The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-11-28
THE NEW SOUTH"
One Of the Best Plays Ever Acted
at the Academy OF Music.

or all the plays that have been present.
ed ut the Academy of Music. for ar least
the past five years, 1.-THE New South"
which opened last uight, is the b est con.
structed, the most true to life. and the
most absorbing In interest, bar none
1t is worth giving much to see-it was
even worth the getting home IN the
IRRITATING weather. There are tour acts.
of moro than medium length. OF which
aot one speech could be CUT one word.
without O real loss. La all this time the
close attention OF the audience nevef for a
moment left the stage. have never sesu
au audience In this mouse so completely
under the iudueac, of the actiou; Sd
seemingly breathless from tense atten-
ion.
Yet the play Ia the furthsst possible
from melodrama. There is no ele-
ment of improbabllity in any part; it
deals with life as it Is, in that country to
SO many IN the North unknown-the
New South, where Jude social c0ndl
tions, Inherently different fro Al our own.
q new civilization has sprung from tae
ashes of rebellion. The scene opens upou
the exterior OF an old Georgia mansion.
the home of General Heustar Gwyuue.
An election is In progress. Jefferson
Gwynne. Congressional candidates, has
f9N0S 6A& w IA
election. WORD comes that a body of
| cavalry has appeared to protect" the
| negro vote. Sampson, the colored poll
tician. a type Of the worst element of the
eGfranchlssd ne gro, offers to buy over
the negro vote III exchange for various
considerations. Refuses, mis- men seize
the ballot boxes. He make q iual offer
TO Gwynne. who horsewhips him.
Gwynue, now beside himself with rage,
accuses the cavalry Captain, Ford, of
| completely in the affair. He denies. out
refuses TO aveuge tue insult because OF
| his love for Gwynne's sister Georgia. The
young Southernef loses mis- head and
rushes upon Ford with his W sword.
He is stunned by a blow from the scab-
bard. Ford gee for help. aud as he lies
unconscious Sampson. suffering, plerces
his heart with tue same sword, All this
In the first act.
Captain Ford Is found guilty Of man%
slaughter. Ii accordance with that pro-
vision of Georgia law by which conviccs
may bs leased To aay person or persons,
he is set at work with a gang, under an
| Did lover of Georgia, who. Tor various
| reasons, makes him the objscJ of especial
brutality. Lsarning OF this. Georgia.
who begins to doubt mis- guilt. leases hun
herself. His presence under hsr roof
| provokes scandal, and hs Is forced to
| proved his innocence, which he at last
| does In q series of striking scenes. This
ia the skeleton, meagre enough here, but
The most effective imaginable when
clothed with all tue proper setting upon
The stage.
The Two st RS, Joseph Grismer as Cap
| tain Ford, aud Poo 10 Davies as Georgia
Gwynne. are OF tho quiet" scnoot; That
| X, white they ara natural III the sxDres-
sion OF emotiou, hey do Bo5 dislocate
tae Joints OF passiod. Miss Davies, es-
peclally, in the numerous strong scenes
in winch she was the central figure, sus-
| tanned her part with 50 much te:vor o
earnestness as to show she has Choir.
oughly assiniiiated tue character OF the
large hearted Southern girl.
Even TO the supporting company the
same general praise must be given. 1t is
| impossible To more han mention Eve
Ecklom as the implacaole hancee Of the
murdered man; Ella Hugh Wood, as a
clever literary woman, Mrs. Newport;
| aud best of all. Miss Bepe Vining, as u
| not headed little Southern girl, warm
hearted. impulsive,. Interesting.
Scott Cooper was the Confederate
general who refused to be
reconstructed; George w. Leslie, q
| young doctor. something of a ]agSard In
/ love hut a friend in need; Ross O'Neal
mad the ungratsful character OF the cruel
Frtzhugh; Frank Murtha. Frank Frazer
! and William Mack appeared In small
| parts. aud Uric Collins in the difficult
role of the negro Sampson, a black aud
butter fruit of civilization. To Holbrook
Blinn belongs especial praise for his
faithful rendering of the Dart of Jeffsr-
| son Gwynne. The scene III which he
| worked himself into q boiling passion
| was n great piecs OF acting.
The dialect throughout was delightful,
| not an n la it, like that deliciousiy lazy
language that English becomes south of
| Mason's liue. On the whole. the play il
a great auccess.