Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-28
AMUsEMENrs.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE.
In "Secfat Service, William GfIletta In q


In "secfet Service William Gillette has
produced his masterpiece of wartime
dramas, which was seen at the Lafayette
Square Opera House last night for the
first time In this city. Secret Service is
a great play. q wonderful one in some re-
spects. and 1t is easy to understand why
1t has had such a run abroad and to fore
see further success for 1t in this country.
There are incongruities in the story, it is
true. but they are unavoidable and do not
exceed the limit Of dramatic license. The
author hampered himself at the outset with
character which at best it would be diff
cult to cast in popular mold. The part
OF a spy may be heroic in that it often in
wolves self-sacrif1ce of the highest order,
put 1t hard to make a popular hero a spy.
notwithstanding this untoward condition
which confronted him at the start, the an
thor has caused the character of Captain
Thorne, the secret service agent to domi-
nate the play. and as it works out to wrest
from foe as well as friend marks of esteem
ana admiration. The play does not depend
upon dramatic and stage effects to any
extent and it develops in the end in a
natural and unaffected way. There Is not
scene In 1t which does not afford opportu-
nifty for some good work on the part of
the cast, and the opportunities thus afford
ed are improved. The scene Of action is
laid In Richmond at the time when the
capital OF the confederacy was besieged
ny the Union troops and the confederate
ines were being driven back little by lit
tie, with the besiegers availing themselves
OF every means to effect an entrance into
the city. One of these plans involved an
ACT OF strategy, requiring the efforts of a
daring man who would be willing to take
upon himself the opprobrium attaching to
the name of spy and to suffer the igpo-
mlnlous consequences of his act If caught.
Lewis Dummit of the Union secret service
enters Richmond as Captain Thorne. a
wounded confederate officer. and inera-
mates himself into confederate generals
FAMILY and falls In love with his daughter.
Inc latter procures for him the position of
chief of military telegraph lines. and II is
through access to the wires and the send
ing OF a misleading message that the sny is
10 carry out his work This. in brief ia
the central plot of the play. There are
ramifications and extensions of il. invoIv-
ing many other characters and incidents.
secret Service" carries within its lines
marvellous amount of action In a short
81 OF time. All Of the events occur
in one evening, and some of the Incidents
are but half an hour apart. The rand
progress is not illogical, because at that
quickly. ""ppoiiiis
The members Of the cast deserve esne.
cial notice. Mr.. Gillette himself fills a
strong part and is the ideal of a cool and
caring man who stakes his life upon a
hazard and does not vince when he thinks
ne mas lost or betray unusual emotion
wnen ne hnds he has not. Mr.. Campbell
Gollan as Benton Arrelsford of the con.
Iederate secret service presented a bit of
work the perfection of which was marred
ohIy py the iacA of the southerner's &C.
Gen. Varney made an Interesting and
beautiful southern matron of war time
MISS Sarah Perry as Edith Varney, her
daughter. is placed in some tragic and try
ing conditions, but subordinates her work
to the dominant character Of Mr. Gillette
MIR. Walter Thomas as Wilfred Varney,
the seventeen-year-old son of the house de.
Veiops from callow youth in the first act
to heroic character in the last, which
for time divides the attention with Gill
lette himself. Miss Hope Ross as Caroline
Milford takes an ingenue role, in which
she wins the applause of the audience
MISS Alice Leigh as Martha and Mr.. II. D.
James as Jonas, two negro house servants
deserve credit for the conscientious man
ner In which they portray their characters
Their opportunity for work is limited, but
they are central figures of the stage while
1t lasts. Mr.. Joseph Brennan as Brigadier
General Randolph Of the confederate army
IS typical brigadier in accent and mien.
The piece is splendidly staged, and the sug-
gest1ons of actual conflict and the excited
condition Of affairs in the confederate cap
ltal In the booming of distant cannon the
ringing OF alarm bells and the clatter of
cavalry on the unseen paved streets all
add to the intensity of the situation and
have their effect in fastening the attention
place upon the stage. The audience filled
every portion of the house, including stand
ing room, and the enthusiasm was great
throughout the entire performance.
TESS OF THE D'URBERvILLEs."-
The presentation Of Tess of the D'Urber.
villes" at the Grand Opera House last
night was an event of extraordinary ar
tistic Importance. So far as the current
season Is concerned, the play is unique in
nf
acter -delineation and its classic consist.
Grey of form. There are no sacrifices of
probability for the sake of dramatic effect
The action proceeds with majestic simple.
ity. The events in the life-struggle of the
girl heroine against the destruction of a
moral nature too fine for it's surroundings
Is portrayed without the apology or taw-
dry appeal to sentiment which so often
marks the so-called problem play. There
is no weak attempt to tear aside the veil
from that sublimest of human mysteries
the character which clings to an elevated
standard, despite adversely of environment
despite the knowledge that the end must
be defeat and that resignation is the only
grace of soul which can remain when the
contest is over. The "reminiscences with
which 'Tess' is forced step by step,
through the choice between bitter alterna-
tives, to the degradation where happiness
becomes impossible, is as poetic as 1t is
uncOmpromiSng.
Tess will not be accepted by the So
cloloSlst as q type. She Is more; she is
an individuality; plausible and sincere;
grim reminder that the stage of human
development when the noblest characters
are fittest to survive has not been reached.
A spark of ideality; glow of honor in
Tess nature; a caDability for true affec-
ton too delicate to be understood by her
family and associates prevented her from
pursuing an existence of stolid content
and made her life a tragedy. The auditor
is left to Draw his own conclusions He is
left to decide for himself the question
whether loftiness of personality, that uni
versal aim of existence, was worth the
price which fate exacted from Tess"
The mastery novel by Mr.. Hardy is no
less chef doeuvre than Mr.. Lorrimer
Stoddard's play. Keen dramatic percep-
ton, combined with the most rigorous obe-
dience to the demands of good taste char
acterize the work throughout From the
chatter of the children and the awkward
sport of the peasants to the tense, strldeEt
tones in which Tess makes her confessiocs
first of her shame and next of the murder
there are no concessions to the cheaply
conventional. Every incident throws some
side light of significance upon the central
theme. There are many moments in the
play where the purpose of a scene is sug-
gested to the audience by no more than a
look or a gesture. But so potent are these
sugges lions that the Imagination supplies
in sympathy more than elou;.ence mr. elah-