Birmingham age-herald., 1895-02-08
ROBERT MANTELL.

nies' she IS a success.
 ROBERT MANTELL.
 This afternoon at matinee Mir. Robert
 Mantell, the celebrated romantic actor,
 will appear in his celebrated drama, 'sThe
 Marble Heart" At night he will produce
 his great success, "Mon bars,o in which
 he assumes the title role. The Boston
 American says:
 "Monbars'' is five act romantic drama
 adapted from the French of D'Ennery by
 Mir. Louis Nathal. It is of extremely clever
 construction and it's plot is arranged on
 somewhat pleasingly original lines. h.
 cidental to the play the costumes are
 gorgeous, and exact reproductions of the
 period in which the events depicted oc-
 cured; the scenery is beautiful, and with
 out being strained to produce too much
 realism, is quietly excellent. For the
 satisfactory presentation of these and other
 accompaniments to the main feature of the
 drama MT. Mantell's careful personal
 supervision is to be credited. His details
 are the results of conscientious study, but
 these perfect details are almost lost sight of
 in the intense interest which he com mands
 for the central figure in the play on bars.
 In all the many situations he Is simply
 superb.
 The rich plebian asking the hand of the
 pauper noble's daughter, whom he has but
 rescued from mad dog, conveys not the
 least offensive suggestion of indebtedness,
 and at the same time preserves the dignity
 of true manhood which does not bend to
 blood, the newly made husband, almost
 boy again through his joy, is dignified in his gleeful happiness, the mismated man recognizing the unintentional mistake of
 the woman now his wife, and it's nobler side, bears up with the true spirit of chiv- airy under a terrible misfortune. Noble and respectful sympathy with affliction, charity for inadvertent error, passionate denunciation and vindication, tenderness in forgiveness, noble sorrow for wrong prompted by jealousy, and unalloyed re- lief at an unciouded prospect. Mantell is perfect in such portrayal.
 The supporting company is good one, but the interest is irresistibly drawn to- ward the star, and he monopolizss it simply because his playing is powerful, true and natural in It's every tense and plainly the result of hard, conscientious study, no less than inherent talent. RHEA.
 Of Rhea, who appears at the opera house next Saturday afternoon and evening, the New Orleans Times Democrat says: Rhea always gives an entertainment well worthy the patronage of intelligent play goers, and last night the opening of her engagement at the academy proved no ex- ception to this well-understood and we'll established rule. "The Parisians'' Is a good adaptation of clever comedy by Vic torien Sardou. The translator has evil dently done his work well, for not only has all the brilliancy of the great French dram- atist been preserved, but his moral tone and his views of social life have been left intact in the English version. It is the story of wealthy parvenu, who rears his family by the business maxims which had secured for him success in trade. The old fellow had contempt for everything that savored of sympathy, and in his honest disregard for it eliminated 1t from the home life of his family. As result of this his eldest daughter, trying to conceal her ex- travagance from her husband by winning
 money from the gaming table, made se- rious losses, and was relieved of her em- barrassment by a gentleman, who lent her the money as an act of courtesy and disin- terested generosity. This, however, es- tablshed secret between the gentleman and his wife, which, though harmless in
 itself, created great deal of mischief band. The other daughters of the old parvenu created no end of trouble in a small way, but all the while Clotilde, the heroine of the play, who had faith in the goodness of humanity, is play ing the role of peacemaker and smoothing out the family trouble, and finally she is | triumphant. The climax, which is vivid and realistic, is reached in the last act, and it proved very effective last night. Mile. Rhea as Ciotilde never looked brighter or more youthful and she acted with that marvellous grace and yivacity which has | always characterized her efforts. Her art
 as an actress pure and simple is practically above criticism. Graceful aud artistic in every pose and gesture, she seemed the very embodiment of the spirit of comedy. | Her humor is always light, sparkling and effervesceDt, and last night she was rehned comedy to her finger ends. MT. Hart as | the jealous but devoted husband was ef- | fective, particularly in the last act. Miss | Rachel Deane as the suspected wife created | thoroughly favorable impression. Her methods are graceful and artistic, while in some of the stronger scenes she displayed an intensity that was at times almost eIec- | trical. Mr. Ferd Flight as tho father of | the family proved himself clever and capable actor.
 MABEL PAIGE.
 A STRONG ATTRACTION AT POPULAR PRICES. Charming little Mabel Paige, who will l begin weeks engagement at O'Brien' 8 Monday night, February Il, at popular l prices, is indeed a favorite in the south. The Charleston News and Courier says l in speaking of her:
 Little Mabel Paige, aged 13 years, and her l company achieved an unqualified success l at the Academy of Music last night, when 1 weeks engagement of comedy was | opened with charming comedy adapted
 from the German of "The Other Girl. v l Of course Mabel, who appears in the role l of Evangeline, is the central figure of the l play, but unlike many so-calIed stars of maturer years, little Mabel does not take | upon her shoulders the entire task of amus- l ing and entertaining the audience. She 1 has an excellent support, and the aggrega-
 ton is composed of people who are a ble to l contribute materially to the nights enter- | tRinment.