The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-28
The Theatrical Monopoly's
Big Inaugural
Night.
FThe Jucklins" Is OF Uneven
Charm but Well Played
by Robson.
Railing Farce at the Colurrabia-Daly
Comedy at the California.
The Others.

Messrs. Friedlander, Gottlob & Marx
presented new bills at the three most
prominent theaters last night. and the
little local monopoly became a fact.
AT the California the Frawleys played
in IAN International Match; at the
Columbia Mathews and Bulger headed
company of farcical comedians in a
skit called "At Gay Coney Island"
and at the Baldwin Stuart Robson and
his company -layed THE Jucklins, a
new comedy-drama By Augustus
Thomas.
It sounds like, and dare say 1t was,
a strong trio of openings. 1 spent the
evening with Mr.. Robson and his fell
low actors, who gave an admirable
performance of Mr.. Thomas play.
This was the first performance of the
play in any city larger than Salt Lake
or Denver. 1t was, Mr.. Robson's man
ager said, the first performance before
metropolitan audience, and-he said
this too-metropolitan critics. So it
was real first night and the audience
lived up to the occasion by being a
large one and quite fashionable, and
yours truly tried to enjoy himself in
spite of his responsibilities as one of
the metropolitan critics.
1t says on the programme that THE
Jucklins" was suggested TO Mr..
Thomas by story of the same name
written by Opie Reed. 1 have never
read any, of Mr.. Reid's stories, al
though they often have been thrust
insinuatingly into my lap by railroad
newsboys and peanut butchers, and,
therefore, 1 take the play as a play,
nothing more and nothing less. Writ
ten by Mr.. Thomas it is, as a matter
Of ssaf,, n a-ir,SS
1t deals with the country life of coun-
try people in North Carolina, and, to
judge by the several slang phrases in
the dialogue, the time Of action is to-
day. Like IN Mizzoura" and THE
Hoosier Doctor" the scheme is re-
pressed melodrama OVERLAPPING a COM
edy Of local modes and manners.
a serious problem,-but only the sug-
gestion, for just as you are about to
think seriously of the piece Mr..
Thomas either laughs you off with
good comedy or astonishes you by
some banal trick of the play writer.
1t is better not to take THE Jucklins'
too much in earnest, for unless you
are willing to call the most of it good
and the rest of it more than good, it
is impossible not to regret its uneven
ness.
1 was charmed more by odd moments
of the characters themselves than by
their consistency or cumulative
strength in the story. Old Lemuel
Jucklin is a character of tenderness
and beauty; and the accounting for his
moments of unreason by the injury re-
ceived when boy at the hand of the
now Governor Lundsford is cleverly
managed. On the other hand the char
acter of the Governor is badly misman-
aged, for when LemuePs son has shot
a man for having called him the son
of an idiot and been convicted of muir
der the Governor rises to no better he
roism than that of pardoning him. And
as the whole thing is on a heroic, senti-
mental basis-as opposed to Ibsenism
the treatment here lacks even in the
commonest invention. But, as 1 said
before, the charm of the play for me is
in the casual moods and manners of
the people. The pictures of the piece
are convincing, the lines are strong in
that semi-rustic epigram peculiar to
Mr.. Thomas in this sort of work, and
the story, even though obscure in
places and not especially vital in
others, is by no means a weak one.
I have seldom seen a play acted in
better spirit or with more delightful
unanimity. Outside the programme
there is really no star. Mr.. Robson
merges his peculiar personality into
tentatiously and we'll, but there are
several others of the cast who do
equally as good work in the limita-
tions or opportunities of their parts.
should rather praise the acting as q
whole, it is so seldom one has the
chance.
ASHTON STEVENS.