Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1888-12-12
Alone In London.

continual laughter and expressions Of
pleasure arc criterions Of the merits Of
play, "Alone in London" at The
Garland last night was . grand sue.
Jess, for the interest was continued,
he laughter incessant and hearty, and
commentators were heard on every
hand, from parquette, dress circle and
gallery. II Is certainly one Of the
most symmetrical Of plays, the plot
,leas end eliminating in q climax, ey-
Dry actor perfect in his part, making
tide issues and byplays as enjoyable AZ
The main features. The heavy villain
was . master piece Of acting through
put, begetting a frantic dcsire to kill
him on the part Of the audience, which
10 one or two cases took u laI:cro GUS
form in the gallery. Tho best test
Of the merits of drama is perhaps
that effect on the audience which
makes them forget it is a play and feel
1t as reality, and "Alone in London"
comes - near doing this as possible.
Along with the feelings Of nirth
and fun and the continued
sympathy for Tom Chickweed, there
seemed to be two steady emotions in
the audience, the one an eager desire
TO rescue poor Nan, the flower girl,
from her brutal prosecutors, and the
other TO knock the heavy william on the
head with q club,
The latter emotion assumed a thrill
ling and even intense form in the last
act in which the brutal husband stabs
himself to death. There is one thing
in ssAlone in London" which distin.
guishes the acting, and that is the
painstaking realism Of each Of the &C.
tors in their parts, in attitude and dia-
lect The English country folks, the
London cockneys and Mrs. Maloney,
we're English and Irish as perfect as
real importations, while any Londoner,
who happened in the audience, could
not have mistaken the London street
characters. b,
Anere are Two distinct plots and two
plays running through the drama, each
OF which would make good play in
itself, one Of the main characters in
the play, and the other the adventures
Of Charlie johnson, an humble profes.
sional, and Liz Jenkins, his wife.
Their part in the play is itself play
with complete plot and finale. The
jolly good-hearted ballad singer. sell
ing half-penny ballads, falls in love
with Liz jenkins, thief s daughter,
. big rowdy girl, on her muscle but
with pura heart, gem Of q girl
among villa associations, flower grow
ing in e brush heap, and Charlie, the
ragged ballad singer, pops the question
to the rollicking daughter of the sneak
thief, on the street, at midnight, and
the daughter Of the I'D" old land.
pirate accepts him in the most grotes-
que, ludicrous and pathetic but Of WOO.
ing imaginable. The two ragged child.
rem OF poverty wander about England
as tramps, players and singers, hustled
about, arrested, run out Of towns, and
yet, standing up for each other, with
tenderness and love and trust mimi
tably touching, and making radiant the
beauty OF marital love through all tn,
deformity of rags, dirt, beer and bat
grammar. So far, it has been a com
plete and independent play, carrying
the audiance and it reaches a fnal1
In the last act but one, when the tw,
rowing vagabonds strike it rich and re
appear in silks and furs, dress coat
and top boots and blazing with dia
monds. 1t is q play in three acts. Til,
beauty of truth and love is beautiful,
and intensely illuminated in that las
act. Unspoiled by the slime Of tn,
cutters in childhood, true to each 9th
or and to truth in life Of yagabon
dsge, wealth and prosperity brin,
them out like diamonds, and Liz ii
silks takes Nan the flower girl in rag
and poverty to her bosom and Charli,
in diamonds and plug hat hugs oil
Mrs. Maloney as . mother. This in
side play in "Alone in London" is
fine piece Of dramatic mechanism.
A remark heard in the groups be
fore the theatre doors at the close O
the performance was As complete
criticism as could be got in . column
"There wasn't stick in the company,
was the remark. Another remark b.
q boy on the road home was as fine
compliment as Richard Redcliffe evel
got in his life: "He played the vii
lain 50 well that he must have had ex
psrience in real life before lie went Of
the stage"