The herald., 1897-07-25


tertainments which have been liberally
patronized and Unfortunately ap-
plauded by audiences that having
strong liking for the players, were ready
to approve everything they did.
1t is only fair to say that the players
were superior in merit to some Of the
plays in which they appeared. Last
night the program was entirely changed
A modern comedy of the farcical order,
written by Sidney Grundy, was the lead
ing piece, and was served up with the
balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet"
as a curtain raiser. The comedy was
made highly diverting by the clever act
ing of Hackett, John Findlay and young
Mr. Wheelock, while the feminine side
was most capably handled by Mary
Mannering, Elizabeth Tyree, and last
but not least, the always delightful Mrs
Charles Walcot.
The intricacies of the plot in a farcical
comedy are much too involved to be ex-
planned in a paragraph. 1t must suffice
to say that the piece is capitally written
as to plot, and has some very smart lines
in it by way of satire and fun.
Mary Name ring appears in a more
sprightly role than usual and showed
a good deal of archness and adaptable
ity for comedy, though her line of work
is evidently more directly in such pieces
as form the bulk of the companys rep
ertory. Elizabeth Tyree has good deal
of talent which, with more experience,
will show to advantage.
Mrs. Walcot showed herself mistress
of her art and was the cause of much of
the hilarity that greeted the piece. John
Findlay was at his best in the character
of the methodical and excitable little
baronet, and Mr. Wheelock made hit
as the rapid young clerk Mr. Hackett
gave a clever delineation of Captain.
Trefusis, the volatile, voluble, ever
ready, scheming and travelled man of the
world and the piece, with his assistance,
scored a success as mirth- provoking
connection III which there was not slow
minute from start to finish.
With regard to the balcony scene from
"Romeo and Juliet" in which Mr.. Hack
EFT and Miss Mannering appeared it
were best to cast the mantle of charity
over the performance. Neither of those
young people has apparently given any
study to the reading of blank verse, and
their strongest effort seemed to be di-
rected to the production of funereal
tomb scene than for the awakening of
responsive love. AS for elocution, it is
evident that they both have much to
learn, as for instance when Mr.. Hackett
"thostars" for chose stars" These are
errors belonging to the elementary de-
partment and therefore inexcusable.
Miss Mannering's Juliet is tame, mex
pressive and amateurish 1t should be
put upon the shelf with Mr.. Hacketts
Romeo until both have graduated in
Shakespearean verse.
An attempt is to be made, sometime in
the coming autumn, to establish in New
York a new house to be called The In
dependent theater, upon the lines that
have made the two similar institutions
in Paris and London famous. AS the
purposes of the founders are entirely in
dependent of pecuniary profit 1t will be
interesting to watch the development of
an enterprise conducted on principles so
widely divergent from those which gov
ern the worship of the almighty dollar,
which is the chief cult of this great re-
public.
The Mirror announces that at a meet
ing held recently, which was attended
by MI Walling, the art patron of Bos-
ton, by a number of wealthy New York
ers and a Philadelphia, whose names
have not yet been disclosed, guarantee
was raised which, together with expect
ed subscriptions to the seasons perform
ances, will be ample for the theater's
sustenance One of the purposes of the
new theater will be to encourage Ameri-
can playwrights, but there is NO inten-
ton of producing only American plays.
The theater building will be small, so
that all the finer shades of acting and Of
composition may be observed, and the
plays selected for presentation will be
chosen simply with regard to artistic
consideration and without limitatio
as to their authorship. There appears
to be no good reason why such an enter
prise should not succeed, if only as
training school for the rising generation
of would-be dramatists. The fact that
such a project has been thus seriously
considered in New York is pleasing
sign of advancement in thought, and
NAV be taken as one of the earliest indi-
cations of the growth of the spirit of
real refinement and aesthetic culture
among class which has always been
accustomed to measure and weigh all
things on the footstool by monetary
standard, alone. If the venture should
not prove successful the loss will be but
triing to the men who are back of it.
Among the New York journalists who
know everything, demonstrations of