Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-03-03


shared with his spouse a strong admiration
for the muscular side of humanity. Their
children were named Noeline, Thomasin
and Wilhelmina.
The emarchioness, 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 IA my lords" and
their mother speaks of and to them as vii
lie, 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 the sterner sex as possible
Noel rather likes the arrangement, and
Tommy is an enthusiastic advocate OF IT,
but Willie would prefer at all times to be a
girl. The life Of the marchioness Is one
long protest against natures inflction upon
her of female instead of male progeny
Shortly after the opening of the play we
are introduced to harrington, Viscount
Litterly, cousin of the girls, who il de
spised by their mother for having been
born a boy; Andre Count de Grival, a
Frenchman, who protests that he Is English
in everything except birth, and to prove il
says Don't you know" and some things
not quite so proper, besides misquoting
proverbs at every opportunity, and Galfred,
earl of Tweenwayes, little fellow who
has inherited all the ailments that flesh is
heir TO through a 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 great deal offun, of which Mr..
Pinero has caused his Characters to take
advantage TO the full.
As might be expected, as soon as the men
begin TO make love the girls discover that
they are only ordinary weak girls after all d,
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 n 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 az the couples walk off arm in
arm the final curtain falls.
The acting of the Lyceum stock company
in "The Amazons" is excellent a. a whole.
There are some flaws naturally. The hit
of the piece was made by Miss Bessie Tyree,
who plays the most mannish Of the three
sisters. Her first entrance is made by vault
ing over n fence, and she sustains the reck-
lessness of the part throughout.
An attempt to tell the story of 1.-THE
Amazons" is necessarily futile. Give an
ordinary playwright the same idea for a
farce, and he would at once say that there
Is nothing In it, II 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 ad-
mirably adapted 10 the abilities of the in
dividual members. The play ought easily
10 run through the season, and IL will un-
less Manager Daniel Frohman is under con-
tract to produce something else on par
ticular date.
There are numbers Of comical episodes I'm
"The Amazons" which are produced with
out strainng, 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 ac-
knowledged that the name Of the greatest
living dramatist Is not Sardou, but ri.
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, IL asked to state upon
what foundation his pedestal was built,
they would be at q loss for q satisfactory
answer OCTAvUs COHEN
New York