The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-06-13
UPROAR IN A THEATER.
Details of the Scene at the Production of
Wilkie Coilins's Ridiculous Play.

Details of the Scene at the Production of
Wilkie Collins's Ridiculous Play.
london Special to New York Herald.
The scene which took place at the Adephi
Theater last night during the performance of
Mr.. Wilkie Collins's new drama, Rank and
Riches" is still matter of lively discussion.
All through the third act the visibility and
Impotence of the audience had much in
creased, and on the fall of the curtain at the
end of it, much to their astonishment MIR.
Arson, who played the part of refugee
canary DOCTOR appeared before it to make
a speech. He commenced by saying that he
appeared as an apologst, and then demanded
the cause of the behavior OF the audience A
storm OF disapproval broke forth. Mr. An
son then i'll most excited manner begged to
recall to the audience that he and his associ-
ates were endeavoring to do their best for a
grand man and novelist" Here there was
hearty burst of applause, which should in
stantly have convinced Mr.. Arson that the
position and the rights of the audience were
unassailable. ~
Mr.. Arson, however, had completely lost
his head. He continued in the same violent
strain. Only few of his remarks could be
heard amid the uproar. Let the curtain
fall, he shouted before you pronounce on
the play" and Zone of the ladies is entirely
Frustrated by your conduct land This oppo-
a fresh storm, gentleman in the dress circle
shouted back at times: You are entirely
wrong Mr. Anson," and 1--WE don't want to
be lectured." Others joined in the colloquy,
but the remainder of this extraordinary and
unrehearsed scene was enacted amid laugh
ter, jeers, Kisses and applause. Mr.. Arson,
after more gesticulations, retired.
The fourth act proceeded with but a slight
diminution of demonstrations, and at the
end, in response to a sarcastic call for the au-
thor, Mr.. Arson again appeared and said that
Mr., Collins was not in the house, a fact for
which every right thinking man must have
felt grateful. The fact is that the audience
was decidedly patient and entirely unbiased
and prepared to receive the piece with the re-
Wilke Collins. Their laughter was entirely
spontaneous and was caused soley by the alb
surdities of the play.
The story of the plot is as follows: An
earl's daughter and her maid are in love with
the same young man. There is another maid
whose name her ladyship assumes in an inn
parlor at q meeting of London socialists:
an elderly duke, who surrenders his affianced
bride, the earrs daughter, to a lawyers
clerk. who early i'll the piece has the mis-
fortune to have one of his ribs broken in her
ladyship's defense, and the Italian refugee
who makes his living by doctoring sick birds
Such are some of the incidents and char
acters of play which the performers had
the misfortune to represent and which the
novelist had the unaccountable and astonish-
ing impulse to conceive That he should
have produced such piece, that the man
ager of the theater could have allowed the
reputation of the novelist to dazzle his ewes,
and that so experienced an actor should have
committed the indiscretion of challenging an
audience to express its feelings are mysteries
of literature and of human nature which