The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-23

following cast of characters:
Lord Gervase Carew....James K. Hackett
JACK foynlngs. ........... Edward Morgan
roger Mallory........... Charles Walcot
captain Jones. ................John Findlay
Iopias Mardyke. ]. Dustan
| Willem Hundius ......Joseph Wheelock, jr
Ilmothy Nutt...........J. Brandon lyman
Joan Mallory. Mary Mannering
| Cicely Prentice. ........ Elizabeth Tyree
Brloget Hoskyns. Mrs. Thos. Whiffen
Mother Yelland. ................. Grace Root
The curtain raiser given in San Fran
cisco before this play was omitted to
save trouble.
1.-THE Mayfower," as its name sug
gests, is a story of the first settlement
of the pilgrims in America; and Mr..
Parker, who is an Englishman. has
drawn a picture which, while it intro
duces representatives Of the sturdy Brit
ish stock that was the foundation of the
great republic, yet does not pretend to
historical accuracy in his treatment of
historical events. That being the case,
the author must not be criticised for
what would be some glazing absurdities
from strict point of view. He has at
tempted to sketch love story, in which
the young gentleman representing the
cavalier and high church party first
fancies and then ardently worships a
Puritan maiden whose father has been
brought to ruin and exile through the
despotism of the said young gentleman's
paternal relative. f.~-,
The first act takes place in Holland,
where the fugitives have taken refuge,
and the scene is an excellent Dutch i'll
terror, built up with proper attention to
detail. Here we see Mr.. Walcot, who
represents a warm hearted old gentle
man, fond of his children, with a liking
for tankard of ale and a passion for
Shakespeare, whom he is always quot
ing. By the bye, Mr.. Walcot brings out
of his breeches pocket a copy of Shakes
peare's Merry Wives of Windsor" from
which Miss Mannering reads the date on
the title page, 1913" This is historical
ly correct the second edition of the play
having been published in that year in
a portly quarto size, such as man would
carry under his arm. The manager gives
Mr.. Walcot little pocket volume bound.
in bright cloth and printed on bright
white paper and in turning its pages the
actor has to simulate the enthusiasm of
a lover of Shakespeare. The blunder of
the stage manager would not be worth
mention if the effort to make all the ac-
cessories accurate were not soobtrusive-'
ly prominent Mr. Walcot is the real
star of this play and his delineation of
the old father was mastery, particular
ly in the climax of the second act, which
is in fact the climax of the play, when
on discovering the flight of his daughter
with her lover he casts aside his religious.
bonds and pourS out curse in the fash
ion of old Lear with such intensity and
purpose that the audience became, for
the only time in the play, enthusiastic
in their applause, and the curtain had to
be raised several times. This second act
is placed in Plymouth, England, and is
supposed to witness the sailing of the
Mayflower. The last act is in clearing
near the seashore at New Plymouth on
the New England coast, and here the
characters all assemble in the fashion
possible only in romantic dramas. There
Mr. Walcot and his charming daughters,
Miss Mannering and Miss Tyree, in COM
pany with usual faithful domestic, cap
italy played by Mrs. Thos. Whiffen, and
also Joined by the comic Dutchman and
the less comic Irishman, with the Eng
lish cavalier, Mr.. Morgan, turned Puri-
tan, assemble to take mush and milk,
after grace duly said, under the shade of
the forest trees. Mr. Walcot was wise in
ordering breakfast andsout of doors, as
his two-roomed hut in which the family
resided and got up their fine Numbered
linen was certainly not big enough.
This is the scene in which enthusiastic
critics have discovered so much atmos-
phere, and in which the-smell Of the pine
woods and the notes of the song birds
and all the othef adjuncts of Arcadian
simplicity bulge into conscious exist
ence. This is idyllic, so we are informed.
1t presents more the appearance of
inability on the part of the author to
construct a story in which the action
shall be dramatic. The appearance of
Mr. Hackett in the last act is so forced
and theatrical that it fails to satisfy
either fancy or intelligence. The action
of the piece is lame and weak; story,
there is none to tell as the needy knife
grinder remarked, and one has to fall
back on the virile assumption of the old
father by Mr.. Walcot on the one hand,
and the saccharine amiability Of Miss
Mannering as the typical lovessick girl
of the "idyllic" drama on the otker. Miss
Mannering looks prettier without her
Princess Flavia red wig, the dark hair
she wore last night is infinitely more be-
coming to her style of beauty. Her de-
livery is good, the only defect being a
slight difficulty with the sibillants, in
which she to some extent resembles
Georgia Cayvan. Miss Mannering's
voice is musical, fulltoned and well
modulated. She speaks without appar-
ent effort and her action is always grace
full 1t is the authors fault if she has not
more opportunity to display her talent,
a remark that may apply to Mr. Hackett
also. That gentleman has a rather in
significant part TO play in the first two
acts-one in which he can hardly claim
much appreciation. When he appears as
genuine man in the third act it is under
such impossible circumstances that adj