The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-11-29
BOUGHT COFFEE EDH MAY HOG CHOLERA TIE PLAY and THE PLAYER THEIR Scent NG
MELODRAMA TAKES THE STAGE
LAST SATURDAY,.
\ Brilliant Audience Markes its APP
proval-Startling Stage Effects and
Strong Acting Count "a Success.


| dropped in at the matinee on Sat
urday afternoon and, | am afraid.
paid more attention to the house than
| did to the players. 1t was a very
pretty house and must have been very
pleasing to see from the stage. There
were rows upon rows of white dress
es, and bright young faces. and it was
delightful to hear the fresh young
laughter that rippled round the house
at the oddities and whimsicalities OF
Harry Corson Clarke. The matinee
hat was in evidence in some instances,
and ,pitied some poor little young
sters whose view of the stage was OBJ
structed by broad pair of shoulders
and some eighteen inches of straw.
velvet and nodding plumes "Reform
il altogether" | would say TO those la
dies who forget how much they mar
the pleasure of others. As to the play
it was good and bright. but was re-
serving myself for the melodrama Of
the evening.
The rules of melodrama are immu-
table. Vice must be punished and vir-
tue must he triumphant Vice must
wear fashionable clothes. claw-ham-
mer coats preferred. for the male,
and rustling silk or satin with long
trains. if female The female should
also smoke cigarettes, that is ii dis
tinctive mark of vice in melodrama.
Virtue on the other hand should be
garbed in maiden white, should carry
its hat by the strings, should sing lit
tie snatches of baby songs, and she
should not know what the hero means
when he proposes. The hero must
quarrel with his father and 90 penni-
less to his bride, and they should be
miserabl through the second anil the
third act, and then in the fourth, the
villain should die. the villainess pc
sent to Jail and wealthy uncle turn
up with bless you my children" and
stores of wealth he is only too anxious
to get rid of and add to the hero's
bank account That is the regular
transpontine melodrama, but it was
not the melodrama of Saturday night
| This was constructed on somewhat
different lines: The vallainess did not
smoke cigarettes, but then she was a
igAleXican and might be supposed to.
and the hero and heroine were not
wildly miserable for two acts but new
ertheless virtue did triumph and one
of the villains was killed. and the rest
got away, but one feels sure that
they were tracked down by the police.
and everything was to go on happily
after the curtain fell.
OF its class the Fatal Card NAV be
regarded as among the best, and there
was no doubt that it was the style of
! play to suit the audience. Again and
again were the players applauded and
when the curtain fell upon an act
there was ever an enthusiastic recall.
In any community there is diver
/ sity of taste, but all communities
seem to unite upon melodrama, and it
is sure to draw big house The
main portion of Honolulu audiences
! doesn't care for bright dialogue: it
/ wants action, trick scenery and gore.
The honors of melodrama always
| go to the vallian, and as such Herbert
! Carr filled the bill admirablNq. Mr.
| Carr gave us powerful acting through
out the play, but he was especially
strong in the second act. The by
| play between Marrable Clerbert CARR
and Jim Dixon (Wilson Enos) while
! they were waiting in their Office to
commit their crime, was excellent and
then, when the murder had been com
mitted, how the guilty pair showed
their fear of the consequences. The
scene held the house spellbound.
did not know which to admire most
The strong villain of Mr.. Carr. who is
unnamed bv the death of the old
Banker or the cringing mean spirited
rogue of Mr.. Enos, who commits the
crime and then trembles for fear of
the hangman. Both characters were
eNcellently portrayed. The facial eX-
preston in each portrayed the
mind, and Mr.. Enos' very hands
told the story of the contemplate ras,
cal he was impersonating. These parts
were in good hands, and the work Of
both these actors was most praisewor
thy. | once saw Dampier play the
villain so realistically that the gale,
ry rose as one man and hooted with
rage. Our gallery is not so demon
strative as to pay so high compli
ment, but the playing deserved it, by
the way, b. c. Stephenson, the join
author of the Fatal Card was tn,
manager of the itheater where this in
cident occurred.
Daniel Frawley's Harry Burgess
SllONtN lndl HtlDG ulHlOSl dl HIS DtSl
He played it lightly and was very
amusing. The bathing scene was in
tensely funny. 1t was refreshing 4
have stage proposal made under sucl
novel circumstances. Eleanor Rob
sons Cecile was as pretty as it coult
be and seconded Mr.. Frawley's hume
rous work very ably. | should thinI
Miss Robson has a fine career befor,
her. With this group must be classe,
Madge Carr Cookies Penelope, mos
amusingly and cleverly played. Mis-
Cooke is an actress to the finger tips
and whatever she does she does well
To these three and Harry Corsol
Clarke's Terrence O'Flynn, the ligh
part of the work fell and it was yer,
brightly carried yout.
Frank Worthing and Blanche Bate
were the representatives OF persecut
ed virtue, and TO neither fell the op
portunities that they have had in 9th