The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-23
THEATRICAL ADJUSTMENTS.
.TRELABNY OF THE WELLs,v 4 VIEW
COMEDY ny Mr.. PINERO.

Drnmn and Vaudeville in the Metropolis.
,ou,int and curious comedy. "Tralawny OF
,hn Wells" by an expert playwright. Arthur w.
pinero. was performed last night by clever
actors. the Lyceum stock company. un-
der the direction Of an artistic manager,
naniel Trohman, The winter season at tho
ii,,le theatre In Fourth avenue was begun
upder those conditions interestingly. The
"Trelnvny' OF the title is an actress. the
"Wellso Is n theatre. and the theme OF the
niece IL London stage lie a quarter OF a century
AGO, The heroine is born ofnctors, reared among
,ctors, and has earned a living with actors but
abe gets an offer Of marriage from a socially
distinguished fellow. though first she must 20
on probation as n guest In his family to DEM
onstra,e her fitness. She IL n good creature.
hut free hammered. and the restraints of IA staid
household prove so irksome thar she throws
them of in a way that estrnnges her not
very steadfast lover. She returns to the foot
lights. He goes into the profession. too. though
away from London. After n Y while these two
meet by accident at the rehearsal Of n play,
and the deferred wedding is reached. The
story is no more peculiar than this sum
mary indicates. 1t Is an everyday affair.
commonplace and uneventful. Nevertheless. It
Welded excellent entertainment at the Lyceum.
because its types had been clearly characterized
by the author. and also because they were as
distinctly impersonated by the actors. Mr.. Pr
nero has chosen to be realistic In his depletion.
and his truths are not softened by ~flctlons. His
exposures Of things behind the theatrical
scenes are neither vulgarized nor idealized.
They disclose good and bad persons, but the
good ones are far from saints. and the bad
ones are not fragrant sinners.
But II the matter written by Mr.. Pinero is not
IN itself eXagGerative, the same thing can
not be said Of its aspect in the performance.
The women's clothes are in the fash
Ion Of the time when crinoline was at
It's widest distension. In our Shenandoah"
the extravagances OF skirt in the same period
Neredisregarded. and in Held by the Enemy"
Secret Service" and The Heart OF Mary
land" they were modified. while in "Cumber-
land 81" they were observed with rather
cautious fidelity: but in "Trelawny OF
the Wells" they are presented with faithful
magnitude and hideous u~Rliness. Tn female
figures on the Lyceum stage last night looked
to the eyes of 1898 like wild caricatures. They
gave an impression OF burlesque. and to that
was due some of the hilarity during
the first act. After that they were detri-
mental. because the fun of them had
been exhausted. and their outlandish-
ness did not comport at all with the serious
passages. That first act was iarcical anyway.
III it some stage folk ate a supper in
honor OF Miss Trela,cnv upon her re-
tirement from the profession. 1t was
thoroughly Bohemian, it was hammered
like a certain proportion OF theatrical people.
and it was replete with their characteristics
The contrasting second act was in the
home Of the aflanced husband. where
the conventions were so highly regarded and
the proprietieS so austerely observed that the
prospective bride He'd from them. along with
third was at the actors boarding house again,
as well as humorous. The brief fourth was at
a theatre, whore the improved usages OF the
Playhouse were shown at a rehearsal. and the
little that there had been OF plot came to a
close,
This comedy is 80 unimaginative. so literal
and unillusive that the utmost nicely is re-
Inired in its representation in order to make 1t
those who are more keenfy discriminate. That
TACT had been understood. at the ,Lyceum.
selection OF actors known In connection with
that stage. employed several from outside
\, &e.. 004R &Ps1anuv. Mary yuv aaiPf1eFii ady was " he
Bagnigge Wells, an imaginary, theatre in
TENDED ended to stand i9G the actual sadIer,s
Harsher, Yet eooi-hearted. types Of. actresses
were presented by Mrs. T3alISsG s Mss Tyree;,
s saH q nid EAR vs srF g e. a aeto1s sP %as po4 4
!; If, b&ept, az h william coa FHsfaa, 6 dsSiss
"" uNiUl hie NAoi wal IL LIC uuPIO-
Within and Henry woodruff. The acting By
s s%d t thorough gd 6 Hsnsrs Ess T N the Sslh msni
WTSgntings were in Keeping, The first New
pay, whether plain or subtle. and quick to ap-
BBreSei,ste every humorous Exposure q theatrical
positively successful with one american as,
temhlage. Whether it will get, q protracted or
general acceptance remains to be seen.
The THANKSGIVING holiday will have extra
Performances at all the theatres in the after
noon. Hardly ever has the bad on our stage
been so overwhelmed by the good. and the d.
Versity OF excellent entertainment is 30 great
that any taste may be gratiied. AlarGe pro-
portion OF the plays have distinguished actors
TO lead their casts. Mr.. Crane is new with
"Wcrth a Million at the Knickerbocker. Miss
Arthur with "Ingomar' at Wallack's and Miss
Rehan with THE Merchant of Venice" at
Days. Mr., Mansfield is in his lnal week with
0yrano de BeIgerac" at the Garden. Mr..
sothern has gone with The Adventure OF Lady
Ursula to the Brooklyn Montauk and Miss
Allen with The Christian" to the Columbia.
while Mr.. Thompson is spending the week
win The Old Homestead" at the Harlem
9SIpera House. Miss Russell is continuing with
v WITH liars at lie Empire, III. De ANGELS
JOly hluSEeteef' az the BfOduwaY
saa Miss Irwin with Kate Kip at the Bijou.
SWnlef PLAYS that stay are '0n and on" at the
SiaGisOn square. Sporting Life" at the Acad-
Thmy Of Music. The Village Postmaster at
sne fourteenth Street. Hotel Topsy Turvy''
Z Il uhe Herald Square. The Turtle" at the
Mahhiattan, "A Dangerous Naid' at the Casino
M ~ I'm Weissen Iioessr" at the Irving Place.
rihe renewals Of old plays include THE
SSnmes9i Normandy at the American. and the
m mass I~ffiormance was hurt by colds. nervous
hess and unreadiness. but the singers were In
ne,ter voice last night and had regained com
,be Cumberland 81" Is In Harlem for
Tue week at the. Columbus. with Lucille Nor
e N as rs new heroine. and with It's exciting
eerwS"!es Illustrated by the original fine seem
prIi}i,h A Runaway Grip Is transferred 10 the
hun Airhue. with Virginia Earle and most Of
W. i4N ,cninpanions. though there are re-
SSjiEts ~ Adele litchie and Frank Cell. The
onnrr hing is brought forward bv the stock
,,II,amIAhy ~ lie Murray Hill vigorously and in
sr man effectively. In Old Kentucky"
nehHH MS .blue-grass scenes of horse bre ed
w and racing on the spacious stage of the
dnamn c.!nera House. A time-honored melo-
SSnnSdHa' The Two Orphans" Is at the Star.
ifha a newer one. John Martins Secret at
N''a!rN m the continuous shows is produc-
Wv" i line bills. Al Proctor's, Dickens's "Hol-
y IRE" Inn as deity dramatized by Angus
wv thomas, is the current playlet. and is pref
sy acted Leo Dervalto and Charles t. Al