The herald., 1894-12-09


There are two theatrical companies.
the Lyceum and the Bostonians, which
are the recipients OF q warm regard be-
uides sincere admiration in Los Ange-
les.
Mr.. Stephen Fiske. Of the Spirit of the
Times of New York. is the premier
dramatic critic OF the country, and his
views on the latest appearances of the
organizations are apropos. Mr.. Fiske
has oil the perception and brilliancy Of
the Partisan critics, and to that he adds
quality they do not possess-shat of
honesty. OF the performances he
speaks as follows:
A Woman's Silence, play in three
acts, by Victorien Sardou, was produced
ct the lovely Lyceum, last evening. be-
fore crowded, fashionable and critical
audisnca The story il that of The
Wiis's Seciet-a play we'll worth reviv-
ing-in which q sister suffers from her
husbands suspicions rather than betray
her brother; but Sardou has made the
husband and wife . betrothed couple
and thus heightened the dramatic
interest for modern minds. Lord
March has . drunken quarrel over a
game OF cards with Sir Arthur Greyson,
ct Calcutta; chases Greyson with re-
volver and shoots him at the door Of his
sister, Dorothea March. To rave her
brother from prison, Dorothea permits
II to be undsrstood that Greyson was
her lover and testides to this effect in q
court Of law. OF course. there 10 scan
dal, and it follows Dorothea all over the
world. Maurice. the young comte de
Vigny, has fallen in love with her and
follows her to Bellsgio, on the lake Of
Como, where she is living in retirement
with her pretty cousin, Lucy Gordon.
The scandal arrivesas soon as Maurice !;
he hears it and begs Dorothea to explain
II, but she obstinately refuses. Then
Sir Arthur Greyson turns up and at
tsmpts TO blackmail Dorothea. Maurice
conironts him but the evidence against
Dorothea is too strong to justify q duel.
Greyson drops in again aud Lucy Cor
don hands him q cup OF tea. which Dor
othss has poisoned with dgitalis. in
tending to commit suicide. An outory
is raised; Dorothea 10 denounced as q
poisoner; q commissioner OF police
interrogates her. and ct the crit
ical moment the inevitable en-
velope arrives with the news
that Lord March is dead and
his full confession exonerating his sis
ter. Unfortunately, Greyson recovers--
neither bullets nor poison can kill such
. rascal-but otherwise all ends hap
PLY.
Sardou wrote this play specially for
the Lyceum company; but Abby Sage
Richardson a7as adapted it, and perhaps
IL .vx~ k.v
tea. We thought Mark Twain's story,
q capitol drama until+we saw how Abby
Riohardson-w who was certainly not sage
then-hsd handled it. But. taking the
combination of Saldou's eau de vie and
Richardson's cage as it was admins
tered last night, we find that the play
fits Miss Cayvan, Katherine Florence.
Herbert Kelcey, aud w. j. Ls Moyne.
but leaves out the rest of the Lyceum
company. We find, secondly, that it
ought not to have been produced 90 soon
after A Way to Win q Woman, which
also deals in poison and scandal. We
find, thirdly. that it is melocrama un-
suited to the Lyceum theater, whore
the public have become accustomed to
. lighter. brighter and more modern
style of play.
The acting, the scenery and the cos
tunes may be praised uhreservedly, end,
indeed. would be worth going to see If
there were no Sardou drama. Mie Cay
van transformed heraelf into veritable
woman of silence. her pale, immobile
face, dark, dropping hair and tiny,
iclenched hands emphasizing the con-
trast when she melted into q woman of
love. Herbert Kelcey never before
acted 30 powerfully. convincingly and
effectively, although he wac handi-
capped by Sardou, who committed the
customary French blunder of making q
gentleman refuse to trust the woman he
loves. w. J. LIE Moyne was perfect as
the worldlyswise, elder brother of the
hero. suspicious OF all women. Kaths-
rine Florence played the ingenue Lucy
very prettily. Stephen Grattan, in the
very unpleasant part of Greyson, won q
special round Of applause for his clever
Interpretation OF q titled scoundrei.
The rest Of the company were all
good, but their parts were mere
sketches 1t was their home-co m
ing for the season, and the
audience greeted ell OF them heartily
Fritz Williams rode bicycle; Charles
Walcot was the commissioner OF police !;
Adrienne Dairolles had . delicious
French accent; Ferdinand Gottschalk,
Bessie Tyree. lovely Msude Vennsr wore
ON the stage; but they were mostly men
and women Of silence. The pupils of
the American Academy OF the Dramatic
Arts formed the crowd at the close OF the
play. The scenery, by William Hawley.
is even more beautiful than the real
Lake OF Como. Everybody will 20 to
see A Woman OF Silence; for the new
work by Ssrdou can be ignored and the
return OF the regular Lyceum company
is fashionable event; but the verdict
Of the public and OF Manager Frohman
will be that Of The Spirit-the drama
must be reserved for Misc Cayvan's g star.
ring tour and Lyceum comedy put in
rehearsal.
Prince Ananias, comic opera in two
acts, music BY Victor Herbert. libretto
Dy Francis Nelson, was produced, BY
tho Bostonians, at the beautiful Broad
WAY, last evening. before the usual first
night audience, who thought 1t alto
getncr too long, too suggestive OF The
Devirs Deputy, and too full Of matri-
0onlai allusions to the Queen OF BriIli-
snts. Le Grabbe, an outlaw, ia in
search OF the fair Mirsbel, and Biron, .
e poor poet. assumes the character OF
Prince Ananias to assist him In his
search. 30 on they 60 to court, accom-
panied by In Fontsins and q troop OF
ssroilinE players. Encampsd before the
palace. tho actora give an entertainment
TO cheer the melancholy king; but the
monarch cannot be moved to emile until
Frnoe Ansniae perpetrates q com
recitation. Then LIE Grabbe - pardoned