The herald., 1897-04-07
! 1T THE THERTERS

formance of Sardou's "Gismonda" al
this house last night attracted large
audience and the piece was received
with a certain amount of enthusiasm
which was most strongly evidenced at
the climax of the third act. when the
stormy interview between the duchess
and her athletic lover is brought to the
very significant conclusion created by
Mr.. Sardou.
| The piece Is a tale of warriors bold, and
of warriors who are not so bold, of court
intrigue, of Catholic supremacy and
of the passions of love, hate and re-
venge The action is placed in a remote
time and the opportunity for picturesque
costumes and appointments is carefully
| taken advantage of. All such details
are brought out prominently and there
can be nothing but praise for the liberal
manner In which the play has been put
upon the stage.
1t is no new thing to say that Sardou
has taken an unpleasant topic upon
which to expend his skill. He rather
| delights in doing so. The story turns
upon a rash vow made by Gis-
| monda that she will marry the man
who saves her little son from the tiger.
| The tiger in this case is the genuine
striped quadruped. The curtain has
been short time raised when the tiger
| incident takes place, and before the
audience Is all seated, and before the
| actors have warmed into their work.
| a frenzied climax is brought about which,
| naturally enough, coming so prema-
| turely, lacks convincing qualities. The
| little boy is duly saved and the hero,
fe- tt,< dxr oh n
reward. but is repulsed by the naughty
| duchess, who offers him a pribe instead
| of a bride, and the act terminates to his
| discontinue.
The barons who relieve the monotony
by severally wanting to wed Gismonda,
naturally enough. unite in hating the
man who tries to secure an exclusive
privilege on the duchess. These other
wise barren scenes are enlivened by
the arrival of Almerio at the convent
in which the duchess is staying while
waiting dispatch from the pope, tell
ing her that she is absolved from her
oath. Almerio and the barons nearly
come to blows but the young man sur
renders his sword at the command OF the
duchess and is marched OFF into durance
vile.
Failing to get a dispensation from the
pope, and goaded on by the workings of
her conscience, which reproach her for
broken oath, and disturbed further
more by the turbulence of the people
who are friends of Almerio and the dis
satisfaction of her barons, Gismonda
grants Almerio a private interview,
having him Brought up from Jail for
that purpose In this scene the naughty
duchess loses her dignity, and instead
of combining with that quality some
measure of finesse, she becomes at once
converted into a kittenish hoyden and
x-sA .a1, ne axn9r M
fashion that he naturally stands upon
his right to exact the fulfillment of her
vow, which was an obligation of un-
common Importance in those times, as
is carefully explained by Miss Daven-
port on the program. If the actress
could be induced to take a different
view of the lines that begin this interview
with Almerio, she might realize how out
of keeping her actions are with the re-
quirements of the situation. Afalse note
is struck In a personatien that is other
wise consistent ana at times foroible.
The bargain between the two, which
brings this soene to an exciting close.
was In rapid delivery of the dialogue.
In which both spoke at once, rendered
| sufficiently obscure go as not to offend
| the sensipAities of those prudish people
who might object to Sardou's very plain
way of putting things, and the line
Which has been quoted, in which the
duchess signifies her inteptien Of Yield
| ing to the animal passions of her lover,
| was not distinguish6ble.
The following act in whfoh Gtsmonda
| is seen coming from Almerio's hut after
| having spent the night there the ar
| rival Of Zaccario, his atteQpt to murder
| his rival ana the vicious killing of the
would-be murderer by the Duchess her.
self. who swings the ak wath all the free
dom of The woodman vho declined to
spare the tree, brought the curtain down
to loud applause
| Finally, the gorgeous chapel scene,
with it's altar, its priests and attendants,
it's organ and incense bearers, the peo-
| pie with thefr fine costumes and the de-
collete duchess with her jewels galore
and her magnificent apparel made an
| ensemble that gave a reflected glitter to
the theatrical incidents which bring the
drama to a happy and stereotyped con-
clusion.
Melbourne MacDowell presented fine
appearance as the Samson Of the piece,
the brave Almerio who tears tigers and
| cuts up rebels and generally behaves as
thoroughbred animal whose strongest
passion is for the physical possession Gf
| the woman he adores. He is ready to
renounce all claim to marry her If he
| can but call her his own for a night and
| that is the Sardou type that the actor
|
| ellis elocution was the most grateful
! thing in the whole performance. He
| adopts an rhythmic method of
| delivery, and having a fine voice makes
his lines sound musical and penetrating.
| 1t is method of delivery that might be-
| come monotonous if persevered in, but
| Almerio's lines are not many and were
| the more effective on that account
None of the other people show any
particular talent. but they wear
| their good clothes with becom-
| ing grace and yield the center
| of the stage to the stars with
out mumur, as in duty bound. Miss
Davenport shows no sign of wear since
she was here before-she takes the same
little gasp before beginning a sentence
and her acting is of a school that has
seen it's best days, but she wears mag
nificent costumes and resplendent jew
els; she has a clever Frenchy play, ex-
cellent scenery a well drilled company
and, finally, she has Melbourne Mac
Dowell. Therefore every one will go to
see and hear during the remainder OF
the week; and the comment will turn
more upon the jewels, the scenery and
the costumes than upon the rather OBJ
scure merits of the play itself.
| ORPHEUM.-A new bill al this pop
| ular house of amusement is always an
other way of saying that the theater was
! crowded A round of fresh vaudeville
features amused the large audience
throughout the program Among the
new people are some very clever special
| ;etc The T,indsley Bros from Australia