Evening star., 1897-04-27
AMUsEMENTs.

with the authorship Of "The First Gentle
nan Of EIrepe." which was roduced ed at the
Columbia Theater last night, the name of
Mrs Frances Hodgson Burnett appears
She is Washington lady. who has previ-
ously distinguished herself, chiefly by writ
i-g Little Lord FauntIeroy." Mr.. Daniel
Frohman, who has in the past produced
good plays, added some prestige to the
occasion by appearing as sponsor for the
new drama, and the cast included several
people who have established themselves as
favorites. The play Is much like roman
tic drama which has been given an over
dose of soothing sirup. Some of the males
are naughty and some of the females bold,
but 1t is all harmless as can be. 1t is
about q poet, who insists on writing things
which nobody reads and who discovers that
the Prince Of Wcles Is = dishororahle rival
for the hand of the girl whom he loves
and who loves him in spite of the fact that
he owes room rent and her parents need
the money. Discrepancies are tolerated in
the drama, but not unless the playEriter
arouses the interest of the auditor to a de-
gree which prevents his observing them.
There Is so much time allowed for extra
neous contemplation in the plot of "The
First Gentleman of Europe that the rude
thought constantly asserts itself that the
poet, II he had been a person of proper
spirit, would have gone out and looked for
work instead of practicilg elocution Such
thoughts are gross and uncomfortable and
Mrs. Burnett should, asa matter of phil
anthropy, hurry the action If possible, so
as to prevent them. The play is a series of
pretty picture the brilliant costumes lend
ing a constant and potent attraction even
to scenes which are lacking in dramatic
interest. - N-'i.'
The most vigo1 Gus and human characteri-
zation OF the play was that of Charles Wal
cot as the irascible parent. 1t is a melan-
cnoly fact that objurgation will arouse in
teIest where attempts at elegant diction
ha
number of eNpletives. and he delivered
them with an energy that was most reyiy-
ing Mr. Jas. K. Hackett bore himself like
the good actor he unQuestionably is in the
parl Q. me Prince OF Wales. and Miss
Marie shotwell played the role of the court
beauty effectively. Miss Mary MannerIng
had q part waicn is nearly always thank
!ess-that of a soulful unsophisticated girl
MI. EDWARD Morgan as the impecunious
author !abcred consCientiously and we'll
Mr- Felix Morris was in this piece as he is
in everything, capable and intelligent. but
his pathos seemed rather rugged and angu-
lar. lhe moral Of the play seems to be that
members of the nobility may have good i'm
Iulses now and then if you know where to
look for them. The climaxes depend too
much for their force on the extreme dis
llnction which the slightest notice from
royalty is supposed to confer. While, as a
matter of fact, the princely nod is a thing
or tremendous significance, the American
public has not been educated to understand
scapegrace.
ACADEMY OF MUSIC.-"A Trip to
Chinatown Is considered by many theater-
soers as the most entertaining of all the
musical farces from the pen of Hoyt 1t
has been presented here time and again
during the past few years, but, notwith-
standing its frequent coming, it received
Veritable ovation last evening at the Acad-
emy of Music, where it opened for another
engagement. The house might be said to
have been crowded, and more enthusias-
tic and appreciative audience could hardly
be Imagined. Miss Laura Bigger as the
widow. and Mr.. Burt Haverly, as Welland
Strong, man with one foot in the grave
carried of the honors, and as Reuben and
cynthia made great hit, being forced to
respond to repeated and determined en-
cores They were also well received in an
Engllsh cockney speciality. Miss Bigger
made particularly handsome Young
widow and sang well, while as comedian
Mr; Haverly stands in the front rank He
mad the stage to himself for five minutes
IN the second act, and managed to keen
the audience almost conyulsed with laugh
ter during that period Miss Rose Suth-
sriand as F'lirt. the widows maid. proved
hefseif an exceptionally artistic dancer
and IN every other way was bright and al
tractive- As Willie Grow a gfided youth
Miss jeanette Lilford was as dainty as
could De desired, and she also danced and
sang well. For their excellent voices and
the manner in which they used them Miss
Maude Ba2leyr as Isabelle Dame Miss
Belle Chamberlain as Tony Cay Mr. Rich
ara Karl as Rashieigh Gay, and Mr.. Gus. P.
IhomaS as Norman Blood deserve snacjaI
conlmendation. Mr.. John P -BraWn exc
cuted some clever whistiing and had to
Keep 1t up on demand. The others in the
cast, 1uIly up to the standard. were Mr.
ernest Helton as Ben Cav the .we.lthv
bachelor. who goes out for a Iark. NJ
Ben1amin Letter as Hoffman Price. the
notei manager, and Mr.. John P Brown as
Siavin Payne, the devoted servant of Ben
Cay. The musical portion of the presenta
ton was under the direction of Mr Josenb
r. Nathan. and was particularly pleasing
In addition to the familiar "On the Row
cry The Widow out for a Record"
arnn ne os Id the toys. Crisp Young Chap
were large number of new and catchy
songs which seemed to Immediately he
come popular with the audience
THE BIOGRAPH-Another bio,r,nb
week began Sunday night and Yesterday
ana II may be said here that this is the he
enning OF the end of this most interesting
exhibition. The new pictures have nrnys1
remarkably popular notably the pillow fight
by the children and the wonderful nictnre
OF action as displayed in the horselass fro
ensihe going to fire. Notwithstanding
the success of the pictures now on exhiht
ton others will be added tomorrow An
other feature just introduced is making the
afternoon entertainment free for orphan
h-stit itutioilS IN the city All that Is neces-
sary for those in charge of such Institutions
is TO name day, so not to conflict with
others.
HANDEL AND HIS ORATORIOS.-To-
night at the Church of Our Father Mrs
Elizabeth Chenowith Sloan will deliver a
lecture upon Handel and His Oratorios.'
which will be beautifully illustrated bv
lantern slides, and she will be musIcally as
sisted by some of the best local artists
Those who will participate in the musical
numbers are Mr.. Ernest Lent. Mr.. D. G.
Ifeifer, Mr.. II. Clough-Leiter Mr.. Herman
Rakemann, Mrs. Hempstone, contralto, and
Miss C. Hall, soprano.
MISS MASONS RECITAL.-The musical
recital of Myrta Lura Mason at the Wash
ington Club, 1710 / street, yesterday after
noon was an occasion of unusual interest
to the distinguished audience present. Miss
Mason's rendition of native songs in the
original called forth much applause. Among
others she sang Turkish lullaby, a Ha-
waiian ballad, Swedish ballad and Fiji
song. Another recital will be given this
afternoon at 4:15 O'Clock.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE
The Castle Square Opera Company reached
last night the beginning of the second week