Evening star., 1894-01-30
ADJUSTMENTS.


find April Weather" except at Albaugh's
Opera House. and even there it was only
name and an unreality of the stage.
April Weather is the refreshing title Mr..
Clyde Fitch has given to the latest play
In Mr.. Sol Smith Russels repertory, and
1t made its first Washington appearance
last night before fine large audience. not
Withstanding the deterrent meteorological
conditions. Whatever Mr.. Russell does he
does well, and he does much more for Mr..
Fitch's play than Mr.. Fitch ever did, for
without Mr. Russell it would need a buzz
saw or a pile-driver to encourage it's move
ment With Mr.. Russell in the lead, sup
ported by some excellent people, April
Weather is one of those innocent, idyllic
self-abnegating, ,mellifUous, pathetic -humor-
Gus plays which always send an audi .nce
away from the theater with pleasant
taste in its mouth. Mr.. Russell as Raphael
Rud Is the hero, poor artist, who is a
good angel to mother and two children
deserted by q husband and father, and
when they think him dead and Raphael is
about to marry her, along comes the other
man and Raphael retires, for she loves her
husband and he explained everything salts
factorily. The other man, Jack Phelps, was
played by Mr.. Orrin Johnson with fine skill
and great feeling. The two children Boss
and Toots, by Viola McNiel and frankie
Lynn. was done SO prettily to capture
every woman in the house and all the mar
ried men. Another bright and catchy char
acter was Kitty, the housemaid, by Miss
Annie Blancke, who at times divided nonors
with the star. Miss Radcliffe Miss Kate
Blancke and Miss Lester were all quite
equal to the requirements, as in fact was
everybody. One of the best things in the
play was Mr. Russelrs entracte speech,
which he always carries with him loaded.
New National Theater.-There Is always
a welcome for one of Charles Hoyt's pro-
ductions for the sake Of the fun it is sure
to contain. To be sure, he sometimes Of
fends but he does 1t in such a frank, un-
conscious fashion that he finds ready for
giyeness. There are many things in The
Milk White Flag" which was presented at
the New National Theater last night,
which are likely to strike refined mind
as being distinctly unsuitable as topics for
| a Hoyt creation. 1t is possible to make
suspended animation serve as a text for
much merriment. but the treatment should
be delicate and judicious. AS it is, "A Milk
White Flag starts out quite happily as a
| satire on the militia, but before 1t closes
develops into blunt, though, perhaps.
unintentional satire on the sentiment
| which prompts respect to the dead en-
ordinary good manners and, emphatically,
1 on the modern American play. Fortunate
| ly, though. the jollity quite overshadows
| the Objectionable elements, and the audi
ence laughs and forgets the gruesomeness
Of 1t all. The stage is full Of clever people
almost all the time; the costumes are rich
and tasteful, and the groupings and bits of
incidental diversion are characterized by
| that careful finish which gives completely
| the effect Of spontaneity so desirable in
entertainments of this kind. The music is
| exceedingly well interpreted. In the third
act one Of the choruses from good old
"Pinafore Is sung. and 1t is given with a
fervOr and sweetness which almost makes
| one wish that more of the opera could be
heard, even at a sacrifice of some of the
dialogue and music especially provided for
the occasion. The original music is very
| pleasing, however, nearly everything being
| distinctly catchy" The cast comprises
people Of conspicuous ability. Charles
| Stanley Is a comedian Of substantial merit
| and Isabelle Coe is. as her admirers in the
play frequently assert, "a mighty fine
woman" Sam Weston is droll: Rillie
Deaves is demure and graceful; Frank Law
| ton whistles as melodiously as any bird
| that ever carrolled. The girls are pretty,
| and everybody, including the audience,
| seems happy.
Academy of Music-Last night was the
| kind of night when blue jeans, with
| to clothe oneself in. and a lot of people put
| 1t on at the Academy. blue Jeans" IS
perennial, and 1t comes around to US now,
! as the flowers In spring. as the sunshine in
summer, the harvests in autumn and the
snow in winter. AS it appeared last night
at the Academy 1t was much as it used to
| be, only in its cast were new people, hut
the whizzing saw. the barbecue. the
| Hoosier hurrahs and other bluejeansiosyn-
crasies were there in all their pristine glory,
and they swung the audience along at
exhilarating gait from start to finish.
They always did, they always WILL Miss
Anna Belmont Is a merry June in a pleas
| ant sunshine and Harry B. Bradley. An
drew Robson. Z. l.. Snader, Wallace d.
Shaw. Charles Udell, Mrs. Charles Ed
| monds and Marian Strickland are good
| people in good parts.l The Rising Sun Roar
| ers and the Columbia Quartet new are
great attractions. There Is number Of
new things in the play. but in the main 1t
is the good old blue Jeans that won't
| rip, tear nor ravel
| Harris Bijou Theater-The regular first
| night crowd attended the Bijou last night
| to witness the initial performance of MY
Jack" that powerful realistic drama that
has won success all over the world. The
play is one Of absorbing interest and keeps
the audience spell-bound from the rise of
| the curtain. Barry Johnstone, as Jack
! Meredith, acquitted himself well, as did
| Claude H. Brooke as Giro Panitza, a vag-
abond Greek. The comedy was furnished
| by Charles Frew, who, as Patrick Dooian,
| gave a charming piece of character acting.
| Miss Ethel Darlington, as Dorothy Pres
cott. made an acceptable heroine. and
| shared the honors with Miss Mary Lytton,
| who essayed the character of Sail, a fisher
woman. Again tonight.
| Kernan's Lyceum Theater.-The City
| Sports Big Show opened weeks engage
ment at Kernans last night to good bus
"A Hot Night" opened the show. Ham
burghetta introduced her famous slack
| wire performance in full street attire, and
| Won mefited applause. Ihen came the Sis
ters Darling, in character songs; Werlich
Brothers, the popular gymnasts the great
| challenge ballet, Cyrene, the queen of
Terpsichore; Snyder and Buckley, in a mu-
| steal turn; the Imperial Trio, in grotesque
dancing; Mazuz and Abacco, the acrobatic
| comedians. THE Merry Buccaneers clos
| ed the performance, introducing Girard
Leon, with his wonderful trained donkeys.
| Again tonight.
Slivinskis Second Recital-The driving
storm did not prevent a good-sized audience
from assembling in Metzerott Hall last
| night to enjoy the second piano recital of
JOS Slivinski. This gentleman came here
| without any preliminary putting, and. in
fact, some musicians were rather unfavor-
ably disposed toward him, because of the
| assertions made by those who had known
of his career in Europe, that he was the
superior of Paderewsk But at his first
recital last Friday night he demonstrated
that he was an artist in the highest sense
of the word. He is master of technique
equally with his distinguished compatrot,
while his intellectual grasp of the meaning
of the composer he interprets is greater.
Last night he emphasized the favorable i'm
preston he had created at his first recital
and aroused positive enthusiasm in his au-
dience His program was severely classical
and although there were several numbers
that were familiar to lovers Of music they
were invested with fresh interest by Sill
vinskis readings. This is true particularly
/ of the Beethoven Sonata and Schumann's
"PaDillonS." No two schools Of musical