Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-21
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.
The DRAMA.
Hazel Kirke" at the Opera House.


That the beautiful play of "Hazel Kirke''
has taken firm hold of the affections of the
Lancaster public was evidenced on Satur-
day evening when Fulton opera house was
crowded to the walls by an audience made
up of the wealth, beauty and culture of
our good city, to witness its third presenta-
tiOn here. 1t was an uncOmmOnly
brilliant audience, and very sympathetic
one too, as a glance round the hall during
any of the moro affecting passages would
have revealed, in the furtive use of pocket
handkerchiefs that, to tell the truth, was
not confined solely to The soft
hearted women in the assemblage. The
play was put on the stage in capital style.
Miss Georgia CayvaD's rendition of the
title role was an altogether artistic piece
of work. The spirit of the part has taken
hold of her and in return she gives faith
full reproduction. Her physical attributes
amply qualify her to carry out the authors
conceit of fair-faced, pure hearted, lOvab!e
young girl forced by tho sheer prompt
ings of nature to brook the displeas-
ure of her stern paternal relative,
character by the way which it requires
the utmost strain upon tie average sense to
transform into any other view than that of
absolute responsiveness. Old Kirke, the miller,
is nothing more nor less than a mercenary,
malicious, hard hearted old wretch, willing
to sacrifice the hopes and happiness of an
only daughter and wreck his own house.
hold merely for the sake of fulfilling what
lie in his own brutal and unreasonable stub
bornness plcases to regard as his duty. The
view one gets of this old party's character
is not by any means gratifying
one, exhibiting him in tho light Of an un-
Questionable coward and selfish and
unnatural parent, which impression is not
dispelled even in the final reconciliation
with his daughter. after the curses ho had
heaped upon her unotfending head have
come home to him in the shape of blind
ness and imbecility. But not to diverge
too far from Saturday nights performance
into subject that has by this time per.
haps passed beyond the domain of ordi-
nary criticism by reason of the general
acceptance Of the play and an Ostensible re-
gard of old Hirke as stern Roman
Brutus (Which We don't believe is genuine
at ally, it may be truthfully repeated Miss
Cayvan's Hazel was a thoroughly mcritOr-
ious performance, so evcn in it's every
phase that it were difficult indeed to sig
nifty its features of special worth. The
call before the curtain at the close of the
second act was well-deserved cOmpli-
ment, however. Miss Margaret Cone gave
us very pleasing Dolly Dutton, infusing
the character with the necessary amount
of piquancy and buoyant spirits, which
admirably supplement a remarkably
pretty face and graceful figure. Mr..
Wheatleigh's DuRstan hirke is so mani
festly an inferior imitation of Mr.. Coul-
docks that it does rot call for special re-
mark further than to note the discrepancy
in execution thus exhibited, and one that
is not at all advantageous to Mr.. Wheat
leigh. While as to Mr.. Burbeck's S Pitdcus
Green, though it may not be amiss to say
that Tom Wbiffen alone has given to the
public Pttacus that was the "ginuine
article" Mr.. Burbeck's was still very
clever and pleasing performance-not so
wholly satisfactory as Whiffen's, better
than Ferguson's. Whiflen, we under
stand, has withdrawn from tho part, so
that, in the language of popular COLO
quialism, Mr.. Burbeck takes the cake"
The minor characters were capably rem
dered, the appointments all that were
needful, and the management have ample
cause for cOngratula:ion upon the success
of their presentation of the play before an
audience that had witnessed its rendition
by the Ellsler- Couldock company, aud de-
tects points of superiority i'll each.