Evening star., 1897-02-06
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mother, an old lady who was pefpetuaily
putting her foot in 1t and saying, Save our
poor child and the heroine's father. q
white-whiskered old person, who was very,
very brutal in the first act. and broken
down, forgiving man in the last act. The
Villains chum was there, too. He was the
villain materially in the first three acts,
but who gave the whole thing away before
the final curtain fell. The super were
the same old supporting company VINO are
cipal scene was the old home. piece OF
stock scenery shown In the first and last
act 10 soft music accompaniment, and at
sight Of which the hero always brushed
away q tear.
play. Of this character" said Mr..
Henry. "were once satisfactory, but to-
day sensational features are necessity In
the melodrama. or, more correctly: the
Its place. This 10 not better shown than
by the remarkable success which has fol-
lowed the presentation Of all Of Messrs.
Davis and Keogh's productions"
National Theater.-At the National next
Monday Mr.. Nat c. Goodwin will play his
ing in his successful new play, IAN Amer
lean Citizen" In Chicago, where Mr.. Good
win has just completed four weeks en-,
gagemeIt, the comedy made an unusual
lean Citizen " is the hatred Of a rich Eng
lishman toward Americans In general. de
disinherits his only daughter because. con-
trary to his wishes. she has been accepting
the attentions of a young American suitor.
When the Englishman dies his fortune goes
to a distant relative. who turns out an
American lawyer. This Is the part played
by Mr.. Goodwin. The money Is left to him
upon condition that he marry an English
woman before his thirtieth birthday and
change his name to that Of the testator.
To return the fortune to the disinherited
daughter he marries her with the under
Gfo nd fkcf thnxy 70 tI1nTn ad a
During the working out of this plan sever
al interesting and amusing incidents occur.
The first act takes place in a New York
Office and the subsequent ones at London
and Nice Saturday night Mr.. Goodwin
will play Bob Acres in The Rivals" This
will be the first time that the comedian has
produced Sheridan's great comedy in Wash
ington. The leading woman of Mr.. Good
wins company iS Maxine Elliott, a hand
some and talented actress, who has re-
ceived much praise for her clever work
with this company. The advance sale of
seats for this attraction Is the largest
known in Washington for some time and a
brilliant engagement Is anticipated.
Lafayette Square Opera House.-''Thor-
oughbred." new Charles Frohman COM
edy success, said to be a worthy successor
TO "Charley's Aunt" Jane and TOO
Much Johnson" will be the bill at the La
fayette Square next week. with bar
gain" matinee on Wednesday and the usual
Saturday matinee. The fact that Henry E.
Dixey will be seen in the leading comedy
role will no doubt assure q liberal patron
age of local theatergoers. The original
company, which carried the play through
its magnificent run In New York, has been
retained. Thoroughbred" is the work of
Ralph Lumley, who wrote Aunt jack
Toole, who is said to have made an excel
lent impression as old Mr.. Rimple. Mr..
Frohman bought the piece, and it was re-
written to suit American audiences. The
are somewhat on that order, and the intro
duction of the Christy minstrel feature
leads in that direction. 1t Is a novel Idea
and goes far to make the play success.
There are several genuine comedy scenes,
and the love incidents are naive and orig
inal. The situation at the end Of the sec
ond act, where the warm-hearted Amer1-
can, imagining his affections unappreciat-
ed, turns to his native beverage, the cock
tall mixing 1t with his own hands, as only
an American can, while the girl, recon-
sidering her hasty decision. stands in the
window behind him watching the proceed
ing, is not only original. but a clever
blending of sentiment and humor. Another
and though broader, none the less interest
ing, scene IL where the youthful lover,
blacked up as q minstrel, finds his affec-
tions returned and embraces the girl of his
heart on the top Of the tally-ho. much to
the CONSERVATION of those standing by.
Besides Mr.. Dixey there are In the cast
Edgar L. Davenport, Isabelle Evesson, H.
d. Pitt, William Norris. Maggie Holloway
Fisher, Frances Stevens. Maud White and
Charles w. Butler.
Margaret Mather.-After three months OF
preparation, Margaret Mather will place
before the public for its judgment at the
Columbia Theater for the week beginning
February 1b her production of Shake
speare's "Cymbeline." Miss Mather has
done all that a human being could do In
the way of hard work and lavish expendi-
ture to make the production an artistic
and a popular success. and can assure the
ater-goers q scenic and histrionic spectacle
More than $4OOOO has been expended on
the production. and when the curtain rises
"Cymbeline'' will prove a pleasant surprise
for the amusement-seeking public Miss
MCther has not sacrificed anything for the
spectacular for the company which will
support her is the best that has ever
surrounded legitimate star. Miss Math-
er's Juliet has always been considered ex-
cellent by critics, and as the role she will
essay in "Cymbeline'' Qmogen) Is Juliet's
prototype, she should give as finished and
as interesting a reading of this part.
"Cyrteline' is one Of Shakespeare's best
plays, but has not been produced very
often, owing to the great expense entailed
for the scenery and costumes needed. It is
a play of human interest--there is love and
hate. joy and sorrow; in fact. every human
emotion Is portrayed as only Shakespeare
can portray 1t. There Is a battle scene
which will make the constructors of mod
ern war dramas sigh with envy, whilst the
beautiful dances will delight play goers
whose interest can be aroused by grace of
form ard OF movement. "Cymbeline" will
enhei ce the reputation of Miss Mather.
both as an artist and as a producer of
plays. Among those who will support Miss
Mather are E. J. Henley, William Red
mund, Albert Bruning, William Courtleigh.
William McVay. H. A. Weaver, Joseph Kill
gour, Mrs. Thomas Barry and Florence
Wallack.
Grand Opera House-Much interest will
no doubt be attached to the revival next
week at the Grand Opera House of a play
which has been great favorite for the
past fifteen years. 1t is BARLEY Camp
bells powerful drama OF Russian life, Isl
beria-" 1t will be revived with a full sense
OF Its susceptibility to scenic embellish-
ment. Messrs. MacDonough and Kennedy
have bestowed upon 1t an equipment which
Is not only new. but notable. In the matter
OF scenery ample aid to the Imagination is
furnished, while the costumes are correct
and. where permissible, rich in color. AL
though the interest In Russia and nihilism
may not be as keen as when the drama was
first presented, there Is quite sufficient
dramatic sequence in the story Of the play
to make its interest independent of its
theme. And as 1t is low presented ii
pleases the Eye as well as the mind. In the
first act picturesque view of Moscow
Introduces the observer to the action at
the beginning. 1t is handsome picture,
calculated to transport the observer In
imagination to the land of the czar.