The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-13
News of the Green
Room and Foyer.
Some of the More Important
Doings of These, Our Actors.

All London is now talking about Pin
eros latest play, 1.-THE Notorious Mrs.
Ebbsmith." The play Is described as
q strange one, full Of pathos, full of
human nature, full Of power. The chief
characters are Lucas Cleeve. a weak
man, filled with shallow enthusiasm for
doctrines that he but half appreciates.
and Agnes Ebbsmith, woman OF
strong passions, which she takes for
strong character, and who finds her
womanhOod too strong for her. TO the
utter destruction of her ideals and the
ultimate unveiling Of their falsity.
These two II IL, acting one upon the
other, who achieve the tragedy--not
tragedy Of poison and dagger ana
death, but the tragedy of two wasted
lives. Agnes Is the daughter of a raw
Ing Socialist demagogue. and has by
her vehemence made herself known
down In the East End as Mad Agnes"
Then she has married, and her violent
enthusiasm and raging for impossible
ties has wrecked her married life. and
then she seeks peace az hospital
nurse. In this capacity she Is sent t.
Venice to nurse Cleeve. who is III, her
fierce passions rouse the enthusiasm
of his nature, and for the time hide It's
weakness, and she, triumphing In find-
ing her IDEAL q man who thinks as she
thinks and who feels as she feels, Is
found when the scene opens, dwelling
with him under his name, proud OF her
position, and filled with the conviction
that they two will lead q movement
that shall shatter all preconceived no.
tions and bring happiness to all.
Plainly they have started off down
the common road to free love-"
the power Of Mr.. Pinero's art in
which he Is magnificently aided
by the perfection Of the acting-is that
with this commonplace motive he has
so perfectly drawn his picture that we
see the motive only, as the truth, while
we appreciate the anguish of the char
acters who are working their own mis-
cry, through their inability to come
down to the common level and see 1t
too. The truth Of human nature Is clear
before u.s. and the equal truth Of human
nature deceiving itself, and the result
Is work of astounding power. Re-
lief from the gloom Is given with per-
feet truth-so different from the COM
mon comic relief of melodrama-by
the. entertaining cynicism Of Cleeve's
uncle, the duke of st. Olpherts, who
seeks to detach Cleeve from Agnes.
In the end Agnes finds peace in the
quiet home Of stalwart, muscular
Christian parson and his sister. The
| -, fn har
luton, when. recognizing the weakness
of Cleeve, she casts off her own over
wrought ideas Of nobleness and seeks
with dress and all that woman can do
| to hold his love in any form. and. fail
| ing then, hurls into the fire Testament
| which the two true friends have given
her-then as they go out, suddenly
recognizes the truth of all, and thrust
ing her bare arm into the stove, drags
out the book and clasps 1t to her-that
scene riveted in silence the attention Of
every ear and every eye, and when the
curtain fell upon it brought forth round
upon round of applause in recognition
Of scene as finely conceived by the
| author and as finely acted as any
that London has known for many a
day.
Col Sam Boyd, the irrepressible, he
of the loud trousers and the winning
way, came up from Wilkes-Barre last
week to see a really good show. After
an evening of unrestrained merriment
evoked by the Brownies" he returned
to the city of sighs and wrote as fol-
lows: "Scrantonians ought to be proud
Of the handsome theatre that the enter
prise and push Of Arthur rockingham
has given them. 1t is by all odds the
finest amusement house In the state.
except possibly the Alva Joslin theatre
at Pittsburg, and 1t is but trifle Infer
ior to that and only in unimportant de-
tails. The acoustic properties are ex-
cellent and there Is not a bad seat In the
entire 1854 that the house will hold"
The appearance tonight In this city
of the Kendals, in their decadent play,
1.-The Second Mrs. Tanqueray," will af-
ford local theater-goers chance to as
certain about how far polite nastiness
can project itself into the modern drama
without getting thrown out bodily. We
will not say anything in advance con-
cerning the acting powers of the Ken
dals. That Is a point which must be
settled by each spectator. through per-
sonal observation. Our own opinion Is
far from eulogistic. But concerning
their play 1t may be said that 1t Is a
shade cleverer and shade better sugar
coated than were some of Oscar Wilde S
productions, but still OF the same gen.
eral decadent class. We quite agree
with the Chicago Herald In its remarks
apropos Of Wilde's collapse, that those
who defend problem plays and assume
that they are certain to regenerate
stage literature and reform the world
will find It difficult to discover any
moral or intellectual benefit in the writ.
ings OF Ibsen, Pinero. Sudermann OF
Wilde. When not honestly cynical, II
cy nicism can be honest, they are brual.
ly indelicate and dangerously unwhole'
some. They are the living pictures OF
stage literature. and II not intended tC
excite vicious thoughts and stir evil
lmaginings 1t Is difficult to understand
wnat the real purpose Is. Possibly the
downfall OF Wilde will open many eyes
heretofore closed to the truth"
FOOTLIGHT FLASHES:
Nine Modjeska IL In Rome.
Mrs. Langtry Is worth $4,000.
Lewis Morrison Is worth 100000.
Henry Irving has engaged Julia Arthur
Isabelle Coe has Joined Mansheid's com
pany.
Lillian Russell can shoot, fish, swim ant
play poker.
Miss Hall Caine. sister Of the novelist
is an actress.
William Gillette is the son Of a United
States Senator