Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-01
ADJUSTMENTS.

AIbaugh'S Grand Opera HouSe.-It Is IN
a fiippantly satirical key that Mr.. Richard
Mansfield and his company sing of Arms
and the Man." The appreciative audience
that is assured this talented actor in Wash
ington was present at Albaugh's Grand
Opera House last night when the new play
which has excited so much comment was
given. The piece Is deliciously consist
ent bit of cynicism, keen. incisive and re-
lentless. In the hands of less skillful peo-
pie than those of the Mansfield organiza-
ton there would be great danger of its de-
generating into an extravaganza burlesque
on the heroes and heroines Of war and SEN
timentality. Mansfield, however, Is one of
the few men who are capable Of interpre-
ting comedy in its utmost refinement, and
this exquisite satire Of Mr.. Bernard Shaw
Is never marred by a maladroit stroke On
the part OF the players. No brighter COM
mentary On the absurditieS of the conven
tional has been penned since w. S. Gilbert
wrote Engaged" The sheer is as intense
as any that oscar Wilde ever formulated.
and more delicate. While the humor lies
mainly in the lines, there is no labored
struggle for epigram. The author has been
successful in expressing much OF his liter
airy purpose in the action, leaving the con-
clusion to the perceptions OF the audience
1t will not be surprising to find that the
play fails to please the purely popular
theater-going contingent 1t Is a note
worthy fact that the gallery, which is in
,variably crowded on nights when Mr.
Mansfield presents "Dr. Jekyl and Mr..
HYDE" was by no means filled last night.
The demand for seats in the lower portions
Of the auditorium, however, indicated an
exceptional interest in the performance
among those, who, it is reasonable to as
sumo, enjoy greater facilities for the ac-
quirement of intellectual breadth.
familiarity with the types which are
dissected in Mr.. shaw's play is necessary
before the moral phenomena which he
claims to discover can be understood. The
warrior with fine clothes and fine senti-
ments is shown to be a weaklinS in botn
moral and physical courage; the protest.
full young woman with the Hottest ideals
of affection, truth and mOdesty, cold
bloodedly contradictS by her actions her
most imprisoned declarations. On the
othe. hand the man of no pretensions, who
confesses to cowardice and other undesir-
able qualities, turns out to be very re-
spectacle hero o. the theatrical or story
boof class. Throughout the cast the char
acters are types stripped of the DISCUSSES
which the multitude Is accustomed to ac-
cept as the real beings, although dimly
conscious that such superlative goodness
or badness are scarcely compatible with
human clay. The iconoclastc skill of the
author Is not directed only toward the
theater and the novel, but toward hero
worship as it is carried on in real life. He
does not merely go behind the scenes of
this stage of human existence. He pene-
trates into the boudoirs of the actors. II
his estimate of men and women seems ex-
tremely low there is more than compenSa-
ton In the extravagant eulogy so often
heaped upon those who are set up as ideals.
The audience is soon carried into the ge-
nially sardonic spirit of the occasion, and
In the last act finds itself entirely gratified
to see personages, who by all the traditions
CT the playhouse and romance, should be
overwhelmed by poetic justice, marry and
live happy ever after. 1t Is needless to
Mr. oil tn, tha ,oIa
man who earned the soubriquet of 1.-The
Chocolate Cream Soldier" was infinitely ac
curate in his conception of the character
and graceful in his Interpretation. Miss
Beatrice Cameron was praiseworthy as the
girl who is SO extremely ideal in her pre-
tensions and extremely real in fact The
remainder of the company was excellent in
every case.
New National Theater.-Not In a long
time have the walls of the National Thea
ter echoed with applause as they did last
night. 1t was I'm Old Kentucky come
back again, and the galleries and balconies
were 1uil, and the orchestra floor was by
TO means empty. The play is great sue
cess as moving melodrarHa. but as rep
resentAtion of the normal condition of af-
fairs in that well-known state it
might as well be called by any other. The
fact that 1t does not represent a true
picture does not initiate against 1t in the
slightest, however, and it is vertically a
complete success. The cast has undergone
all the thrilling situations are presented
with their full effect. The characters are
all we'll represented. It might be offered
as suggestion for the comfort of an au-
dience that Smokeess powder be used in
this and similar plays.
Academy of Music.-"The New Boy ap-
peared at the Academy of Music last
night,> ard his fame must have gone be-
fore him. Either that or people are just
naturally stuck on boy; for there was
great crowd present, and it enthused very
generally. This was noticeably true in the
first act. when the righteousness of the
New Boy impressed itself most wildly
upon the auditors. Mr.. James Powers is
Archibald Rennick. and he marries a large
widow Miss kinnaird), about twice his
volume, who has a fourteen-year-old son,
about her husbands size. DR.. Candy CAIr
Frederick Robir SOM mistakes the husband
for the son, and Mr.. and Mrs. Rennick per-
NIT his error to go uncorrected, and it is
communicated to all, and Mr.. Rennick be-
comes the New Boy at school. The boys
put him through the racket in true school
boy style. and he submits to 1t all, with
the final result that all is explained and
everybody is happy. The play is distinct
lively funny. II the opinion of an audience
Is worth anything. Incidental to the lead
ing charters are Mr.. r. F. Cotton. a per-
feet Mephistopkelean villain, in figure, at
least; Miss Rachel Booth, as dainty and
pretty as rosebud girl could be, and
George Backus as a'gallant Gaelic lover
A game of foot ball, which does not take
place in sight. is made intensely exciting
and natural by bringing on the stage the
wrecks of the rush in various stages of
dlapidation and disintegration.
Buffers Bljou Theater.-Charles T. Ell
lis in Casper. the Yodler," is a favorite
attraction at Buffers Bijou Theater, and
that house was packed to the doors last
night with an appreciative and enthusiast
tic audience. If Mr.. Ellis could act as
well as he sings, the lamented Joe Emmett
would not be missed. This is not meant to
disparage the stars ability as an actor,
but to praise his really charming voice.
A person can enjoy his Sunshine Will
Come Again. yesr after year. and with