Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-12-13
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

THE MAsQCERADEFS"-ACT Ill
Stag. a kiss from the pretty barmaid Is
put up ut auction, the proceeds to be
given to the family of n poor man who
was accidentally killed. Rcmon and
Skenc arc the principal bidders, the latter
winning the prize by a bid of several thou
sand pounds. He then surprises everybody
by offering Dulcie his hand In marriage.
In the second act Skenc and Dulcie are
married and miserable. the former being
ON the verge of bankruptcy, and Remon
Is rich and miserable, having been left n
fortune by n dear friend. RemOn puts his
bank account Mt the disposal OF Dnlcie
and goes away, the woman's gambler
husband Offering no protest. In the third
act occurs the great scene OF the play, in
which the two men cut the cards, best two
in three, tho stakes being Dulcic and her
child against Es00, 600. Remon wins
The fourth net merely shows the struggle
between love and duty, the astronomer
finally going away and giving up the prize
which he had Won
No one can Rad this without seeing
that &c Is schoolboyish and amatcurish In
the extreme. It Is not even remotely prob
able, and, strange 20 say, in the case Of that
clever theatrical trickstcr, Henry Arthur
Jones, the construction Is also woefully
faulty. The play contains very few bright
lines, and these are but feeble shadows OF
Oscar wildcism. There are rcally but
two acts worth mcntioning-thc first and
the third. The second and fourth acts
amount tn nothing. the former simply
serving to stretch out the performances 10
the proper length. while the latter might
rs we'll be omitted entirely.
The bidding for the kiss. however, Is
very exciting. despite its cffuIgent arti-
ficiality, while the effect produced by tho
game of cards is simply colossal The
performers are, of course, always good.
but Mr.. Henry Miller was much too wood
eny and stilted as the astronomer. and
William Favcrsham rs Sir Brice Skene
seemed unable, except in spots, to grasp
the character of the highborn villain with
the infatuation for gambling. Miss Viola
Allen could not have been improved upon
as Dulcic Larondlc. and those who saw
tho London performance say that she was
much better In the part than Mrs Pat
rick Campbell, who created IL. These
three characters nrc really the only ones
of Importance I'm The Masqucradcrs.
although there are no less than - ON the
programme. The piece was magnificent
~ staged and Is certain to bc n great pop
ular success
The Cotton King" by Sutton Vane,
author of that Zip-c- c-Zip melodrama,
The Span of Life, " which contains more
action, such rs IL is, than any play seen in
this country during the last decade, was
put on at the Academy of Music for n run
by William \. Brady, the young Napo-
leon of managers. 4 specially selected
company of players was employed, and
the piece Is well performed. The Cotton
King Is also ON view in Boston, where IL
Is said to bc playing to excellent business.
Mr.. Nanc's latest mclodrama makes
no pretcnsions to genuine dramatic
strength but theatrically 1t Is n Sandow.
Tho story Is told by the author in the
manner which he knows will appeal most
forcibly to his audiences. There are sew
eral effects" any ono of which would be
considered sufficient 10y the average writer
of melodrama to build blood curdlcr'
around. The piece may not have the
effect of sending Sutton Nanc's name
ringing down tho corridors of time, but it
is apt, unless all signs fail, tn materially
and bcneficially influence the size of Mr..
Brady's bank account The play is beau
tifully and deliberately staged, the scene
showing the cotton mill i'm operation be-
ing particularly effective. The strongest
individual hit was made by Dominick
Murray, who played the part of n drunken
wretch who is sorely tempted, but man.
ages to resist after n terrible struggle be-
| tween conscience md cupidity.
Rose Coghlan produced at the star thea
] ter n play In four acts by Mrs. RomnaldO
Pacheco entitled TO Nemesis. 1t tells