The Saint Paul globe., 1897-06-08
AT THE THEATERS.

/
gathered at the Metropolitan opera house last
evening to enjoy the presentation of double
bill by the Giffen-NeiI stock company As
the se3oHTn here Of this admirable organiza-
tfon lengthens, the list of patrons increases
proport!onately. Discriminating theater- -goers
at once saw and acknowledged the superior
caliber of this aggregation. They also pro-
claimed those golden opinions to their friends
and acquaintances, until at last the perform
ances Of this company are witnessed night
after night by as representative, intelligent
and appreciative assemblages as st. Paul can
boast of upon any occasion. It is gratifying
10 be able to thus record st. Pauls substan-
tial testimonial to true worth and genuine
art as exemplifed in the achievements of the
Gifen-Nell company.
The bill last night comprised 'The Grey
Mare" an ingenious and laughable farce by
George R. Sims and Cecil Raleigh and a one
act comedy by Brander Matthews, entitled
The Decision of the Court" There is no
suspicion of sentiment in '"The Grey Mare
1t Is farce, pure and simple, trifie tame
throughout the first act increasing in anima-
tlon in the second, and extremely funny in
lts nnal climaxes. The farce, if farces even
have serious purpose, seems to have been
| written as warning TO liars, as we'll as to
illustrate that a successful prevaricator must
possess not only good memory, but much
presence OF mind, shrewdness, ingenuity and
wit. The hero-if farces have heroes-pooh-
| poons the idea that successful lying requires
cieyerness, so he tells le-a harmless little
| story about his riding a grey mare, that he
never saw. That little story cost him much
money and all his peace of mind. 1t also in
wolves the peace of mind of several others
The second performance of this farce will
undoubtedly show improvement over last
MI
| the acting, which IS always good in this COM
! pany-but in point of familiarity with the
| lines and celebrity of action. The first per-
| formance Of a farce is generally a more ex-
| acting task than that of straight comedy
| or drama with serious interest, as the success
| or farc1cal creations depends so vitally upon
DrlsKness OF dialogue and alacrity of move
| ment. Upon first nights the players in their
desire and effort to comply with these red
! uisites quite naturally being more or less
nervous, lose a line or two or stumble over a
word here and there. These defects, however,
are usually incidental to the first performance.
! ana they are always more notable in farcical
| creations than in plays of any other class
| The dialogue of "The Grey Mare" is not
| corruscated with brilliant gems of wit, nor
is it, on the other hand, cheapened by con-
| Vent1onal bon mots and obvious funnyisms
that are not funny. 1T s for the greater part,
/ bright and snappy, and never coarse or qaes-
! t1onable. The leading roles were entrusted to
| James b. Wilson, who impersonated John
Maxwell, M. D., the amateur liar; Robert
0rouet, who played David Maxwell, his mar
ried brother; Mary Hampton, who appeared
as Miss Kate Stanhope, betrothed to DR..
| Maxwell, and Kate Blancke, who portrayed
the Jealous and suspecting wife Of David.
Mr. Wilson and Mr.. Drouet upon whom de-
| pends the main interest, were highly sue
| cessful. They effectively contrasted the indi-
| vidualities Of the two brothers and acted with
| commendable spontaneity Miss Hampton IN
vested the rather light role Of Kate Stanhope
with winsome personality and captivating
vivacity, while Miss Kate Blancke gave an
| excellent characterization of the suspecting
| and jealous Mrs. Maxwell.
Another enjoyable personation was that of
| Col. Gavachan, the bluff Irish army officer,
! retired and occupying the post of chief of
county constabulary contributed by w. F.
| Owen. Charles Kent appeared only twice.
| in the role of smooth and breezy lawyer.
| and John B. Maher was seen for only five
| minutes in the garb Of liveryman. Arnold
| Daily was entirely acceptable in the role
of Algernon Maxwell, who really rode the
| grey mare and caused all the trouble An
| indescribably comical characterization was
lHdI ol tne lrasciDIe frencn count, Dy Will
| lam Sampson. Miss Blanche Johnson's beauty
| was the sole virtue Of the role of Helena,
| the eloping daughter Of the French count,
| for Helena doesn't appear until the last
| moment, and then speaks less than half a
| line. Anne Blancke was amusing as the
| French maid.
Brander Matthews curtain raiser, ''The
| Decision Of the Court" in which
| James Neill, Anne Blancke and Blanche
| Johnson played the three characters is not
| without merit, though the dialogue is hardly
| bright and clever enough to sustain the in
| terest, for the comedietta is deficient in
action. Mr.. Neill was warmly received by the
audience. He was easy and graceful, but
| really he and Miss Blancke had little to do,
| the two characters lack color