The times., 1898-11-04
THINGS THEATRICAL.

A performance of Robin Hood with
out the necessity for a standing room
only sign would be very much in the
nature of rain from the proverbial clear
sky, and as no one connected with the
National Theater seemed to feel any dis
tinct desire for natural phenomena last
night. that house was crowded when the
curtain was rung up on the operas first
scene. With few exceptions. the old-tfme
cast Of characters was heard in the pro-
duction, and much OF the act was given
over to welcoming familiar favorites. In
fact, the big audience seemed to have
come as much for the pleasure of greet
ing its friends as for anything else, and
the result was long-continued applause of
the most vociferous and least exacting ma
ture The performance was, of course.
smooth and delightful one, though many
of the original company were missed sad
ly. VIII Scarlet. in particular, appeared
to be another man than of yore after
those present had had time to understand
that the reason that Eugene Cowle's big
bass did not issue from the highwayman's
throat might be traced to the fact that
William Broderick and not his predeces-
u.
worked hard, despite the fact that he
was obviously i'll, and succeeded in max
ing the audience forgive If it could not
forget the absence of Mr.. Cowles. His
rendering of Brown October Ale was
received with especial enthusiasm, no less
than seven encores being demanded Hell
en- Bertram did much, too, that lessened
the universal regret over Alice Neilsen's
desertion and deserves a great deal OF
credit for her persistent and untiring Ia
Dor. William Philips fine voice was heard
to excellent advantage in the title role
of the opera. OF course Henry Clay Bar
nabee was the sheriff of Nottingham, W.
H. Macdonald was Little John, and Jes-
sic Bartlett Davis was Alan a-Dale.
Equally, of course, all were good. and ii
may seem superficial to say that Mrs.
Davis rendered 20, Promise Me- with the
usual effect. George Frothingham was
very funny as Friar Tuck, while W. H.
Fitzgerald Josephine Bartlett and Caro-
lyn Daniels did we'll. After its miserable
work in THE Serenade' the chorus
proved surprise, singing every ensemble
number effectually and scoring heavily
with The STinkers Chorus" and the ia
nous waltz song. Altogether the presen-
tation was decidedly enjoyable. If hardly
up to the Bostonians' standard in few
particulars.
Frank Daniels and his excellent organ
ization come to the Columbia next week
in their two great operate successes,
The IDOLS Eye" and The Wizard of the
Nile" Both of these pieces have been
so strongly commended here that further
comment is almost unnecessary. No COM
pany of the sort has ever succeeded in
pleasing local theater goers as this has,
and the prospect of 1t reviving not only
last seasons hit, but that universal ia
vorite of the year before should make
the engagement attractive alike to those
who have and those who have not seen
both offerings. The combination to be
seen in support will be, with two excep-
tions, the same that 1t was the last time
the comedian was here, while the two
operas have been newly equipped with
settings and properties. Seats are now on
sale.
Last Tuesday night, at the residence of
Major Pond. Jersey City, before an in
vited company of one hundred and fifty
guests, Hall Caine gave what his host
called "a dress rehearsal of his story
telling entertainment. of which rumor has
already said so much. 1t proved to be a
new thing in every way and the univer-
sal verdict was that it would so far and
have many limitations. The tale was of
the simplest, the manner of its telling
was simple. too, but the audience is said
to have been literally spellbound for an
hour and twenty minutes. The opinion
expressed at the end was this thing
has only to be known to draw larger au-
diences than the lecture platform has
yet SEEN"
Mr.. Game will make his bow to a
Washington audience in the guise of
story teller at 4 o'clock this afternoon
at the New National Theater All the
leading literary spirits now in the city
are to be present.
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