The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-12
STAGE FACT AND OPINION.
ron ART IN a THEATRE SEE "a
e., MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE"

phiE Lesn Commercially shown in "Niisu
FRANCIS or T~aie--Things That Are sap
Pesed to Happen Betueon the Acts or
"a Lady OF ouaIttyr-Notes or the Actors.
There IL a great deal of Hne and true art in
Tho stagecraft Of to-day. Many OF the plays are
evod literature. much Of the acting is excel
lent. and never before were the mountings 20
admirable Ms they nre now. Examples Of all
these merits arc abundant. A new exhibition
~ them may be found in "A Marriage Of Con.
Nenicnco." as performed at the Empire. II will
stand tho closest and most critical eXamina-
zion upon all the three points mentioned. The
play was good literature when the srst Alex.
andre Dumas wrote IL in French, more than
Nfty years ago, and 1t IL equally good ntera-
ture In Sydney Grundy's English version, be-
sides illustrating tho ad Vance in tact and taste
which contemporaneous play have made
upon the work OF their predecessors. Tho play
which Grundy has made may be no better
than the original work in the study and por.
trayal Of character, but It possesses certain
technical merits in obedience to the e~xacting
demands of intellectual modern audiences. The
acting is excellent, and not alone because John
Drew and a clever company do it, but owing
also to the improved methods OF our stage. Peo-
pie whose memories are deceivingly roseate tell
rs Of the wonderful performances which stock
companies used to give. The fact Ia that, with
pllls changed once o week or oftener, there
wa no such thing as adequate preparation. the
unsuitable, and there was such slipshod and
s saeaddsHsy audienee IS n S1ai and al The O. ike hSs' Of TSiS q
may be observed in the hall. price theatres
cities throughout the Country. A. to the
mounting OF "A Marriage Of Convenience" 1t
e ssb sgsh "a 2 w s1ss9 no s'aai Tssmss t, With Ninth, P PAINT, and md
past fifteen to twenty. years. Yes; the first
s~entcnce Of this article is true. There is a great
Aan nj I'M n frtaA = In thA ~ q ~ IN
day.
Michael Morton has shown for q beginner un.
usual skill in devising farcical situations. and
there are enough of these in Miss Francis Of
Yale" to keep the audience in laughter that
sounded genuine on Monday night. Tho man
who Is believed by over body to be o woman In
disguise came by invitation to a country house.
The family was violently opposed to him under
the impression that he was an adventures try
ing to force her way into the place. He was
treated with GOODNESS. The unwelcome guest
was fercely hungry. but the folks refused to
eat with him. The dinner was served on q ter.
race, and as the waiter handed each dish from
ono person to another it was refused haughtily
and then carried away. The servant had no
fancy for the visitor. and gave him no oppor-
tunity to taste any Of the dishes. Although
he was almost at tho point Of starvation, tho
food was whisked out OF sight. The actors
played the scene with spirit. and Il was one Of
the most enlivening of the evening. In the last
Pct another episode would have been effective
S pct. The @sn ' %ho does Ss t me-. P RnSw e hat tf he hast hast
for the night. To his establishment the women
of the household visit hin one after the other.
hope Of continuing a Irritation commenced
Sownst tar ;,o ih iss Is among The the o o1Tdipes.n in the The
hny whom he takpa for n GIRL shpul6 he nnitfad
Most of the fun OF this act comes from the pres
ence Of an old maid who appears in the young
@ %sies Gi Is eeFg mu e t tuesed ! s rSfiea a EadT@ ofns:
mented with pale blue ribbons. Why he puts
the rest Of that act he wears It. By a Wild
stretch OF farcical device. the butler 10 trapped
sha n,1 sex s9 I has bee Been 31 So SS sdiyp eont S = sae T Thepe
tho old maid sits on him accidentally, other
persons strike him and his discomforts are very
SPECTATOR or I fas BEEN ioss. Much Ita q a4a TIE action ,1 e
The Old spinster quietly takes a drink out Of a
decanter, and then cats a Glove. It is entirely
the laugh. There is q French maid in the play,
and whenever any body utters the word dance
set into mottionss Persons nsAt suddenly ieap on n
tables. There is q bed in the last act, and DO
fore the scene has come to an end nearly every
i Sooy That h% 'f Is P the sp aHi ' ot tSe i tar shu a aS~ from ON
that'point Of Wow the performance Is all right
cessive. Sarah Mcvicker makes a convention.
81 old maid, and is highly amusing. Gertrude
wang, viii be- a, charming young actre.;.
Layinia shannon's laugh has the insistence Of 9
SisRp hna %e0F EEtie Tarfe G,r 1a1s th Is e spTy. IN nina ms
bio, and untiring physically. and is a neatly ar
Francis Of Yale is marked By little sponta.
neity. The play has one excellently tasteful and
appropriate set in the last act. and something
OF the atmosphere of ~eentilty is noticeable in
the effort OF the other two scenes.
There are four intermissions between the
acts IA Lady of Quality" and they arc in
deed necessary. owing TO the number Of i'm
portant events that take place behind the
scenes. This is the result of COMPRISING in a
play the chief incidents In O heroine's life from
childhood to her complete maturity. In the
interval that separates the first and second acts
Clorinda grows ont of her hoyden girihood, Is
wooed and deceived by Sir John Oron, and
learns to be sophisticated enough to marry q
rich old man because she is poor. She becomes
. famous beauty. This period, and the Oron
episode. also draws well to its close before
the next curtain rises. Then the period OF
their love for. one another has wholly passed,
and there is nothing Of that shown at any time
In the play. The second act comes to q close.
and in the ensuing intermission her wealthy
husband dies. and the spectators see her next
- hNo SiA oheo - wa
ing widow. But the Duke Of Osnionde has eyi.
IDENTITY seen much OF her, for only a few min
utes after the act has opened IL lie made clear
that no is about to ask her to become his wife
When he does this, az the close Of the scene, the
intermission that follows Is not laden with
events. But it must not bc forgotten that
other characters than Clorindd make history
out OF sight. The marriage of OroTs which
was preceded BY a Sourtship of which the audi
the second and third acts, a divorce has fol,
lowed, and Orion has lost his position in society,
But the interval before the last act Is moi
without lis responsibilities. The body Of the
murdeTet Oroh has been disposed of, CIorindG
has REUSED to see the Duke eJ OsRlonde, and
her s~isier-her inexplicable, incomprehensible
Ilusiyc sister. who opens every act after the
first by crossing tho stage in evident distress
has been ~sinitten by an illness which causes q
lingering and conspicuous death in the middle
of tho stagc. When the play comes to an enc
the spectator has the impression OF having seer
one.half Of a picture ma heard the rest de
gcribed, However, the spectacles that the pro
duc.ion offers are q Observation-Disclosures, FOL
they arc especially tasteful and attractive
kind than the interior OF Clorinda's ZONE, tn,