The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-02-17

"THE RoRBERs. This play was parform-
ed at the Town Hall On Hast Thursday, Friday
and Saturday nights te tolerabIy fair houses, by
the Staunton Beneficial Dramatic Association,
for the benefit of the Augusta Fire Company,
StonewaH Band and Improved Order of Red
| Men. With all due respect, we think the man
ager made a mistake in the selection of the
play, as it is q tradcgy and quite heavy one
| at that, and therefore was severe test of the
ing, however, this drawback, the members Of
the Association deserve great credit for the
manner in which cs,ey acquitted themselves
Particularly was it the case with Mr.. Il. j.
Crowder, who, as chief Of the Robbers, render
ed the character most admirably; in fact, bet
| Some of the scenes were very impressive and
called for decided dramatic ability, and in such
he proved hia self entirely appreciatve Of the
medley of passions contendng for the master
ship in the breast of the bandit, and his ex-
preston Of them elected the heartiest applause.
His cnuneiation was clear, distinct and natural
and his gestures easy and appropriate.
Miss Hewitt, as usual, was . great favorite
and in every scene in which she appeared, gave
evidence Of dramatic talent. The characters
Of Herman and Speigleberg by Messrs. Henning
and Hewitt were also we'll sustained, but the
Old Count and his Son Francis, by Messrs.
Stutz and Stiff, were rather overdone and
needed a little tempering both OF them, how
ever we're considerably above the average
The remainder Of the cast, with one or two ex-
ceptions, was good support to the leading
characters. Taken as whole the association
has every cause to congratulate itself ON the
success OF the entertainments, so far as the
rendition of the play was concerned, and we
cannot but regret that the audiences were not
as large as they should have been, considering
the objects for which the entertainments were
given, or as the intrinsic merit of the perform
ance deserved. One of the singular character
istics OF Statthton is patronizing travelling con-
Germs which take all OF the money away with
them, instead Of their home enterprises de-
signed to confer a direct benefit On the institu-
tons of the town.
The scenery, painted by T. r. Henning, was
excellent and displayed artistic skill, both in
its design and execution, while the music Of
the Stonewall Band and Orchestra needs no
commentator whatever. The severest critic
would be unable to find fault with it. AS a
matter of course it constituted one OF the most
pleasing features of the entertainments.
On Friday and Saturday nights the farce Of
"Hemmed In' was given, in addition to the
'.Robbcrs," in which the chief character was
represented by Mr.. VIM. Barkman in the role
of Napoleon, the colored. his acting was first
class, and superior to many itinerant MINISTRIES
In short time the association will give an
other performance for the benefit of Miss
Hewitt, to whom they are so much indebted,
and whose kindness to this and other associa-
tons cannot fail to be appreciated. We hope
to see larger crowds in the Hall On this coming
occasion, as it will doubtless be in every res
pect, worthy Of their patronage.