The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-22
FOUR THEATRES REOPENED
VIEW PLAY OF AWERIOAN MAKE
AND OWE FROM ENGLAND.
III. V,.ns,s .'Tae Privateer" psrrsrusea nc the
star Against HIS Uish-"A Fight fer Housrn
NJ tire Grand Opera Hsuss-"T The white
ai,vo- At the Columbus - vAudevtlie.

At the Grand OufFN HOUSE, = NhNNe
slsvs- at the Ceiumsus Vaudeville
At the reopenins OF the Star Theatre last
evening The PrivAteer' was performed for
the first time. 1t was q sincere and earnest
uelodrama. written for the manifest purpose OF
pleasing q miscellaneous audience, but without
pAndering TO any reprehensiblo taste. The
author, Harrison Grey Flske, had not under
taken to elevate the stage, nor had he done any
hing TO blower It. He had simply written a plain
S,orJ In q suitable manner for effective
representation by competent actors and ade-
ouaJe scenery. He had doubted the ability OF
the one and the sightliness OF the other. and
had zone to law in . ~fruitless effort to
prevent the performance. No expert observer
Al the star could doubt the justice Of Mr.. Fiske's
COMPLAINT nor the Advisability of his action.
He had failed TO save his work from maltreat-
ment, it Is true. and he had prejudiced its irst
audience against accepting 1t as a good enter
,aiun euL. but he had also dulled the cutting
edge OF such criticism as might be directed
slashiug ly against himself. Excepting one
o, the performers, Dora G~oldthwaite. not
/, member Of the company was thoroughly
we'll qualified for the task assigned. though
several were tolerabls. Tho two scenes
that should have been s~pectaculariy nne
were quite unimpressive. Ono OF these
Wa the rescue OF a drunken slumberer from q
burning windmill by hts devoted young COM
,aae. and the other was that same tip
p,er, desperate swim ut sea to save the life
AZ the brave fellow. Neither Of these episodes
wa, represented in = manner to satisfy the
authors probable expectations or to rouse the
spectators to much enth usissm.
Nevertheless. The Privateer' was not . fail.
ure. On the contrary. it was considerable Of a
success. II is true that laughter was excited
when seriously planned passages mtscar-
ned, and that cynical auditors were
inclined TO REJECT the material as Gme-worn:
after ali, the chic; design Of the work.
new use OF the theme OF Damon and
Pythias was carried out so triumphantly
that the theatre rang with honest. hearty
applause. The story OF the piece was that a
sounded io,sted himself upon q family
ana a community as the heir to
an estate, and the imposture involved
an attempt to kill the rishttul in
heritor. This WAS set forth as happening
about , hundred years ago. on the coast OF
Brittany, and the men concerned were
mostly mariners. It was in a time OF
prvateering. and so it fell out thai
the man who WAS in the villains way could be
wrougtully sentenced to be shot on shipboard
as a t~eserter and a thief. This man was
burning mill. The other and younger hero o!
nigh. with his wife and children ashore
Now; !: would ,bs .S haze isFv sSu,d shf have Tiis sss1
end be rowed away % the vessel with
s ne when he saw the faithful pamoI
swimming 10 the endangered Pythias. he sho
him. It was this view on the water that proyec
no sucn mischance betel the ensuing seen,
penalty upon the, trusttai hostage was ar
rfvsi Of he exhausted a. woundet
In iss eject upon a typical Star audience. in ths
motiern melodrama OF The Privatesr," as 1
had even been upon a palmy.day a.
play may do well for his pocket. even though
the performances wound his pride.
Tho Grand Opera House opened its seasol
last night with one OF Frank Harvey's meo
dramas Their quality Is well known here
They may not b a. forcible or thrilling nova
,dsya % they were when their author wrot,
The Wages Of Sin 70 but they are still
good substantial diet, made up gen
orally Of wholesome material that /
not likely to DO disasreeable through its un
familiarity or monotonous from any lack OF i'm
mediate variety. Mr.. Harvey knows how 4
alternate the serious and the comic in proper
tons that please his public.
In a Fight for Honor" which was the pla.
new TO this city last night, the dramatistm mad
one change in his formula that was risky. Hi
heru was supins. He had been falsely c~onvicte,
Of = forgery committed by a tAithless friend
Then he was wrecked on . desert island, bu
RkA r{-I - kIa hA.r+ u-n .rffk liz, tko.. CL
was willing TO love him even when she hear
that he WAS an ESCAPED convict. and she stucl
to him Loyalty when the william tried har,
to marry her with her fathers I~nsistent &C
operation. But she remained true. Only tn
hero WAS limp.
BE never did anything to help himself. othe
persons hid him from tho police and put falls
betrds on him and took his place when he SUP
posedly was TO DO arrested. Everybody in th
play stirred his or her Stumps to max
things easy for him. But no never mad
. nova. BE talked about clearing hi
S E. Id N { WEN Tssae b. sort s6 Of = T ;oti:d POI H. thai 1si, ss' "a, a!
got the girl. he had only bis friends to thank 10
e, BE had been the most inactive hero that
gallery was ever called upon TO applaud.
There were enough stirring moments In I'll
drama TO make his listlessness a little NOR
tolerable than 1t might have been. But on
Mhole, the piece was less engrossing than tn
Harvey plays usually are. There was d consitei
able fght for honor. but the hero did none OF th
nghttnR: and a true hero OF melodrama ought I
hustle continuously. The play was enerEeticall
acted By a capable company. Francis Power
and others Of the actors were Englishmen. Nj
Powers was the moat effective among then
He played With q great deal of earnest
ness and force. Bessie Lee danced Rrac.
fully. and John McVeaRh was q realistic costel
All Of the characters, excepting the hero, kep
the temper OF the drama up 70 good rate.
The season at the Columbus Theatre In Hal
lem was begun last night with q drama som,
what novel now through disuse. 1t was 18th
White Slave" one OF the late BARLEY CAM
bells pieces, and Its retention OF interest wa
shown BY the behavior of the audience. TheI
were spells Of absorbedly silent attention, an
others Of violent applause. The people who 9
to the Columbus for their dramatic diversio
are commonly demonstrative, and some Of Il
scenes OF The White Slave" arc thrilling
There are strong resemblances to The Oct
room and" Uucle Toms Cabin" The heroine
swhite girl held outrageously in slavery. und,
false evidence that she Is In part o negro. A
though there are mechanical devices Of excit
ment, such as the burning of a Mississip
Steamboat, tho story and its development al
quite Iegitimately engrossing. Various phas,
OF the same subject have been treated
other plAyA and MANY bnnka IafAty-i