The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-12-08
. GREAT AMERICAN PLAY.
w,u,.m II. Crane and His Company
"The Senator"

xx,u,.,n n. Crano and His Company :"
"The Senator"
..,r.. SENATOR" which w. II. Crane, the
.oa,,ar comedian, has been playing cor
,,r,,o,elv for the past two years, anu -
,,.,,toh no is soon 10 appear IN inns Oi'y,
""'S.i o. removed from the ordinary
a,,nttora of the stage. Perhaps us
arsa...st claim to recognition at the han"s
% "a American audience Is the iact .iia'
q, is nurely an American oomeuy, !" .,
aantimeut and authorship. w nv
waited long for an America, s.'' 80.
Srs,aot,c literature worthy or our great
.,a,rv and It's achievements In other
S,r"cttons and The Senator is an earn
a., mat our waiting is not 10 be In VAIN
re oreat nopular success wherever IL mas
49, presented proves that the American
y,oonle are ready 10 welcome the hHlFe
ia vvriaht with open arms whenever TIC
NC ANYTHING 10 offer worthy OF their ac-
centance In New York Ihe SenatoI
ran continuously for the better part VI
two full seasons. and was Withdrawn III
the very height OF its popularity ofhy
hncause Mr.. Crane could no longer post
none the fulllment OF long-standlng con-
tracts in other large cities. Inc record
~ the nlav IS a glorious triumph, both
for .he Young American authors, one OF
which David y. Lloyd, did not live TO le-
aIize II. and of Mr.. Crane, whose delightful
acting Of the leading part vivif1ed me play
and made II the valuable property that II
Is. ..... - .,.or,
1.-THE Senator is an attempt 10 snow
come Of the weaknesses Of our present
form Of government, as developed In the
workings of Congressional red tape II
was an ambitious attempt, but It's authors
succeeded beyond thier most viva eNPec-
- nut m claim
which Is the central feature Of the play
has its exact counterpart in an actuai
claim against the Government. which was
allowed to drag on for years. while Its
rightful possessors suffered misery and
priyation because they could not secure
what Justly belonged 10 them. the real
as well as the fictitious claim, grew out
OF the war OF 1912, and II is the develop
ment Of the facts surrounding the passage
OF a lust law of indemnity by Congress
which forms the central feature or IAe
Senator" Senator Hannibal Rivers de-
votes himself to securing the allowance
of the Denman claim, and he secures II
after encoUntering and overcoming all the
obstacles thrown in his way by the taroy
and often unjust methods OF a typlcaI
American Congress.
In developing the story the surroundings
of COMPRESSION life are laid bare, ana
the way of professional politicians and
lobbyists are revealed in the clear light of
day. Evils that cry aloud for reform are
brought prominently forward, and the
good which can be accomplished by one
senator. animated solely by principles or
duty and atriotism IS made plain. Inere
is food for solid thought in The Sen
ator." as there should be in every good
play, and a definite purpose to accom-
plish some good for the nation is visible
through the entire four acts. Indeed, the
play which Mr.. Crane has so admirably
presented for two years past has already
been the means Of opening the eyes OF
the more rejecting of our statesmen, and
an effort will be made in the coming ses-
sion Of Congress to remedy some OF the
trying evils portrayed in '"The Senator"
Constant hammering away at public
grievances always results in the end In
genuine attempt at reform, and that Is
what the two years repetition OF Tine
Senator now promises to effect.
The serious elements of the play serve
a wide and commendablc purpose, but IL
is not to be imagined that Mr.. Crane
treats his audience with too much Sc
robustness. He is a comedian above all
things. and 81 very excellent comedian, as
the American people discovered long be-
fore The Senator" was born The play
is replete with comedy Of a high order.
It's dialogues are brisk and crisp, and for
every sober reflection that it implants in
the breast II has a dozen merry laughs
to temper the thought OF course the
senator falls in love with the lady whose
cause he so successfully champions,
and equally OF course the reward
of his heroic efforts is her hand
and heart A very pretty little sec
ondary love story Is woven into the play,
and incidentally typical scenes from the
life Of Washington society are brought
to the front. There is a Chinese traveller,
whose funny remarks form a strong satire
on some Of the customs Of American
Society" q WllainOus foreign minister,
whose schemes the senator illustrates at
every point: and lovely widow who de-
ponds on the senator for mentality"
and makes things very lively when she
appears on the scene, which is pretty
constantly.
All these characters Mr.. Crane entrusts
10 the handling of competent actors. He
does not Prove the selfish policy adopted
by so many stars" of insisting on taking
all the glory to himself and adding 10 the
reflection Of his own brilliancy by con-
trast with the bad acting of a poor sup
porting company. The result is a per-
torrance smooth and complete In all its
details, and a fair show of the great sue
cess which THE Senator" achieved is
due to this fact. Mr. Cranes people work
together as tremendously as a first-class
stock cOmpany.a and gives TO the lines OF the
authors all the meaning which they can
convey. 1.-THE Senator" as portrayed by
Mr. Crane and his excellent company, is
a performance that will be pleasantly re-
membered by all who see 1t, and will be-
come part of the history Of the present
era of the American stage.