The herald., 1897-04-27
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BURBANK THEATER-The stock
! company at this house gave very fair
performance of the popular standard
| comedy, "Our Boys" last night. The
piece was enormously successful when
| 1t was first brought out, and ran for
| several years continuously at one Lon
don house. While the plot is of the
slightest kind and the interest is not
awakened by a single sensational cpl
sode, the attraction has always con-
Sisted in the delineation of the two
fathers of the young men. The old fel-
lows are each typical of contrasting ele-
ments of society; the old baronet, proud
of his long descent, and hedged in with
all the pride of race and exclusiveness
of a thoroughly British ,aristocrat, is
brought into contact with the unedu-
Gated, impulsive and utterly plebeian
butterman, whose only claim to consider
alton in the eyes of the world lies in his
wealth.
1t must be admitted that the liSes OF
the play can be made to sound tamely
il they are not reinforced by strength In
the acting. To properly interpret these
characters there must necessarily be
sympathetic understanding of the at
mosphere of the play. This understand
ing in it's fullness could not be expected
of the company that presented the piece
last night. While, therefore, the many
points" in the dialogue were for the
most part slurred over, the performance
was on account of its evenness and the
familiarity shown for the most part
with the lines, satisfactory to the not
too-exacting auditor.
AS Sir Godfrey Champneys Mr.. Mont
serrett appeared to better advantage
than in anything he has played here In
for some time. He was truer than usual,
even though he was not at home in his
part. Mr.. Ward as Perkyn Middle
wick lacked force in the earlier scenes
and was indistinct, but he worked up the
character to much better advantage
later on.
The only other star part, that of Be-
linda, the lodging house slavey, was cap
italy done by Oracle Plaisted with an
interpolated song). Adah Sherman de-
serves word of praise for her clear
enunciat!on OF the lines Of Ciarissa
Champneys Her method might be inn
itated to advantage by the other ladies
who play the swell parts, and also by
some of the gentlemen. Mr.. McGregor,
for instance, when he is talking love to
his sweetheart turns his back to the au-
dience and his voice sounds as If he were
talking into an empty sack. The char
acters of the two boys may be made
quite strong, but the girls are colorless
and do not demand more than the ordi-
nary qualifications for the presentation
of stage young ladies.
The gap which separates the comedy
popular in the time when Henry j. By
ron was considered the beau ideal of an
up-to-date dramatist, from the standard
of these latter days of the century, is
much larger than would be anticipated,
and can only be realized by witnessing
Byron's principal work. In spite of its
old-fashioned construction, its plotless
story and its antediluvian withcisms,
there is a certain charm about Our
Boys" that will always attract an au-
dience and that makes 1t worth the list
ening to.
LOS ANGELES THEATER.-The
sale Of seats for Otis SINNERS engage
ment is now on. He opens on Thursday
night in His Grace de Grammont,"
following with 1.-The Merchant of Ven
ice" Lady of Lyons" and Richard the
Third" 1t is probable that he will play
Hamlet" next week.
NEW TURNVEREIN HALL-A
strange French gentleman dropped ap-
parently from the clouds, gave a cos
tune reading last night at this hall and
on the strength of one days advertising
secured a small audience to listen to his
"Shylock" When most of the audience
left at the end of the first part, the