Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-10-12
HAVING TWO PARTS.
IN WHICH AN ACTOR HAS
 BEEN TWO MEN AT ONCE.

Tl,a sIHfisoner or LendRs' s'S Sorslchn zsFotha erse and the "Lyons Mail" Are Plays in which It Is Necessary Tor the Star 1o Make These Quick Changes.
 To be able to play two parts in the same piece--to portray, perhaps two characters of totally different ealiber--- is not an undertaking which many ae- tors te to attempt II is only the ex. ps .,ted artist wFo may attempt the fiat with impuniis, and even then though he may appear to the audience m achieve his er3 without an effols there are many more difficulties in his noth than meet the eye of the habitual theater goer.
 Not only must the actor be possessed .~rof' na-gmall amount of histrionie talent, bit he must often call in the aid of an paderstudy, whose duty 1t is to gull the oblooker into the belief that their favor is is performing the impossible feat of being in two places at one and the same time. For in nearly every play of such a character 1t is well nigh impossible for the author so to arrange his piece that
 
 bb OH the stage with his double
 Any one who has been to see .'The Prisoner of Zenda' performed at the St. James theater, must have marveled at tEe lightning celerity with which Mr. daorge Alexander, moment before the ttunken king of Rnritania. suddenly, R by some act of witchcraft reappeared 4Rudolf Rassendyl, clad il the ordi- 1Iry costume of the English tourist. fen, to every one's surprise, the supine indy of the king waa carried ill 70 that } tg aB appearances Mr. Alexander was pa7ing upon his own person. In reality, Of course, it was merely lightning change, and the understudy had to be raquisitioned 10 supply the person of the king.
 more famous case of double imper- aoDation, however, is that of "The Cor eioan Brothers, ths fist play perhaps in which Sir Henry Irving gave us D taste e2 ;'re# stf9l talent.
 h llle hIsJ ,s,t-to give q slight re- sume of the play-the ghost of Louis, killed in duel by certain Chateau Remand in the forest of Fontainebleau, appears to Fabien. his brother. The sec. oId act takes us to Paris, and through varied incident to the death of Louis Here Irving was Louis
 In the third act, however, 1t is Fabien dho is once more hefore us. who has { 5astiKited himself the ayenger of his l0ther's death. He meets Chateau Inaud and demands satisfaction Re 4Hd is worsted aid falls to the ground. Len suddenly the ghost of Louls ID f#rs, and, to pefsonate the spirit ot 6 dead man, Irving had had to fly to 6 wings, make his way below the age and take his staud upon the trap, s#ich conveyed him upward to tie gze of the thriilaa spectators
 As-s was 1t done: The audience was
 t the explanation is com zl simple: Irving stepped be. la -S@ properly" tree His double" Nantly filled his place, taking good e not to face the audience when 1t }as necessary for him to confront tho Aost Hence the lightning change from AMtal to spirit and the resultant be. flderment of tho bohoIders
 Neither is the "Corsican Brothers he only nlay in which Irving has con. aiyedfto take q double part and yet haplus the audience by tho adfoitnesa his metamorphosis.
 Those who arc familiar with the flYons Mail will doubtless remem-
 the most telling scene in the play. lfre Dubosc, the murderer, is ill an Eiie, gazing dewh upon the prepara- bns being made for the execution ei fe innoceAt Lesurques--whose likeness Ithe real murderer has brought him fsuoh terrible pags--an expression ihorrible glee upon his face, elapping 5 hands as he sees inc apparently s0med man step forward to ois death iBut his exuItation Is premuyure. I.e. sques is reprieved, and tie crowd >1dde y catches sight Of the villainoua kce of the real murderer at tke attic tndow. The door of the room is bat. tEed in. Behind it stands Duhosc The teteh is dragged from his refuge, and \ they do 70 Irving Gsurquos coolly ] Elksyn upon tho seems of turmoil. tIhe door of the attic is made to open fward thus shutting Irving Duboso fOm view of the auditorium. in mo. hent he slips through a trap His louble' takes his place, to be hustled Heeremoniously by the crowd of "su' Kls, whose duty it is also to conceal he mans face in case the fraud should 2 discovered. Irving Lesurques eau kn come on in his new role.
 ABut all actor has been known to play . M0rarfs without tbe assistance of e mmy
 In q certain play it was the duty of Hhhero to leap out of the window of ylsoom and to enter from q door on the ssosite side of the stage clad i'll differ aclothes, though otherwise the same
 his, however, was juggling pure asimple. The actor dropped into his tt0ad dress ill much the same way as
 American fireman is teputed to Rp into his uniform. The costume 8nsisted of but one piece with patent 4t uc h1