Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-24
THE LONDON C0STER.
CHEvALIER WILL PORTRAY HIS
MANY IDIosYNCRAsIEs HERE.
OTIS SKINNER IN REPERTOIRE.
The English Actor Is Vivid No'e
in the Vaudeville KaIeidoscope-A
Brief Season of the Legitimate
Calm After r. Tornado.

the season at the Academy when 'or
purely artistic merit commanded the at
tention of the play-going public above
all others. the answer would surely De
Chevalier the great impersonator OF
types of the class peculiar to London ana
its environs, and Otis Skinner. one Of the
most deservedly popular actors on the
American stage.
The former will appear here tomorrow
night for one performance only, and
Skinner will present three plays on Fri
day and Saturday.
Chevalier carries with him the favor
Of the old-time English stage. Despite
the reality and timeliness OF the coster,
he creates visions OF the past. OF epochs
we delight to dwell upon when readlnS
by-gone annals of the stage The very
| figure Of comedy characters or old-nS-
| ures which spring from the street, the
| heath the mountains-rise before US, ana
we rejoice not only in the present CheVa-
| lier, but in the forgotten characters ana
! the forgotten actors who seem to walk
on the stage by his side. 1t IS no dreamy
retrospect, however. TO see and hear
| Chevaiier. 1t Is a potent reality. For
he has the power of not only commanding
attention for himself. but also for those
other figures suggested by the wide range
Of his very genuine art and methods.
Chevalier has had an interesting career.
He was born near London in 1862 In 1871
he made his debut on the stage IN a small
part in "An Unequal Match" The follow-
ing year he Joined Mr.. and Mrs. kendaIs
company, and played small parts with
I,,, 20 ina Aftnr that he was
with John Hare. playing parts OF more
Importance. In 1881 he appeared In comic
opera, and played a short season with
| Willie Edouin. He experienced all the
ups and downs OF the average actor unth
1859, when NJ. Marius advised him to go
on the burlesque stage. He remained In
burlesque for two years and while IN
this branch Of the business began his I'M
presentations OF costermongers and yokels,
which gained him some popularity.
He did not seem 70 think much OF his
future as a burlesque comedian. and was
celebrating 10 what he should turn MS
attention next, when he met Charles Co
burn, who strongly advised him TO go TO
the music halls, making a speciality or his
coster songs. He was very reluctant
about doing this. but after repeated solicit
tations consented. and on February .,
1891. made his vaudeville debut at the Pa
''The Old Kent Road" and What Cher"
His success was immediate and pro-
nounced. All London went wild over him,
and his salary Jumped from few pounds
a week into the hundreds. He was pa
tronized by royalty, and sang at innu-
merabe at homes and entertainments
given by the nobility and aristocracy or
England. Since then he has been the
most popular vaudeville performer in
Great Britain.
There are five special features in the
way Of scenic and mechanical effects In
Lincoln j. Carter's new melodrama, which
comes to the Academy for two perform
ances next Wednesday. They are the
tornado, I'm the first act, from which the
play takes its name; the collision between
two ocean liners, in the second act; the
night scene Of Chicago harbor. showing
the Masonic Temple. Auditorium, RAN
dolph-Street viaduct and the Lake Shore,
in the third act; the dissecting-room in
medical college, in the fourth act, and an
elaborate autumn setting in the fifth. The
company is said TO be very capable.
Among the younger actors now before
the public there is no one who has achiev-
ed so great a recognition from the thea
tre-going public as has Otis Skinner, who
is now in his third season as a star. For
the past ten years he has played leading
parts with the greatest actors that our
stage has known In this generation. Two
years ago Mr.. Skinner started out as
star, and his success has been most fiat
tering The many friends that he has
made during his association with great
artists still keep their friendship warm
for him, and they have been added to In
every city and town in which this actor
has appeared. This Is not strange, for
Otis Skinner is one OF the most gifted &C
tors in the theatrical profession, as we'll
as one Of the most painstaking. Every
thing that he does he does well, and in
all one sees clearly that he has given his
subject very careful study.
most unique distinction IS held by
Otis Skinner. He was the first Ameri-
can actor TO receive the degree OF Master
of Arts by virtue OF accomplishment in
his profession. He received his II. A.
from Tufts College, Cambridge, a little
more than a year ago. just prior TO the
comforting of a like degree upon the dean
OF the faculty, Joseph Jefferson, by
Harvard. Mr.. SINNERS degree ante
dates JeGerson's by about fortnight
II is a significant sign of social ten
dency when an institution OF learning
sets its seal OF approval on the achieve
ments Of an, actor; and, when the honored
one is a man who has upheld the best
standards OF his art and fought reso-
lutely for the maintenance Of the high
ideals OF the dramatlst and the theatre,
the Justice OF the tendency cannot De
gainsaid.
Otis Skinner belongs TO a small coterie
Of American actors Of the younger gene
ration. among which stand most promi-
nently Nat. Goodwin. Richard Mansfield,
and Julia Marlowe Tabor. who are hold
ing the course Of our national theatre In
its truest lines.
Mr.. Skinner will open his engagement
In this city on Friday night, when ne
viii nresent the new and original ro-
mantle play entitled "A Soldier or For
tune"
The scenes Of the play are laid In Italy
at the beginning of the sixteenth cen
fury. a period OF history which Is In
tensely interesting both TO authors reau-
ers. and to play-soers. II oilers many
opportunities for quaint stage settings
and handsome costumes. Italy at TINS
time was having a great deal OF trouble;
the French had come in from the North;
Florence was still an independent state,
and the Borgias were at the height OF
their power Fabian Torelli. the hero OF
the play, is young soldier or fortune
scion OF a good family, who is hshtlhs
with the French arms. The ilrst act OF
the play is laid at the Frenfl camp neer
Pisa and here Toreili Is falsely accuses
of theft and sentenced to be hanged.
This is not done, however. for Niccolo
Macchiavelli, the r'lorentine statesman,
being present at the trial, personally IN
tercedes with the Due de NemourS Tor
the young mans life. and saves II. But
he cannot save his degradation and ex-
,,1s.,o,, iron, ,ba French army Had not