Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-16
A COAL NINE PLAY.
Underground Produced st the Bitou-
Play on tho Labor Question.

Underground Produced at tho Bijou-A
Play on ths Labor Question.
Underground" story Of the mines, BY
Daniel I. Hart, was produced last night at
the Bijou Theater. 1t was practically Q
first performance, and was marred Dy the
usual number of blunders and miscarriages.
Several actors forgot their lines, the moon
wobbled in the sky, the lights worked
badly and the whole play dragged. By .
first nights performance it Is not always
fair to judge q play; but unless "Under-
ground" is hammered together. superduous
talk, and even whole characters cut out and
the real story of the play made clearer, 1t
might as well put on its winding sheet and
get ready for the graveyard. The chief
fault is that it contains no interesting story
plainly told There are glimpses Of mys-
terious fraud by which q deaf and dumb
psralytic has been deprived of a coal mine;
and there Is love thread which is knotted
and united without exciting any powerful
sympathy for the girl who doesn't lind out
that she really loved No. 2 instead Of No
till the former has ascended the golden
stair under. the impulse of gas eI-
plosion. But the atmosphere Of the
play is saturated with labor-versus-
capital; politico-economical orations
smallest provocation, and the catch-w ords
of labor organizations are sprinkled over
every situation. There Is no objection, of
course, to a mans writing . play around or
upon social or political problem, If he
doesn't forget that, when all is said and
done, people 60 to the theater to be re-
freshed and entertained. That "Under-
ground" is in the main refreshing or enter
tanning can hardly be admitted at least in
Pittsburg, which has breakfasted, dined
and supped upon labor questions for several
months past 1t does not throw any new
light on the weighty questions with which
it deals, but as the author does not proba-
bly, claim anything of this sort no fault on
this score need be found with the play.
The play is not destitute of merit; the
dialogue has an originality and snappiness
which melodrama seldom boasts, and there
is wit and even quiet, graceful humor in
both situations and lines every now and
again. Perhaps the plot may be more in
telligible to the bulk of the audience when
some of the actors find their voices; last
night half the cast could not be heard at all
during the first two acts. The acting all
around will no doubt improve when
the nervousness of first night wears of
Mr.. Harrington as the hero, Thomas Dd,rso1',
was fairly satisfactory; Oscar Girard got
good deal of fun out of q low comedy role;
Tony Murphy accent and nimble feet came
out strong in an Irish comic role, and Miss
Clara Coleman, the soubrette, showed some
welcome vivacity. 1t was rather rough upon
capital to make Mr.. Hanscombe its repre-
sentative. He was recognized as the villain
early in the play by his sneering smile and
the powder in his hair, and the gallery
Missed him at every turn. The peculiar
character Hen Stroh was made up by Mr.. Lay
in a CHASTITY fashion, suggesting Gaspard in
''The Chimes of Normandy tinctured with
Cyrus Bleakdn Mr.. Lay might be able to
make this part really strong ii the dramatist
gave him a chance.
The scenery was handicapped by miser-
able management of the stage lights last
night, but all the same the views of a noun
famous coal region, and the coal mine it
self were very picturesque and impressive.
The truth of the coal-mining scenes was at |
tested by miners in the audience last night, |
and they are very interesting. They will |
be better still, no doubt, tonight. The
singing of the Vendome quartette was not |
very good. and the choice of "Nearer My !
God to Thee" for serenade, to say the /
least, showed poor taste. A fairly large !
audience annlauded the D1av gen erously