Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-02


shared with his spouse Il strong admiration
for the muscular side of humanity. Their
children We're named Noeiue, Thomasin
and Wilhelmina
The marchioness, not having any sons, de
termines to bring these girls up as boys.
They are taught gymnastics, hunting,
shooting, fishing and other sports supposed
to be manly. They even smoke cigarettes
They are addressed My lords" and
their mother speaks of and to them as Viii
le Tommy and Noel. They are compelled
to wear male attire when at home in Over
cote park and to act in every way as much
like members of he sterner SIX as possible
Noel rather likes the arrangement, and
Tommy is an enthusiastic advocate of it,
but Willie would prefer at all times to be IL
girl The life of the warehouses is one
long protest against natures inlliCtiun upon
her of female instead of male progeny.
Shortly after the opening of the play we
are introduced to Darlington, NiScOunt
Utterly, cousin OF the girls who is de
spised by their mother for having been
born a boy; Andre, Count de Grival, Il
Frenchman, who protests that he is English
in everything except birth, and to prove it
says Don't you know" and some things
not quite so proper, besides misquoting
proverbs at every opportunity, and Galfred,
has inherited all the ailments that flesh is
heir to through long line of ancestors,
stretching back to the time of William the
COnQueror These three come to OvercOte
park and of course fall in love with the
girls. The marchiOnesS has gone to Lon
don in response to an urgent letter relating
to her eldest daughter, and there is oppor-
tunity for a great deal of fun, of which Mr..
Pinero has caused his characters to take
advantage to the full.
AS mi ght be expected as soon as the men
begin to make love the girls discover that
they are only ordinary weak girls after all,
and in pursuance of that revelation they
promptly reciprocate the affection of their
admirers, whom they invite to the house.
There refreshments are served in the gym
nasium, where the men have wandered
through mistake, and a dance follows, in
the midst of which the marchioness, ac-
companied by the minister, arrives. There
is an exciting and amusing scene, after
which everything is Strengthened out. The
mother invites the young men to remain to
dinner, and as the couples walk off arm in
arm the final curtain falls.
The acting of the Lyceum stock company
in The Amazons'' is excellent as il whole
There are some flaws naturally. The hit
of the piece was made by Miss Bessie Tyrcc
"
sisters. Her first entrance is made by vault
ing over Il fence, and she suStainS the rccl
lessness of the part throughout.
An attempt to tell the story of THE
Amazons' is necessarily futile. Give an
ordinary playwright the same idea for n
farce, and he would at once say that there
is nothing in it, 1t is pinero's delightful
treatment of the theme which makes The
Amazons" the best thing the Lyceum com
pany has done in years, because it is so adj
mirably adapted to the abilities of the in
dividual members. The play ought easily
to run through the season, and it will I'M
less Manager Daniel Frohman is under con
tract to produce something else on Il par
ticular date.
There are numbers of comical episodes in
1.-The AmaZons' which are produced with
out straining So called comedies often
and in fact usually employ farcical devices
for producing humorous situations but
here we have a farce in which the fun is all
wrought by pure light comedy methods.
All of which is but another evidence of the
fact which is gradually getting to be &C |
knowledged that the name of the greatest
living dramatist is not Sardou, but Pi-
nero Many critics asserted this years ago,
but most of them have simply accepted the
statement that Sardou was the foremost
of the craft, when, if asked to state upon
what foundation his pedestal was built, |
they would be at loss for a satisfactory
answer. OCTANCS COHEN.
New York