The Portland daily press., 1869-10-21

Maggie Mitchell made her debut, in this city,
last evening, at City Hall, before an audience
never before vouchsafed here to any member
of the histrionic profession, if we may ex-
cept Edwin Booth, which, while it was COM
posed Of the literati the wealth. and the fash.
ion of the town, also filled every seat in the
vast room, with many standing in the rear.
The play of "Fanchon'' is full of delightful
improbabilites, but it affords an opportunity
for Miss Mitchell to display her talents to great
advantage. We think we should more prop
erly say genius, for the character of Fanchon
as represented by her is an original concep-
finn. IL we are not greatly mistaken, and it
takes rank with Booths "Hamlet," Charlotte
Cusbmau's "Meg Merrlies," Joe Jefferson's
"Rip Van Winkle," and Couldock's Luke
Fielding." We do not mean to say that these
artists are to be all Jumped together, as Of
eoual rank in the theatrical world, for tragedy
has always taken precedence over comedy
from the time of the ancients, but each of these
performances stands out to the world as a
beautiful piece of character painting Miss
MitchelPs "Fanchon' is an exquisite creation,
at one moment causing spontaneous laughter,
and the next drawing tears to the eye by its
delicate patbos. The despised and booted
Cricket remembering the golden rule and Of
ferinp Dider the bread she has reserved for
her own supper, in The first act; the manner in
which she defies the peasants at the St An
doche Festival and the suddenness with which
her anger changes to piety as Landry reads the
nraver she carries as charm, in the second
act: the heart-repding grief with which she
no hos hrnuohf Ion drv
at the festival, in the third act; and the simple
patbos with which she gives him up, in the
fourth act-contrast most strongly with the
witcherv of her shadow dance, the coquetry Of
the wooing scene with Landry, (where she
savs that she dom t care for her looks, and yet
contradicts the statement by trying to smooth
her hair and arrange her rags, and her over
coming the prejudices of Father Barbeaud.
tits these real life scenes so faithfully de-
picted that draw the people nowadays sc
long as the acting is as finished and natural al
is Miss MitchelPs. The audience called mel
before the curtain at the end of the first ano
close of the last act, and she may be said &c
have fairly jumped into popularity here.
The support was fair, and well enough tor
play in which the weight and interest of the
acting are centered in one person. 1t averaged
as we'll as any support Miss Mitchell has ever
had. Mr.. Duff is rather melo-dramatic in
scenes of passion; otherwise his acting was
acceptable Mr.. Jones was very good as the
silly Didier. Mrs. Grattan made an excellent
Mother Fadet, although she needs a somewba
stronger voice. and the chorus sung by the vii
layers was very well rendered, and quite lux
ury to hear as compared with the usual theat
rical choruses
The scenery was rather new to US, we havin
only seen it for about year back as each for
night came around, with the exception of
door or two. But we wish managers to unde
stand that it is very foolish to advertise ne
scenery and then deceive the public. Becau
the public never believes them afterward
The two clocks in one scene, each telling di
ferent time, was highly amusing, besides IL
ingenious continuance for the shadow. I'll
difficulties in the way of stage and scenel
only show that City Hall is not the prop
place for theatrical entertainment, althous
we are aware that there is more money in
than in Deering Hall. The voices OF the at
ors are lost in the little box used for stag
and great many of the best points in the p