The sun., 1896-12-15
TWO NEW LYCEUM PLAYS,
AND TWO p.iUDETILLE ACTRESSES
VINO SIHG 81 AUCY SONGS.

mr. ETOumhn'b COMPANY Ia ~ Tho Late MT.
Casteiio" and The wirc or wIIiourh-
bE"-Hvette GuiIbert mt Roster q Blnrs
and Louise Bcnudet nt HnmmcrStein's.
now bill at the Lyceum Theatre last night
began with short but serious play called
Tho Wife of WillouRhby," and this was
the first performance of 10 by professional
actors. 1t was half-hour melodramR,
with its characters dressed in the cos
tunes Of England two centuries ago, and
mortal duel with swords at the climax. 1t
was nrst-rate melodrama, too. in the best sense
OF that latterly abused word. The authors were
Theodore Burt Sayre and Helen Bogart. and
they might we'll have written It in less conven-
tional language, but they had devised genuine
ly theatrical plot and had worked 1t out with ex-
collent theatrical effect. There was an old
painter with young wife, whom he
loved devotedly, and she did not love him.
She had two suitors, one of whom she
despised, and one of whom she adored.
hut with neither was sho guilty save in
hcnrt. The old artist had made picture
OF Shakespeare's Desdemona at the moment of
othello's accusation. but had failed to give to
her face the right expression OF n pure woman
rcsentful of unjust charge. His wife
had served as the model, and the rejected
lover malevolently suggested that in order
to produce the requisite look Of surprise and
horror, he suddenly accuses her OF falsity as q
wife. Tho unsuspioous husband chanced
TO do this Immediately after tho woman
and the man she loved had confessed
frankly, confessed the truth: Then tho
able lover. and fought to his own death with the
dishonorahle lover. 1t was most melodramatio
It. although it was not acted in all Is parts with
the facility which 1t demanded.
The second and principal new play at the
"The Late Mr. Cnstello ~ cor-
edy by Sydney Grundy. IL had young widow
right in the middle OF it, and oil tho other per-
sonages clrcled. oriss-crossed and zig
gagged around her. She was the relct
of the late MIR. CASTILLO. widowhood was
to her state OF Irritation. The men in tho play
were entranced by her. and the women were
eclipsed. Her mother and her sister lost their
lovers to her for awhile. She caused deal
OF sentimental disorder and commotion in
the household. and all tho while. when
hotly wooed. she declared herself inhexibly
welded to the memory of her adored dead hus-
band. At length a third suitor beat her at her
own game. As an Offset to her reminiscent love
he set up his loyalty to a sweetheart who
had Tilted him. This was n fiction. but 1t
served Its purpose OF arousing the wonan's
Jealousy. and through that device he won her
to himself, at the same time restoring the other
two chaps to the mother and the sister. Tho
WluOW WAS lhpcTSOualcu py mary thauutEluH.
the new leading actress OF the Lyceum com pany.
who had made good start In New FORK regard as
an emotional heroine. and the udience was curl
GUS to see IL she would do as well In the iferent
role OF a llght-hearted and roguish fascinstor.
She did. 1t was a positive triumph for her.
Her ease and polish as comedienno were de-
The play was farce essentially. but Mr..
Grundy had written it wittily. the manner OF
like n comedy. Its story was connected with the
nj Ia ya n nj n n
ment, however. made none of the success which
the piece gained with its first American au-
dience. While 1t was not detrimental. neither
yielded abundantly By the multifoEm love af-
which she and her preferred suitor played upon
each other, and upon the two other couples.
them. made up activity of cross purposes and
counterplot which did not lag for a moment.
Hackett. who had been hard and angular in tho
melOdrama. was Timber and graceful in the farce.
Of ms esp sH was tns
treme!y dr9l, In getting matched with Mrs;
Malcot. and and MI NV MheeIock was AM amusing In his
made contrasted and enjoyable entertainment.
"Yvette Guilbert," wrote Francisque Sarcey.
who has watched her for years in Paris. "en-
dures." New York has not known her long. but
II there were ever any doub. of her enduring
powers here. 1t was dispeled last night when
che reappeared at Roster & Balls. She proved
again that there is but one such genius
of her kind. The applause which greeted
Der was more than a friendly welcome. but
II grew into an enthusiasm that was satisfied
only by her repeated appearance before
The curtain and an encore which in
her own words took the form of "a
very modest imitation of Nine. Sarah
Bernhardt." 1t may have been modest.
and possibly Yvette can be that some
time. But 1t was a perfect example of mimicry
that descended into burlesque only at the clos
ing lines. Bernhardt's manner of speech. the
metallic. staccato manner she sometimes affects
was completely represented.
Mile. Guilbert went through the gamut of her
talents She sang nix songs of varied sentiment.
but out of them all there remains no memory SO
vivid as that of her song. THE Mothers
Heart" the tragic verses of Jean Richepin.
which tells the parable of the difference
In the love OF the mother and the love
of the courtesan. 1t is in these lines that tho
courtesan in contempt commands the man she
does not love to bring her hs mothers heart for
her dog. Its own sentiment is tragic enough. and
them Is superbly powerful. The despair OF
the lover she indicates graphically. and the
was pitiless in It's cruelty. Then the flight OF
the youth with his mothers heart. his
the tenderness OF the question from the
heart, Hast thou hurt myself, were SO
silent for a moment after she finished. Nothing
she has sung here before. neither = La Pier
rense" nor LA Soularde." with its In
finite pitifuness. WAS ever, SO power,
full as this song. The Mothers Heart"
Yet Its effects were made only with
the voice and the facial expression, as the ges-
lures that accompanie led 1t were few. The quail
ties Of such q performance can only be indi-
Gated. not analyzed. and II was n superlatiyely
powerful and impressive bit OF acting.
In !" Young Married People, there was the
wealth of suggestiveness aud irony that the
woman puts into these comic songs, and ''Aban-
donsd," the story Of the infant deserted bv it's
mother, was deeply human ana sympathetic.
- Love You My Honey" with one verso in
French and one In English, held II mine OF
exotic sentiment, and In My Girls n Bowery
Girl, Mile. ,Guipert showed that she was
capable OF absorbing and expressing the traits
OF people not her own. although 1t shows the
very least artistic phase of her talents. But
maybe she has to sing in English. and possibly
that excuses It, AT all events. she returned tri-
umphantly. and she can return with AS much
success whenever she wants. New York has
always q welcome for genius SO unique.
Louise Beaudet has lesson in kissing for all
New Workers., and she gave her FIRST instruction
last night to many of them could be