The New York herald., 1879-02-25
sspEL1poUNp" AT wALLAcK's THEATRE.


"Spellbound," reeha.Gs by Mr.. Dion Boucicault
of the old melodrams Of Pauline pro-
duced at Wallacks Theatre last evening to
a full house Applause elected at the
close of the first and second acts, but
on the whole the play far from taking the
audience with 1t. such drama should to be
cessful. Mr.. Waliack labored hard in his old part.
and Miss Coghlan favoraby bore the test of compar
with other actresses in the role of the heroine.
but gained no fresh laures.
1t is now eleven years since Pauline" play
taken from the French Of the elder Dumas,
performed here. Its French title, "Une Mutt
de Terreur. sufficiently indicates that its
object to appeal to the nerves Of
the auditors rather than to their intellect In this
class Of work NJ. Dumas stood high There
was clear design in the older play of
centrating in the night of terror and it's conse-
quences the pth of the play. but although
this was done it necessary to the most vio-
lent improbabties-nay, impossibilities, to bring
it to . toerable conclusion. The story of this old
play Of Pauline, young lady of for
tune. fascinated by handsome, titled
scoundrel who, we were told. faced a
tigrcss in India out Of bravado, and, armed
only with Malay dagger. Borrowing handkerc hief
to tie round his wrist from Pauline who travel
ling with the party. he had she said. rushed forth,
killed the tigress and nearly killed himself While
Pauline reciting this story to her friends in
France the Count appeared and just in time to kill
a boar who was about to kill Pauine's cousin-a
young Frenchman. The Count then married Pauline
She became suspicious of his mode Of life, which
not surprising AS he was captain of gang of high
way robbers and murderers. She followed him to
lonely chateau in Normandy. She passed night of
terror in the chateau. Her husband was away; she
found the bookcase in her room to be the screen to
a secret staircase; she saw strange men bearing u
woman to the chateau; she descended the Sc
woman; she buried alive by him in a
vault under old abbey with glass of poison by
her side. After drinking the poison she rescued
by the male cousin and lived lingcringly for year.
| returning home just in time to prevent the
Count from marrying her female cousin. The Count
| by her male cousin. and Pauline came in to die
beside the Count This old story found
| that they frequently enabled to play it with
| out the act of horror showing Pauline in the
omitted it Also and has put the tiger killing the
the main differences between the two stories
| Why Mr. Boucicault should have altered
at all. why in altering it, he did not improve it,
! we are at loss to say? The prologue that should
| build up the heroic side of the Counts very bad
Character fell fat and rather disposed the audience
to resist any attack its later on, and this
arose purely from the fact that you cannot make
a tiger fight that takes place of the stage produce
a serious effect, while the characters who remain on
the stage are producing comic effects of fright or
dashed the prologue of in very great
| hurry, or else his hand is losing its Gun
| ming. There not trace OF his cid time
| skill in the dialogue and but little of it in
| the new situations The act with which he inter-
| fcfed least remained the best, for the ho
changed the less he improved. The act in the room
| of the Countess and the room beneath where the
woman is murdered was effective US could be de-
| sired.
| To the handsome. imperturbable villain of the
| play Mr. wallack brings all but youth. That is
| o great want, however, and may account for
| the failure to impress in many places,
| where youth would have winged his words
| and acts. That a grim. middle-aged should
| cast such spell over Gabrielle not easily
approciable to all the audience. Miss Coghlan
| acted with force and spirit throughout. Among
| the support Mr.. Henry Lee. new conner, made
good Impression Louis. particularly in the last
| act where he gets his first opportunity. He suf-
| fered till then from being placed in
| rather ridiculous light in the prologue. Miss
| Mabel Jordan, in the small part of Adele.
| also attracted favorable notice, and got special
recall with the other characters at the end of the
ond act. Mr.. Rockwell was good ALI The rest OF
the support was. is usually the case III Wallack's.
good but calls here for especial notice.
The scenic arrangements were admirable. the set
i'm the prologue. "A mountain pass at night
in Hindostan." being a really fine picture. while
the scenes in the second act. with their mechanical
effects were marves of scenic skill aud stage
peutry There. at least. Mr.. Boucicault strong
and Mr.. wallsck generous Everything, too, worked
Ia a charm,