Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-11-20

h
exceptionally fortunate in his selection
Of plays these days. For long time
he has had nothing which might be
considered remarkable success, al
though of course he mas also not had
failure in many years, probably be-
cause the play which would go by the
board despite the advantages of pro-
duction and excellent treatment it
would receive at the hands OF Mr.
Sothern's magnificent company would
be a sorry thing indeed.
Mr.. Sothern concluded to go in for
something which for him would be a
novelty, and he therefore produced "a
Colonial Girl" new play of old New
York" according to the programme.
The authors are Grace Livingston Fur
Miss and Abbey Sage Richardson, the
latter of whom / remember once wrote
an excellent dramatic version of Mark
Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper"
for Elsie Leslie, who was then a promi-
nent child star.
"a Colonial Girl'' is far from being a
bad play, but on the other hand it is
lust as far from being good one. it Is
damned by the deadliness of mediocre
ty. Illogical in many respects and
really stupid in others, it nevertheless
contains enough of story to interest
most of those patrons of the Lyceum
who do not care to pry beneath the sur
face The end of the play, when the
hero, after an exciting duel, is rescued
by the Liberty Boys" is as glazing a
piece Of low grade melodrama as one
would expect to find at the Bowery
houses devoted to the exploitation of
that form of dramatic entertainment.
Then, too, the piece is something of a
Waterloo for Rowland Blackstone. who
in his time has played many parts and
played most of them we'll and none Of
them badly. But in "a Colonial Girl
he simply butchers the irasible Colonel
Carteret in couple of scenes which
ought to be his best. In the one in
particular where he learns of the mar
rage OF his ward, he is so unreal, ar
tiflcial and amateurish that one in
voluntarily takes another look at the
programme to determine that it is
really the usually reliable Blackstone
who has for so many years been re-
garded as the Bauermeister of the
Sothern company.
y The story of "a Colonial Girl is not
complicated. The action passes during
the period of the Revolutionary war.
The town is swarming with British SOL
diers and officers, some of whom are
apparently gentlemen, while others
manifestly are not Godfrey Remsen,
Tilted by his former sweetheart while
he is away in England in disgrace. re-
turns to find her the wife of an English
ffunctionary old enough to be her faith
err Remsen has meanwhile come into
a fortune, as they almost always do at
the Lyceum. Later the functionary IN
question, Sir Henry Danvers, died, but
before that interesting event can hap
pen, in fact few moments after the
beginning of the play, Godfrey, in fit
of piaue, marries Mollie Heddin, a
nice American girl. The latter IS Of
course considerably informed on the
spot, while the others have their backs
conveniently ftrHed, of the true condi
3 ton Of affairs, and the curtain falls
upon her reproaching her husband for
his base deception. Naturally there
after, while they do really speak as
they pass by" they are not given to
lingering in each others company
longer than is absolutely necessary for
the sake of appearances.
Lady Danvers, by some right which
does not clearly appear, takes up her
residence in the home of her hated rival
and bosses everybody around just
about as she pleases. Finally, after the
English officers have tediously failed
to apprehend a certain dashing spy, the
yillainess, Lady Danvers, gets hold OF
an discriminating letter from one
George ashington, who later became
figure of some prominence in the affairs
of this country This note she gets the
outraged young wife to give to the COL
onel who is pursuing her husband. The
latter is, of course the real spy. There
after he is fugitive from his own
house, from which he contrives 10 es-
cape by means of a secret door leading
to a subterranean passage, in which
there is still another secret door. The
villain of the play has designs against
the young wife, and Remsen, masquer-
aiding in the clothes of a newly arrived
and unknown British officer, throws Off
his mask and challenges the would-be
despoiler to mortal combat, in which he
Is necessarily victorious. He is excused
from his engagement to be hanged a
ittle later by the timely arrival OF the
Liberty Boys" who succeed in max
ing one of the most ridiculous tinshes
lver seen perhaps in theater or the
.3aliber of the Lyceum.
There bids fair to be very pretty
row over the ownership of the English
lights to the dramatic version OF "The
christian" Wilson Barrett claims to
have received permission from Hall
Eaine at the time of the publication OF
his novel to make disqualification OF "
for use in England. Atfthat time 1t IS
probable that Mr.. Game had no idea
that Viola Allen would become star
and that she would want the play IN
which she has subsequently made such
a pronounced hit But things have
changed since then, and it is said tfNft
Mr. Game is now receiving royalties OF
more than S100 a week from MISS Al
len for the use of dramatization of The
Christian which he made for her.
Barrett declares that he will do his
own dramatization of the novel in Eng
land, and Mr. Game as emphatically
declares that he shall not as the rights
for Great Britain have been sold by
HIM to Charles Frohman. Mr.. Game
admits that while Mr.. Barrett was IN