The Jersey City news., 1892-01-09
STAGE ADVENTURESSES.
Actresses Who Successfully
Portray the Parts Of
Nicked Women
SPECIAL TALENT REQUIRED.
Rose Cogblan, Mrs. Langtry and
Virginia Harmed Can Mimic
Duplicity Better Than
Guileless Innocence.

ing creature. Much more interesting
than are the goody women set in sharp
contrast to her. She is always beautiful
as honri, witty as Voltaire and wicked
as Satan. Yet underneath her glittering
and dangerous exterior runs a vein OF
sentiment, bit of pathos which bespeaks
our sympathy in spite of our principles.
She has always been wronged by some
vile man. or else she has never had
mother to teach her what is right.
So when she commits suicide in the last
act, or, being scorned by an upright and
virtuous hero who prefers simplicity and
blue ribbons to intrigue and diamonds,
gels off Il farewell that brings lumpinto
our throats, and then disappears with a
lest long look at "the only man she has
ever really loved" presumably to con-
tinue her evil career until the Old Nick
calls her i'll, we all feel desperately sorry
for her in sneaking fashion. And by
the same token we applaud her cynical
and heArtless speeches, especially III they
hit the hero, and when she def1es the VII,
lain, who is up to all her pranks and
threatens her with disclosure. we posi-
lively love her.
If bv chance the hero has snnbbed her
in the first act we are wild with delight
when she gets whack at him in the third
lin fine our hearts are generally with the
st ,ge adventures and we are often more
ready to extend our sympathies TO her
than TO really deserving woman in
actual life.
Certain wsll known actresses have
Identified themselves with roles of this
character and are SO positively encnant-
ing in depicting a daughter of Mephisto
l,,,r tl,,t, nav fan 4
of good woman the critics and the pub
lie yawn aud tell them to go back and
wailow in the mire again. And many
other actresses who are more successful
with the roles of good. virtuousa suffering
heroines are quite as tiresoine When they
undertake to play the adventures.
DEAR MADGE.
1t is we'll known, for example, that
Mrs Kendall caunot play the role of de-
signing woman. The British matron
dominates and permeates such venture
and seems TO he constantly apoligizing
for such reprehenSl0le Denavlor Oh bhe
part of dear Madge.
IN the contrary, when Rose Coghlau
bids adieu to intrigue aud scheming and
dons the guise or wroDged and innocent
womanhood, one misses the hnesse OF
wickedness-the brilliancy OF total de-
pravity-and begs her 10 get straight
down from her Suits anu GO something
very bad at once.
Perhaps no woman on the American
stage can play the adventures so cleverly
as Coqhlan. Her Stephaine in Forget
Me Not" is one of the creations of the
modern stage, aud last season. in the role
of Lady Barter. she gave wonderful
representation of compound of
cvnicism. heartlessness,svi ,sviciousness and
general devilLry that was simply delic-
ious.
Coghlan's voice. slow. lazy. mocking
smile, her stimulation of coolness in the
hour of danger, her tricks OF cajoiery, her
pretence of love. were all well nigh per-
fect in this part, and Lady Barter added
another leaf to her laurels, and secured
more recognition from the critics than did
her subsequent role OF Dorothy.
One of the hits of the present season
has been made by Virginia Harmed in the
role or Drusilla Ives III The Dancing
Girl.n Miss Harned's work last season
as the adventures in "The Master of
Woodbarrown attracted considerable at
tention, which has deepened into interest
over her portrayal of the dancing girl of
the profligate duke. While not. strictly
speaking, an adveuturestS in this play,
Miss Harmed is the naturally, inherently
depraved woman, selfish ana sensuous TO
the hearts core.
AS a representation of a light, wanton,
careless. pleasure loving creature, outside
the pale of respectability and yet scarcely
within the half world, Miss Harned's
work certainly must be classed as ex-
tremely artistic When she, with tile
most graceful dsdain, he most superb
nonchalance, repuises The dukes offer of
marriage in the verv words with which he
has previously rebuffed her, then does the
audience glory il her spunk and give her
tie acclamation which the stage advrn-
turess always gets when sne down: tle
stage hero.
When "As in Looking Glass;" that
clever uncompromlsing statement of the
inner life Of an intrigante was dramatic
ed, all the prominent actresses felt call
to show how absolutely vicious they could
pretend to be- Among others that lady
who has recently announced that sue will
try no more for the American doller, she
of whom so mucn has been written that
there is nothing left TO say, took whack
at poor Lena and succeeded in demonstrate
jnG to the public that she could play the
adventures with smoothness and finish.
Lapgtry was certainly beautiful and in
tefesting Lena Despard, and depicted the
soullessness of the character with fidelity.
The feature of the play was her death,
when after yankiug down curtains, break
ing up the furniture and turning a soner-
sault or two. she finally passed into space.
An exceedingly clever Interpretation of
a role of this character was that given by
Alpina De Mer, the wife of M. b. Curt tis,
in "Sam'l of Poser" Her accent, man.
ner aud poses were clever in eveiy detail,
Poor women! she is playing the devoted
wife now, having sold her jewels and
land to defend her wretched husbands
life in his forthcoming trial for murder.
The role of Mrs. Pinchbeck in Robert
sons comedy of "Home" has ever been
favorite--with actresses. Madeline Hen
ri ques was an ideal Mrs. Pincnbeck, and
invested the character with mournful
charm Mrs. Kendall essayed the part
this season, but produced a dismal
effect.
Rose Eytinge's great talents always
showed TO advantage in the role of the
adventures. Who can ever forget her
Miss Mutton. It was a powerful and
emotional picture, and the tears flowed