The sun., 1896-02-03
POINTS IN SEVERAL PLAYS.
THE ART AND BUSINESS OF THE
zTRICAL Am MUSEAENT.

when r. C.. Carton made Tho Squire of
Danes" out of Dumass LIANT dos Femmes''
he did n difficult Job adrotly. There was lit
tie promise in this old fashioned piece, with
It's philosophy and its talk, to the adaptcr who
wanted to make play that might prove In
tercstlng at present. But Mr.. Carton has
done II, and II is n pleasure to find enough Of
the original Dumas brought down, as II were,
TO a form which Is lived to-day. The original
psxJ would nave stood no chance OF popularity
In It's first form. The action is still diffuse,
but the condensation Into four acts has given
o compactness that keeps the movement live
ly enough for audiences accustomed to a
style which has improved on the old Dumas
formula But the chief difficulty in arrang
ing the older Dumas pieces for the stage Of tho
day is to make the characters seem living and
human They are all cast In one mould, and
the hand that makes them move is generally
too apparent. This, as we'll as tho endless
talk of the hero Mr.. Carton has successfully
disguised In his adaptation, and II he will turn
his hand to some Of the other plays, and make
such acceptable use of thcm as he has OF
"L'Ami des Femmes." there is plenty Of ma
terial in the works Of Dumas that will al
ways be acceptable to American theatregoers,
long as It is rs cleverly presented as Mr.. Car.
ton has done IT, Out Of the principal charac-
person. Such q man In real life would be an
intolerabe nuisance. His career would, more
over. be short one, and his continued inter-
ference In other peoples affairs would prom pt-
ly get him into trouble. But there are other
features Of the part which make 1t one that
would appeal to the heart Of any star. just as
years ago he is available In most respects for
Mr. Drew,s use. 1t Is he that straghtens out
hnt n n Np res nnf 10 . bn,
gel or the play, but the voluntary good angel
who undertakes all these amabc plans with
INNS might have been writing that play for an
American star in 1896 instead OF French
company thirty years ago.
Mr.. Drew does all these things with the pol.
ish and ease that are characteristic Of all his
acting. With y role of some weight and dig:
he avoids both Of these painful phenomena OF
his acting. The French original q Kd,oy would
and capable In Introducing the sS Character ts'f Of
the American girl, in some Of the humor and
in the atmosphere OF some of the scenes, Mr..
But he has presented the French dramatist in
the present day. and that is a commendable
work to have succeeded so well in. The play
Is on IL nd there are
Of GLADYS wallis, who play, 81 the I'ipt part Of
raj humor and charm. II is unfortunate for
the general effect that the sutor is not en-
tinguished personality than Arthur Byron.
The audiences will not take his scenes seri-
ously, and they manifest it by their most OBJ.
lection Able way vi laughing at the wrong time.
More Is sometimes done for accuracy in
rlnys than audiences are aware Of" said Con.
t'essr!an Miner Of the Fifth Avenue Theatre
Il have had the chance to see it on my own
haGe. or course, everybody knew and apprc.
slated the literal naturalness Of Mr.. Herne's
Acres, but how many who admired Mr..
sh)mass In Mizzoura' had any idea that the
Ennc representing n workshop and a sitting
room In county house was so exactly n copy
or the real thing that the doors were actually
brought from u building thnt was being torn
!own' Walter Burrdsc, the artist, had been
%nt to Missouri to make sketches, and he not
Jiiy copied the apartment, but purchased the
foodwork, which was refashiOned into the
irene. Here. again, is the case OF the Governor
Of Kentucky Mr.. Crane tells me that the au
thor went with him to Kent, cky to STUDY the
looks, manners. and speech of tho people, and
the drineation OF the characters. Tie man
who wrote that play knows Kentucky said
rra.s ssy ds as night from the blue
OF scenic accuracy. Mr. Burridge spent two
". w., OK. IN and around Frankfort. sketching and
terror Of the Govcrnor's mansion is idealized
,h believe. to the extent OF painting landscape
Ghsh s really a,cs several ;e miles but
walls down to the pipes lying on a mantel. Not a
room or anything in it. Why. at the dress RE re
hearSnl noticed that n calendar on the chim.
The lettering could be read from the front rows
ol the pnrIuet, ard with glass from any mart
ben IN. hcHs" 1t struck me tnat the artist had
irc dental advertising. So We had the inscrip.
tion blurfed.' ~
London has great plenty Of war drama,
The newest of them. called "One of the Best
is at the Adelphi. 1t is founded on the French
case OF Dreyfus. who was convicted of treason
a year ago, but the play transfers 1t to British
army life. From Peace to War" which IA n
big show at the Olympia. has n rousing battle
IN snow storm between English troops md
natives In India Tommy Atkins" at the
i"rK. g!orhes the relocated soldier to the
utmost Cheer, Boys. Cheer" which is in
Ne" YORK called 'Burmah,' has been trans
ferred from the Drury Lane to remain indcf
initely at the Olympic. "The Girl Left Re.
hind Me-" which was produced in London nino
months ago. Is just about to depart on a long
provincial tour. The new Grundy piece, The
Late Mr. CastellO," seems to be prosperous
Beerbohm Tree made daytime trip on n
speedy train from London to Cambridge to
open a,l new theatre With Hamlet" Mr.. Tree
is also busiiy fighting pirates of 'Trilby."
Taeh PIECE Ti Is still in use throughout England
formanses arp' n ,er ahS heroine IN the London per-
nounced her betrothal to Henry Irvinss son. on
tSa MSlnrd i5Lord Etward Terry made speech against
B; F. Keith, inventor OF the ''coHtinuous"
periGirmsnce srIina sI received thousand dollar tea
the4tres Ierk tt on III his fteh birthday. Marvin r.
matinee soon at the Casino, and reserved seats
Hay now oe purchased there for what is hound
70 ce q good Entertainment for n wor INV oh. |
3ec.;; James O'Selll. whose impersonation Of
1hrlst IN Passio play was lnterdicteI some
SSars natts ago co. and whose reverent sincerity in tie
Try the project again. Ida Benfey Win read at
carnegie Lyceum Tomorrow night,
tub Is placed in the middle of the stage Mt
the Olympia Music Hail. and an attendant
pours several pals of water into it, Then Carl
Hertz drops in three eggs. lie says they have |
magic power. He then stands away, and nj
the hring of pistol three ducks come 10 tbe |
surface of the water. chamber over th, .ido 30 |