Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1870-05-28

dence justified but Mr.. Steven
seemed ambitious to place the thea
tire in an attractive condition al
possible in order to please and makC
comfortable the many patrons, es
pecially ladies, whom be hoped
would grace his entertainments
The regular season opened Oclo
Der Goth, 1869, with "Tle Honey
hoOn," and Irish Assurance
The full company had not then ar.
rived, and the opening at this time
was, VIC think, premature.
The stock company played with
fair success until November 18th,
giving general satisfaction, we be.
lieve. There was a lack of that
thorough preparation necessary we
thought to a perfect representation
Of the pieces presented.
But the stock company was a
very respectable one, several Of its
members being particularly good
aud proving general f~avorites.
Some of those little annOyanees
aud faults to which all manage
ments are liable did occur and
among them were the sometimes
unwise advance Of admission In
cases when Il was not j~ustiHable,
the disagreeable sensation created
by facing the audiences with an
advertising instead of an art cur.
tain, &c. Mr.. MCWade was the
first regular star, opening In Grip
Van Wrinkle" and playing to excel
lent houses. Following him were
John Collins, Annie Ward Tiffany,
John E. Owens, Grau's German
Opera, Mrs. Scott Siddons, Fannie
u. Price and Buckley's m~Instrels.
This presents a very fair array OF
STAR talent and not discreditable
70 the boards of any urban theatre.
Perhaps while We can And no faulI
with the talent Of the ''stars'
brought here, we may 30 10 III,
class Of plays presented. That is
we would ask /: was there not tot
great mOuotony In this respect p
Would 1t not have been better to
have given more Of q contrast
more tragedy? For instance, such
class Of plays as in which appeal
Booth, Adams, Eddy, and others
for the one, and LOtta and the Ly
dia Thompson troupe for the Othe.
class, incorporating these extreme
with the class presented. Bnt VI
do not suggest these because W
think they might have been mos
desirable to our theatre-goers, bu
as we'll because It Is possible the!
might have proven more profitable
as given zest and character to ID.
seasons entertainments.
The season closed March 9th and
as we have said, the greater portion
Of the company accompanied Mis-
Price on a travelling tour, visiting
Canton, Meridian, Jackson an,
Natchez In this State, and Batol
Rouge, Bayou Sara, Jackson, Clin
ton and other points in Louisiana
II was q matter Of regret that, Il
consequence Of some misunder
standing Of which we cannot nov
judge, Miss Kunkle and Miss War
rem, both excellent actresses, LEI
before the close of the season.
Mr.. Stevens labored under man!
difficulties chiefly Of a pecu
mary nature. This was biz
first season as Manager, and per
haps It is very creditable to hin
that he succeeded, as he did, in play.
ing out the full season ofsix months
in spite ofthe obstacles which beset
him, while other and older Mana
gers Of Galveston, Nashville, Mem.
phis, and at other points, were COM
PEELED to close and disband their
companies. Possibly Il would have
been better had Mr.. Stevens closed
earlier, but his object, to fulfill his
engagements, and the very worthy
ambition to struggle against ill-fOr-
tune until the last induced him to
keep open in spite of loss to him.
self. We cannot but sympathize
with his objects, although 1t was
hardly justiAable to himself
Mr.. Stevens himself is q fine
actor Of merit and ambition,
and is deserving Of success.
We wish him q bright and
prosperous future but upon the
pFiaciple that y Jack at ell trades
lamaster Of uOns We hope he Will
.aaoRt me role Of characters best
mlllng bis ability, or forte, and
not widearauge where