The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-01-23
A NEW PLAY AND REVEALS
WEALTH AND PoTERTH CONrRAsrED
AG1IN IN "POOR GIRLS"

1
| Jenious wife," Mr. willard n Hauniet,"
Mr. usrrisas In The Leather Pnteh,"
and Mtss Coshiru in "Forsst-Mr-Not ~
There was only one new play last evening
with which to begin the dramatic week in this
city. Broadway had the very interesting re-
vivals Of Forget Me- Not" at the Fifth Avenue
| Theatre. The Leather Patch at IIarrigan's
'M0itre dc ForRos' ut Abbey'e. Hamlet" at
the Garden. and Tho Jealous Wife " at the
Star; but those In quest OF hitherto un-
acted drama had to 40 to Eighth avenue
to lind It at the American. 1t proved
to be singularly powerful piece
called Poor Girls" which had come to
this public from a Maupassant sketch in
| French by the way Of a German dramatization
and thcnce into the English version acted ut
| the American for the first time. Il was one
moro stage illustration OF wealth and poverty
brought into sentimental as we'll as physical
conflict; but the laborors' strike represented
in this piece was background for group OF
persons strongly portrayed. and II was q mat
| ter OF aching hearts rather than horny ha nds
| that constituted the dram alto interest
| The audience was little nonplussej and q
| great deal engrossed by a work that will be
| elias sod in the present nomenclature Of the
| stage as q melodrama. but which was
| far more than the mere rearrangement
OF elementary materials othnt usual.
| ~ mhho w y DlhI VI .lUhb WeneIhl ut-
| scription. 1t was positively ~ Ibseniau /
| its fearlessly truthful disclosures OF human
| nature In Its men and won en-. Not one OF them
was In the least localized. They we're an en-
tirely probable lot, II We eIceptia tendency
to caricature In several comic cases.
and their acts spranR from reasonable
unexaggerated motives. The quality OF real
Ism tby which We do not m can such verify"
as the frying Of real ham in real fat over n real
1re. as seen and smolt In one scene. but tho
perfect naturalness OF the words and dc dds
was as dominant as In any Ibsen drama.
For small instance. man felt
like damning thing and he damned 1t. A
woman had the same i'm pulse. and she echoed
the damn. For a more important example a
young fellow was protligato seducer
OF one girl and sincere wooer Of
her sister. That conplexlty OF bad
moss and goodness in the same individual
tho drama. ana plaYwriRhts have seldom risk
ed It In many ways this disregard OF tho
hesion to common human nature. WAS US bold
rs in lbsen's, Pillars OF Society" or Herne's
The poor girls who give the title to this
drama are daughters OF shnemaker Tho
Esp eRE9sSs pa1n q, n ana ts 1tner me
temptations that the other resists. The good
eirlsuffers much but Is true to herself through
hayward sister. In the English version which
does not differ esse rtially from tho German.
the persons and scenes are placed IN Now Eng
both assault and defense with a we'll
nigh equal hand, for arrogance is asc ribcd
and a saving amount Of dignity and
so is Go1n Ss tns PlaY afG
being coarse without indecency. common.
sssi ThSqs o f9S
material which the word may be zen to i'm
being nssume cd nv PLAYERS we'll know "a mem
bers Of the Charles Trohman stock company
HOMER and Joseph Humphreys. with Josepb
Holland in a serious guise as the hero and
non, Frazer Coulter md others to Mi
out thoroughly com pstefit cast The
was strong nnplau.e WAS pabuSa"nt and s9c'
cess was unIuestlonably achieved. but the
duration Of q drama SO unusual in character.
simil,a Dlay csn bsr3lv he fors.oId " WIN any
-
io'. q. 'no u"'ron inea.fo ,nS' esen-
Ing was treated by EDWARD 5. Willard as
ma nor AS n great dramatic poem Not Tint
~ nv. 10 na w, -I,. poo' W, 'na'
speare. or any lack OF thought In careful prep
arutIon or anv INABILITY 10 annrecinte all
the meanings. real and fancied. that students
have derived from the role which he played.
put ar, wharf WIN al ms aekho"ieogeu
aoility. Is prosy actor. In the dchneatlon OF
character by means OF hard. exact. unideal eN-
nraa.iona IN Il n soun5 AMI oJ,ni.ahla a.
p'es', ',, no 70 eouhu anu nuu'F"oie ar
list. HIS success with us In nall dozen
81 ho. haar yor,huv nor nr, hi.
guy h"' uoon worm" "o'.' p"' MS
from the realm of imagination to that Of fact
did not result In PLACING himself among the
eminent trfgedians. MI: willard gave no siGn
OF possessing tragic genius even iatently. and
regarded simply as a reciter OF the iiamist |
soliloauies-a test which many an eocutlonist |
can bear without being an actor at all
he must be set down as not having risen |
TO more than excellence With the memory OF |
Edwin Booths msrrellous pttHrance accom- |
panyina every line us Mr; Willard spoke II. |
many listener must have felt like denying to |
the present actor his free horn right t. essay |
the part. The graceful distinction OF DHven-
port. the impetuous romantiesm OF FechteT. |
tn curiOusly subtle force Of Irving, and tho !
characteristics OF other ahle players OF Hgnr. |
were reeollected Wlthont any enc OF them being
found again in the Willard representation.
come good tT"gedian ms effort ielt him Just