The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-01
AT THE THEATERS.

three-act play entitled "a Divorce Cure"
was presented at the Grand opera house last
night The programme assures the public
that Harry Saint Maur adapted this play from
the French of Sardou expressly for Miss
Emily Bancker. 1t really didn't make any
difference to the audience at the Grand last
night whether the programme told the truth
or not. They came to see the play, which is
always the thing. They saw the play.
Mr.. Saint Maur's "A Divorce Cure" Is a
prescription that clever French dramatist
put up in one dose and labeled ION Delicate
Ground" Space is too precious to dilate
upon the inanity Of the Americanized prod
uct 1t suff1ceth to say that all the sug
gestiveness and satire of the original are
converted into the obvious and commonplace
in the adaptation. The character of Citizen
Sangfroid in the French creation cannot be
transported to America The refined dcsion
and subtle distinctions Of meaning that alone
commend the dialogue Of such a play are
utterly wanting in Saint Maur's adaptation.
The borrowed lines are the best. The last
act of the play redeems it in a measure. 1t
is original, and therein lies it's redemption.
The conversations and colloquies and moral
izings about divorce cease here, and relief
comes in the shape Of a spirited champagne
supper between husband and wife. 1t Is really
good.
Emily Bancker is as undeniably clever as
she Is unequivocally pretty. Her beauty can
not be improved upon, but her art can. Mss
Bancker is a spontaneous, vivacious come
dienne who, under wise tutelage, will de-
velop her possibilities. For possibilities she
has. She lacks the quality Of artistic re-
straint The thunderclap that bursts from q
blue sky commands universal attention. In
the midst of thunderstorm it isn't noticed.
dc This n
pliance is sometimes called stage manager.
If the stage manager is competent woman
with the natural gifts Of Miss Bancker will
profit much under his direction.
Miss Bancker presented an interesting STUDY
last night She chose to impersonate two
roles, one that Of young married woman
who didn't know whether she loved her hus-
band or not, and the other that of married
woman who gambled her husbands life to
prove how deeply she loved him. In other
words Miss Bancker essayed the role Of
Clarice in that frenzied one-act drama by w.
S. Gilbert entitled COMEDY and Tragedy %
1t is a noticeable fact that all of Gilbert's
creations, whether operate or dramatic, re-
quire accomplished actors to interpret them.
If Mr.. Gilbert had witnessed that traveSty on
the work he composed for Mary Anderson he
would have been acquitted of the results of
his violence. Miss Bancker must eliminate
this from her repertoire so long as the pres
ent company supports her. Every member
of 1t is ill adapted to the play Miss Banc-
ker lost herself in the mazes of the character.
1t was not lack of intelligence or sympathy
that detracted from the effectiveness of her
representation, it was lack Of repose. The
actress who would move her hearers under
such strained conditions must be self-con-
tained until the finale. Miss Bancker was too
loud in the earlier scenes, and so lost the
effect that the climax should have produced.
1t must be admitted, however, that the fail
ure of Gilbert's stirring one-act drama last
night was largely due to the unresponsive,
supposed to impersonate the polished and
efervescent French courtiers.
Miss Bancker was delightful in certain
scenes of "a Divorce Cure, especially in the
quarrel scenes with her husband. She speaks
her lines with refreshing spontaneity which
always means correct emphasis. She crosses
the stage too often-that is her chief fault
More repose and some restraint will vastly
improve Miss Banckers acting She does
not need to move about the stage to be no.
ticed.
The company cannot honestly be COM
mended
Clay Clement returned to the Metropolitan
last evening for single performance Of the
New Dominion" and greeted with an
audience of generous proportions. The pro-
duction was quite as excellent ind as heart
lily received on the earlier days Of the
week. Curtain calls were limited only by the
number of acts