Y. MILLER.
Christopher Crdsksr,-J. CUNNINGHAM.
Lient. Broon,-J. E BRowsLEx
Dinah Biowhard,-sIiss L. MoC.
Rosa.-Miss j., A. B.
John,-C. E. BRowx.
Another interluds.
'"Ids and ftbos :.ss
With adssh'ng sea of eluqusncebetxean.n
and We had the =" "Stsge-StruSk TSTl3s
as a finale, alaughabls farce with thSRfSa6a