The Van Buren press., 1876-04-18
The selden-Irwin Combination.

| AHc oeiucH-AtWin COmDlnatiOn.
Never, in the history of Van Buren, has
1t ever been visited by such troupe. or fa-
vored with such artistic representations. as
during the last week by the above mention
ed troupe. On the occasion of the frs
nights performance there was small audi
ence, from the fact that our citizens believed
1t to be strolling humbug party, instead of
the talented people Of which 1t Is really
composed. Each performance seemed to be
better than the preceding one. and each new
play seemed to impress our people with the
real merit and excellence Of the performance.
and the talent of the performers, The COM
pany labored under the disadvantage of a
miserable stage, on which they could scarcely
turn around, and the thing that surprised us
was that they were able to do as well as they
did under the circumstances.
Thursday night the company presented the
splendid comedy of :" Lord Dundreary." The
play was originally American Cousin"
and, we think was written by an Englishman
as a caricature of the traditional Yankee. and
Joe Jefferson immortaized himself as Asa
Trenchard,' which was then the leading part.
Since that time the play has been altered so
that 1t is caricature upon the English aris-
tocracy. Lord Dundreary"is is an English
Lord. silly and vain to an inordinate degree.
He was almost incapable Of II sensible thought
or expression. The splendid personation of
the title role by Harry Rainforth was hearth
ly applauded :" Asa Trenchard," by Selden
Irwin, was fine portraitare of the New
England Yankee, and was greatly enjoyed by
the audience. Mrs Irwin's " Florence Tren-
chard" was a splendid performance. The
| courting- -scene between the silly lord and
"Georgine" Miss Mary Montello. was the
most absurdly ridiculous thing We ever wit
messed. and was a fine morsel of acting. In
fact, all the parts were admirably personated.
Harry Rainforth was immense as Benjamin
I,obbins" in the Benieia Boy.
Friday night the company played the beau-
tif drama of "The Lady of LYONS" The
character of Clauae Mclnotte,' by Mr.. r.
win was splendid. Whether as the humble
peasant. the brilliant Prince of Como, or the
brave officer returning from the French war,
he was inexpressibly grand The descrip-
tion of his palace on Lake Como was very
UCduIllul. 1uC pdIllilH eCCuG DCtWCtI nun
self and Pauline was very atural and touch
ing. 1t was fine rendition of lovely char
actcr Harry Rainforth's" Col. Dumas" was
admirable. while TownseDd'e Beausante the
discarded suitor. and Monte Hernandez, as
"Glavis," were finely rendered. Pauline"
by Mrs. Irwin, was beautiful picture. wheth-
er as the proud and naughty woman, spurn-
-, . has ,,s- Il
tening with throbbing heart to the sublime
utterances of her prnce-lover. or the warm
hearted woman. shorn OF her pride, welcom-
ing her returning husband. 1t was. by far,
the best piece of acting that Van Buren has
ever witnessed The farce was amnsing and
Harry Rainforth as q" Hector Timd" was un-
approachabe.
Saturday night the company played the
"Serious Family" with Harry Rainforth as
the sanctimonious hypocrte, "Aminidab
Sleek" 1t was correct representation of
Puritanicai hypocrisy, and II splendid piece
of acting Irwin's Murphy MCGUIRE the
rollcking lri>hman. whose plans were des.
tined to overcome the miserable gloom of the
"Seri MS Family" was excelcntly sustained,
The fast little " Widow Dclhaine" by Mrs.
irwin was bewitching. Emma" was we'll
rendered. while " Lady, Creamley" was tre-
mendous. both In character and appearance.
All the other characters were wcll-sustaincd.
and the performance received great applause
"Solon Shinglc." with Harry Rainforth in the
title role. was huge and his representation un-
approachable. The court-scene was immense
"a "a; al trar,nnI,ns app1uuso u,i,ila
plot of the play was very interesting. All
the characters were wel-sustained
Last night. this company presented THE
Two Orphans with strong cast each char
acter being splendidly sustained. Mrs. Ir-
win as" Louise, the blind girl" was beyond
praise. No one could witness the beautiful
portrait. with feelings untouched, From the
time we first see her on the streets of Paris,
with her sister, and thence through her un-
utterable misery, our noblcr feelings of SYM
patty are aroused by the splendid rendition
of the character. " llcnriette," the other Or
phan by Miss May Montelo. was super-ex-
celent. In some nt the scenes, she was mex
pressibly grand. In the scene where she is
inslilted by Count de Lineries, and saved from
rain by Cheyalier Maurice de Vaudry. she
was positively sublime, and her acting terri
bly, realistic. Miss Anna st. Clair, as Z" La
Frocharl," was above commentator. 1t
WAS II splendid conception. and for natural
truthfulness could not be excelled She was
hag in every sense of the term. Pierre"
by Harry Rainforth, was exquisitely rem
dered. and at times inexpressibly grand in
his conception and rendering of the part
Jacques, an Outlaw" brother Of Pierre and
son OF the hag, La Frochard, by Mr.. Town
was n fine piece Of acting. The villain" is
his part and he "does" 1t well. Mr. Irwin
was splendid as the " Chevalier de Vaud.y y"
as he always Is in any character he under
takes. Monte Hernandez, as :" Picard" was
amusing, and constituted the comic feature of
the play. In truth, it was a splendid perfor.
nance throughout. The music. violin and harp.
was superb The company make their last
appearance, Tonight in East Lynne" We
learn that it is their intention to visit Dar-
danele, Russellville and Clarksyille, after
their engagement at Fort Smith, and we rec
ommend them as splendid company to our
friends in those localities. Hope they will
make us another visit.
The elegant steamer Rosa Miller, Capt.