The times., 1897-04-06
NEW PLAYS LAST NIGHT.
"The Mysterious Mr.. BugIe."

"The Mysterious Mr.. Bugle."
After trial of three nightsin in the depths
of Pennsylvania, THE Mysterious Mr..
Bugle" came to this faithful dog town
yesterday and was given its first metro
politan presentation at the Columbia last
night. 1t was dual first night. 1t was
not only the first night of the piece, but
the first first night" the Columbia has
enjoyed in its, thus far, short career. An
audience which comfortably filled the
theater enjoyed the piece and gave a
number of curtain calls to the company.
THE Mysterious MIR. BugIe" is the work
of Madelaine Lucette Ryley. She styles
il a farce. Perhaps 1t s, but it scarcely
seems it. The conditions precedent, the
fundamental complication or whatever
one may call the basis of misunderstanding
from which the play starts is, however,
certainly farcical enough A young gen.
tlewomau, Betty Fondacre, is betrothed
to an insanely jealous young man, Tom
Pollinger, who cannot marry her because
Of the prohibitions of grandmother
from whom he has expectations, which she
makes contingent upon his not marrying
until he is forty Tom breads the atten-
tions that Betty as maiden will receive
grass widow, as Mrs. Bugle. There is
complication about a burglar who has been
in her room, and the key with which he
had been locked into another room. Betty
becomes involved in her explanatio ons: sev-
eral Others are drawn into the mystery,
and finally others are made to believe the
mythical Bugle is real man, in fact, sew
eral real men.
How absurdly, farcically funny is this
state of affairs is patent. 1t is the basis Of
farce. But what Mrs. Ryley has built out
of it is purely high-class comedy. Perhaps
it is even more farcicaI than it is made
to appear in the Interpretation of the
company, for they treat 1t with such
delicacy and finesse that it is not up
roarous, it is only pleasing and amusing.
But that it is nearly all the time. The
present alton last ngiht had rough
edges The Penns ylvania experience round
ed it nicely and the production was
smooth and complete.
The cast is small. but notably excellent. |
1t is acted in the main by Miss Annie |
Russell, Mr.. Joseph Holland and Mr.. Guy |
Standing Mr.. Standing acted with eXcei- |
lent appreciation of his part and made |
himself one Of the favorites. Mr.. Holland |
is too weii-known as a farceur in the most |
thorough and artistic sense to make nrces- ,
sary any attesting word of his perform
ance of Tom PolIinger last nj ght. To see |
this man feign anger. jealousy, and the !
injured innocent, is one of the most |
delicious species OF fun the stage affords |
Miss Russell was, in hackneyed terms. her
same sweet self. She Is a wnEome and in
telligent artist. She made Betty Fondacre
a charming girl But Miss Russell is
scarcely for farce. she hasn't the sus-
tanned yivacity, she is too delicate, too
natural, too well poised. Farce is eXag-
geration; Miss Russell is always natural.
The result, was, with no Impeachment of
Miss RuSselIs art, which has graced the
most delightful memories o: modern plays, |
that in so much as she inevitably dorni-
mated the tempo OF the piece, she kept 1t
out OF the spirit of farce and sustained it
at level or high comedy.
Among the others who contributed to |
the support were Agnes Findlay, in the
part of a comic matTon, done
in her customariiy funny style; Grace
Fisher, who is either naturally or initiative
ly so like Miss Russell that the fiction
of sisterhood is made convincingly real
while the pleasanter effect of contrast Is
lost: Charles Craig, Edgar Norton, John
Wooderson and Master Michaeison.