Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-09-22
PLAYING TWO PARTS.
INSTANCES IN WHICH AN ACTOR HAS
 BEEN TWO MEN AT ONCE.

10 be able to play two parts m the anne piece--to portray, perhaps two characters of totally different ealiber-- is not an underta! isa which many ac- tors care 10 attempt IL IS only the e4' nerienced artist who may attempt the feat with impnnity, and even then, though he may appear to the audience n achieve his end without an efforV. tt1ere are many more difficulties ill his nath than meet the eye of the habituai Sheater goer.
 Not only must the actor be possessed ef no small amount of histrionie talent. but he must often call in the aid of an nnderstudy, whose dnty 1t is to gull the onlooker into the belief that their favor ite is performing the impossible feat oi heinz in two places at one and the same time. For in pearl7 every play of such q character it is well nigh impossible for ti,e author 50 to arrange bis piece that the actor may never be called upon to he GU tho stage with his double.
 Any one who has been to sec .'Ihe Prisoner of zendan performed at the St. vnxnas theater, mutt have maryeled at fhe lightning celelity with which Mr. George Alexander, moment before the drunken king of Ruritania, suddenly, as fv some actof witchcraft, reappeared as Radolf Rassendylt clad in the ordi- nary costume of tie English tourist. Then. to every ole' s surprise, the supine body Of tho king waa carried in 90 that to all appearances Mr. Alexander was gazing upon his own person. h reality, of course, 1t was merely lightning change, and tho undergtady had to be 1equisitioned to supply the person of the king.
 < moro famous case of double imper- eonatien. however. | that of The Cor. fieen aa first play perhaps in which Sir Henry Irving gaYe us 5 taste of his wonderful talent.
 In the first aet--to give a slight re Fume Of the piay--fhe ghost of Louis. Filled in duel ny certain Chateau itenaud in the fcrest af Fentaioebleau appears to fahien, h{s brother The sec. ond act takes Us to Paris and through @rsfied incident to the death of Louis Here Irving was Louis.
 In the third act, however 1t Is Fahien who is once more before us. who has constituted himself the avenger Of his brothers death. He meets Chateau Renand and demands satisfaction. Re, naud is worsted aIsa falls to the ground. Then suddenly the ghost ef Louis ap. pears, and, fo peesoAate the spirit of 2 Ihe dead man, Irving had had 10 fly to z the wings, make his way below tic stage aud take lis stand upon the trap, q rhieh conveyed him upward to the aaze of the thrilled spectators.
 How was it done: The audience was amazed Yat tho explanation is com parali4ely simple: Irging stepped be. hind q property tree. His double instantly filled his place, taking good eara not 10 faco the audience when t # was necessary for him to confront the ghost Hence the lightning change from mortal 10 spirit and the fesultant be. # giidermeRt ef tfe beholders,
 Neither E tho "Gersican Brothers" tha only play n which Irving has con .x triged lo lake I double part and yet < Honplua the audience by the adroitnesa 3 of his netRm0rHhosis.
 # Those who are familiar with the 2 Lyons Mail will doubtless remem- @ Der the most telling scene in the play
 Here DuboSc the murderer. is in an astic, gazing down upon the prcpara- !iona being made for the execution of the innocent Lesprques-whose likeness 10 the real murderer has brought hilu 10 such terrible pass-an expression pf horrible glee upon his face. clapping his hands as he sees the apparently doomed man step forward to his death
 But his eXultation is premGsure. Ia sufques k reprieYed, and the crowd snddenly catches sight Of the villailious face of the real murderer at the attic Window. The door of the reGm is bat tered in. Behind it stands Duhose, The Hsreteh is dragged from his refuge, and ha trey do so Irving Lesurques coolly Asaiks in upon the scene of turmoil.
 Ihe door of the attic is mado io open inward, tlius shutting Irving Iiubosc iloin view Of the auditorium. h 4 mo. fnent he slips through trap His
 donble' takes his place, to bo hustled fnaeremoniously hy the crowd of ''su feis, whose duty it is also to conceal
 Dc man's face in ease the fraud should 1e discovered. Irving -Lesurques can Zen como oa in his new role
 But all actor has been known to play aso parts without tbe assistance of a ummy.
 In a certain play 1t was the duty oi 1he hero 10 leap out ef the window of
 as room and to enter from door on the 1pposite side of the stage clad in differ. Rlc clothes, though otherwise the same.
 Fms, however, was Juggling pure shd simple The actor dropped into his #cond dress in much the same way as 8 American fireman is <eputpd to | Hmp into his uniform Tie costume s Rnsisted of but one piece with patent
 2s'enlng dewn tle back, and as he eaptd through the window frame he 2 iped inse his clothes. which, so te
 aS, shnt behind him and left him re-