, 1881-08-14
Arrangements for the Union
Square Season at the
Grand.
Attractions for Next Season.
g.. Hooley's Comedy
Theatre.
Letter from A. NJ. Palmer Concern
ing the London and Paris
Theatres.
"The World" at McVicker 's-Jot-
tings About Plays aud
Actors.

kluHh aDoHt 11dto dAA4
Actors.
MISS pH1SD1vILLE'S DERUT-
A friendly audience assembled at nooley's
Theatre Friday night to witness the debut Of
Miss Mollie prlndiyillc, a pupil Of Mrs Anna
CowelI. The occasion was celebrated by
the production of many baskets Of ttow-
ers, which were judiciously presented be-
tweel, the acts by the fishers, and there were
other tokens OF good will more generous thai
wise ::
Miss Prindiyille has good figure and
mobile countenance, as must have been ap-
parent to spectators near the stage. but
:, deficiency Of ru1,ge or some other want OF
art in the makeup did not permit full justice
to be done to her appearance III all parts OF
tile house Her voice is lnclodlous
and soft, but has not yet acquired
the strength which is needed i'll tras-
iu roles. Her modest ladyiike demealior
and real appreciation Of the meaning and diff
ticultics of i,er part quickly won for her the
sympathy and good wishes Of all present
She lid not ut any time exhibit a lack Of i'll
tcliigence. lncxperience W:,S her worst
fault, and it was one, she may have the COLL
fort of knowing, which NIL actors and act
resses, and critics Us well, have felt before
her. The beginning llad to be made, if She
was to take up the profession OF the stage,
aud the Only questions to be considered are
whether the best play WIS chosen for iler
purpose, and whether her success III II W;as
at all such as to Justify the choice.
r. 1.-The Lady Of Lyons' has been favorit
with dIbutantes, but it is difficult to discov~
er why. Though the key to the character OF
Pauline is ready TO the hand Of whoever
chooses to apply it, and the degree. Of action
required judicious 1lca1t between violence
and 1a1neness, there are some eXact1ng situa-
tions which only a trained actress can hope
to pass through with moderate success.
There is good deal Of talking at Puuttne-
The first three acts are distinctly Ctnudc's,
and the fourth is more his than hers. From
one point Of view it seems easy to be talked
at, but it is most trying thing on the stage
We have known actors and actresses OF pre-
suu1ed experience to meet such all eiler-
gency by burying their faces i'll their hands
or turning their packs on the audience, and
denoting grief, contempt, or lnirtll by the
simple expedient Of Struggling the shoul-
ders. But this was 4 cowardly device which
Miss Prindiville had the honesty MOTTO adopt
She took the verbal "facers" of Claude
without flinching; and as she had not tie
1inesse nor the strength either to parry OF re-
turn them with gestures, looks. movements,
and exc1amations, perhaps that was the best
course she could adopt. But how different
might these very scenes have been If an act
. yess of the at.ainments say Of Miss Nelson,
who could express the whole range Uf emo
tons in her face and movements, and who
was OH the stage the most responsive woman
that ever 4 poor actor played to, had uuuer-
taken their representation.
Miss Prindlvllle, as we have sa1ti- diu NOT
lack intelligence; but she betrayed her fat al
ignorance of stage methods Ut every step. She
.groped after her effects. There was i1o cousic-
tfon in her own mind that she could realize
her ideals: that her forces would respond
ptSlps ppon item; At That % oy The ex1endture Of
given amount of energy in any direction she
could accomplish Il desired result. In her
scene with Bctt1tsc1at in the cottage. for eH-
power, but both failed iler, at the climax;
Her arrow was we'll aimed, but 1t fell short
of the target.
Miss Prindivl1le's incxperience was shown,
in her walk aud gestures. 1t has been SAID
that the woman who can walk nat
urally and gracefully across the stage
in the presence If ali audience has Won
1,alf the battle. There, arc two difficulties
in the way Of accomplishing that feat. The
first is the embarrassment Incidental to Il
first appearance in public Nervousness usll-
ally cues to the legs, and q feeling o. weak
ness in the knees and trembling Of tue lower
extremities is a common conplaiht Wlth
pbe spsaSer not nhf onef e rs m'
everyday life. The steps are longer and
shorter more uneven, and theI must
be pnced Oft frequently without conscious
thought, so that q given object will be pre-
cisely reached without too many or too few
OF them. AIacready was 50 precise about his
own steps that lle insisted upon llay-
ing everybody who acted with hinl
equally So At rehearsa1s he .othdne,! drllle,i
in the precise sputs where he or she was TO
stand, and these instructions could not be
departed from at the performance:
Miss Prindiyille has TO learn. first Of ali,
ease aud accuracy OF motion. Then WI! " to-, 1i,c
arms, head, face, body, voice, and finally tile
study OF character. She has begun at The
end. The slow and toilsome discipline OF
the stage cannot be omitted by her Or any
other candidate for dramatic honors. Prog
ress must be made from the lowest ranks OF
the profession, and the severe school Of stock
acting in minor parts must be attended with
regularity and fidelity before she can hope
for the higher success.
1t is the part Of the truest Kindness to say
these things; they must be said, believed,
and acted upon, or the truth be learned III
4 CALLING and unhappy experience. Miss
: l'rindiyllie has some capacity for the stage.
but, until her voice grows stronger, she
should avoid tragic or heavy melodramatic
and comedy parts, and strive to. attain eN-
celIence in lighter work. Then her evident
charms of person and mind lnay come to the
aid of her experience, and as her powers bc-
come trained she will find it possible to meet
the demands upon her resources with ease
and pleasure
-. AIr: O'Neill was an excellent Claude and
1ir. Morrison good Bct1nscaEt in the per-
for1nance OF Friday; the other parts were
not taken III Il manner to call for any par
ucu1ar mention. i
THE UNION SQUARE COMPANY.
Arrangements arc fast making for the e1-
gagement of the Union Square Theatre col,l-
pany at the Grand Opera-1lolse. which be-
gins one week from tomorrow night, Aug.
- =, and continues uninterruptedly eight
weeks, or until Oct II. It will be good news
% the tteatre-goers Of the city that Miss Sara
1ewett will be with the company. The re-
ports to the contrary were unfoundc.!. The
plays will be produced in each Instance witt,