St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-14
WENT WITH A ROAR.
Sol Smith Russell's New Play
Drew Out the Entire
Populaee.
Peaceful Valley" as a Play
and How It May Be
Improved.
Something New in the Case
Of John MoZue, the
Murderer.
New System Of Street Rail-
way Enthusiastically
and Kilvington.

pearance OF being a delightful spot,
seated in the heart of nature, under
/ clear skies-a valley where Sol Smith
/ Russell viii live happily for many
| years. The clear stream of everyday
life, none the less attractive because it
! is everyday life when it is revealed by
| a master of nature, flows through it,
troubled at times and bearing fecks of
foam upon its breast; but, always be-
meath the disturbing ripples and the
! debris floating upon the surface, it is
still the stream of nature. The pure
water is there in greatest quantity.
The production of play by an actor
of the renown of Sol Smith Russell is
an event in Minneapolis. 1t is a greater
event in that Mr.. Russell is a resident
of Minneapolis. The people of this city
are naturally more than merely inter-
| ested in his success. All these agen-
/ cies contributed in drawing to the Grand
last night the largest audience that it
| has seen in many days. 1t was one that
represented the culture of Minneapolis
| in the fullest sense of the word. 1t is
/ remarkable that there were so
many of the elite of the city
/ present. They must have been
| looking forward to the date and prepar-
] ing for it. The advance sale was the
/ largest ever seen in Minneapolis. At 3
o'clock yesterday afternoon nothing
/ but standing room remained for any
performance of the engagement. The
| play alone did not attract all these peO-
/ pie. The play is new. Nobody knew
| anything about it until it was seen last
/ night. 1t must be, then, that Mr.. Rus
! Sel's personal popularity and his repu-
| tatiOn for giving the public good things
were the magnets. He will not need to
! depend upon them in the future. The
! plays the thing" that will catch the
! public hereafter.
As play Peaceful Valley seems
to be the best thing Mr.. Russell has yet
given to the world. 1t is not well
To Draw Comparisons.
as a rule. but the temptation in this
/ case is to great TO be overcome. Mr..
RusselPs other popular play is "A
| Poor Relation" a comparison of
Peaceful Valley" and "a Poor Rela-
/ tom is to the advantage of the former.
! 1t is more consistent as a piece OF dra-
matte writing. "a Poor Relation" was
an admirable vehicle for drawing out
! Mr.. RuSsell's quantity comic powers.
! Some of the situations, however, were
| strained: some we're trltie incOngru-
Gus. Then there was but one character
! in 1t. But, TO leave particularlZation
aside, since "a Poor Relation" is not
! the main subject under consideration.
when you went to see it you liked it;
you liked Mr.. Russell in it: you liked
| the wOndrOusly pathetic, yet quantity
! humorous picture he drew; you almost
! cried. perhaps, over the troubles Of the
! poor inventor; yet you went bone feel
| ing that Just such character never
! lived amid just such surroundings.
! With Peaceful Valley it is diff
! ferent. This play contains some
! characters that are not completely over
! Swallowed, ObliteTated as characters by
! the star part. 1t is bit of nature, too.
! Go down among the hills of New Eng
| land, where man is in a continual life
and death struggle with nature for his
very existence, and you Will meet
Hosea Howe at almost every turn; you
will meet his mother, his sister, the girl
| he loves. And so one might run on
through every character, almost, in
the piece. Peaceful Valley is
| play, a drama, not mere char
acter sketch. 1t possesses that one
| quality which, above all others, draws
| the public to see a play-human inter
est. The characters are men and women.
| Judging from the reception accorded il
last evening and the intrinsic merit,
Peaceful Valley should succeed. 1t
is coherent: the action is naturally Sc
quential; it is witty; 1t is humorous,
with laugh and hearty one in almost
every line belonging to the leading
character Hosea Howe; it contains
enough pathos to properly leaven the
wit and humor. The play teaches a
lesson and teaches it delightfully."-, with
out didacticism. 1t is instruction and
amusement; utility and pleasure.
Not without Faults.
But let it not be understood that
Peaceful Valley is without faults. 1t
! has them, though not IN an alarming
number. Of course, the play was new
to the public, and the actors were COM
| paratively new to their parts. The rep
! resentation will improve. A few emen-
| datiOnS. however, would not be amlss.
Mr.. Kidder, the author, has, in one or
| two places. especially in the first act,
lapsed into a tendency to make Hosea
! Howe funny man. Hosea IS funny
to those new to some Of his peculiarl-
| ties; he is not the sort of young man
| that saws things for the purpose OF max
| ing some one else laugh. He is a
terribly earnest young man. He al
ways weighs his words. His express
siOnS of opinion and his statements of
| fact are witty. Eungently so, because
his brain is of that quality that coins
wit: but Hosea Howe, a Green mount
am boy working his way through col
!ege and exposing himself to jibes,
jeers and snubs is never. IN his natural
state. Studiedly funny. The one strong
quality of this character IS natuTalneSS.
As indicated, Mr.. Kidder has occasion
] Ill r of 0rfffiafalffvr nd fha
effect is weakened thereby. Take for
instance. the scene between Hosea and
Virgie Rand in the first act, where
Hosea describes his perpendicular
farm" 1t Is too long. The scene has
! been overdrawn. 1t is an bright, but,
as before mentioned, is somewhat artl-
fetal. 1t could be cut judiciOusly and
| improved by the process. 1t is also
possible that Mr.. Russell could impart a
little more ''gO' to this scene by read
ing certain lines with a little more ami
nation.
The play improves in power toward
the end. The faults pointed out belong
mostly to the first act. 1t drags. The
climax, though, goes long way toward
redeeming 1t. The second act is better.
1t is a more flushed piece of work, yet
with an occasional fault as noted,
| common to the first act. In action,
the third act is the best of the piece. 1t
has, to quite a degree. what the other
two lack in snap and ginger. Paucity
of action is a prevailing fault Of the
play. There is q good plot, healthy SEN
timent, clean hUmOr. sparkling wit.
More action, more dash is needed.
At the risk of seeming Pathological,
let it be sad that Peaceful Valley"
las all the elements Of success in a
marked degree. But it is new. 1t can
bear q little iudicious pruning, smooth
ing and drawing into shape. As it is,
it will go: judiciously amended, it
should make q reputation for actor and
playwright. if either needed it, as a
swcetly simple story of nature, hOmely,
pure, instructive. inspiring and-most
important Of all In a play-intensely
amusing. Sol Smith Russell is the
| cnrn,,late ON hodimnnt of the nart.