The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-16
Performance of Trial by Jury at the
Music Hall

The performances on last Tuesday evening at the
Music Hall, by the Honolulu Amateur DRAMATIC
Club, was, as was anticipated, a brilliant success
The house was filed at an early hour, every seat
being taken, and.a large number Of extra chairs
called for. Promptly at 8 o'clock an Introductory
piece LItGlieHse a Aiger was performed by a gum
tette Of violins and violOncellos and the piano. Inc
playing was very good. and at its conclusion the
curtain rose, discovering Mesdames Adams ana
Bickerton, as Lillian Gray and Nancy, in the pretty
comedietta in one act A Silent Pro ectoT. These
two ladies sustained their parts with much ease and
gracefulness, Mrs. Bickerton's NANCY being a very
finished piece of acting. Messrs. Brown, Holdsworth
and Bickerton were well up in their parts. MI
Brown as Quentin QuiekJfdget being very good
while the make u" Of Mr.. Bickerton as NooOteT'
was admirable. A violin and piano duet from LA
File du Regiment - afforded an agreeable inter
lude pending the rising of the curtain on the comic
operetta Trial by Jury, which was well rendered by
the Amateurs. The leading parts were taken by
Miss B. Parke as the the too charming Plaintiff.
Mr.. Purvis, the Defendant, Mr.. Atkinson as
Usher and Mr.. Swanzy as Judge. The play is too
we'll known to call for any description OF the plot
and we can only say that it was well rendered. The
acting was very good, there being much more in
the movement of the little play than in the music.
Mr.. Atkinson made a capital Usher, and the fair
Plaintiff and her attendant bridesmaids made. as
might have been expected, a complete conquest OF
Judge, Jury and audience.
But we venture on a few words of considerable
criticism. We say Mr.. Atkinson's g Usher was
good. He realized the clustering subordinate Off
cial in Court, a. though TO the "manner born"
We were Immediately reminded in the Usher of the
Bos'n in Pinafore, and the Sultan in the Happy
Man, for Notwithstanding remarkable differences
of costume in these three characters, we recognize
the same bumptious individual that rendered so
effectively and naturally the staggering, boisterous
Bos'n.
The performance of the Silent Protector"
and of "Trial by Jury" suffered by comparison
with the previous performances of the Amateur
Musical and Dramatic Club. Pinafore, and the
Charades, and Bluebeard, are associated with so
much impressive scenery, and have so many strik-
ing situations, that it was unfair to present the
later operetta and comedietEa in such contrast.
However we Ought to be thankful for lyric and his
trionic fayors from our Amateurs. By the way, we
feel inclined to drop the term Amateur, when we
witness such effective characterization as produced
by Brown and Bickerton in Quentin QuiokJidget,
and Nat NObbler and by the ladies Bickerton and
Adams in Nancy, and Lillian Gray or listen to
such a voice as that of Miss Parke as Plaintiff, of
Mr.. Purvis as Defendant, of Mr.. Swanzy as Judge,
of Mr.. Walker as Plaintiffs Counsel and of all
the ladies and gentlemen who constituted Brides
maids. and Jurymen. We need not send abroad
for professional performers. We have the talent
here, if we could only persuade it to more frequent
performance. Our Amateurs, as we perforce
must style them, called forth a first class Honolulu
audience, a crowded house, and they pleased every
body. Manager Atkinson, please keep your hand
in, and keep our musical and dramatic talent up to
its fine artistic quality and let us have more -ope-
rettas and comediettas. We learn that the per-
will be repeated next week IN onday) for
the benefit of the Athletic Association.