The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-04-26
AT THE THEATERS.


Lnfa, ette-"That Lass q Lowrie's.
The first of the two premiers TO be
given by the Mckee Rankin "all-staT
company at the Lafayette Square Opera
House was presented last night in Fran
ces Hodgson Burnett and Rose Eytinge's
dramatization Of the formers novel,
That Lass o. Lowrie's." An audience
that was not large and seemed more in
clned to think over war troubles and do
mestic difficulties than the merits OF the
play, loaned the encouragement or Its
presence of body and absence OF mind for
the occasion. and resolutely ignored the
many good points of the production with
persistence worthy of a better cause.
In dramatzing what is doubtless her
most famous story Mrs. Burnett has kept
close to her text, taking the plot in its
complete form and adapting many of the
situations and much Of the dialogue TO
her purpose. Ii is in this that the chief
fault of the piece lies. for, while the
force and general excellence of the tale
are improved in being taken as a whole.
the evident desire of the authoress to get
into the stage version every particle OF
the book has made crowded and abrupt
ness of incident necessary. This in
creases the rapidity of action but loses
much in other ways. The interest is not
concentrated as IL might be and fire.
quently leaves one portion of the drama
for an entire ACT. while another is being
recited. The ClimaXes at the close of the
first and fourth acts need working up.
too, though the bad acting of Mckee
one and mediocre staging partly to blame
with the other.
OF course, in a new production. the
faults of the piece draw more attention
than it's virtues and this is the only rea-
son that nine-tenths OF the criticism of
That Lass O. Lowrie's'' is not favorable
AS a matter of fact, from a theatrical
standpoint, the play is infinitely superior
TO The First Gentleman of Europe or
"A Lady of Quality" and should prove
an excellent vehicle in which 10 star the
capable actress, Nance ONeil. There is
plenty Of real heart interest in the plot
and it is told with a touch of pathos
there and of comedy here. bit of senti-
ment in one place and of strength in
another that fully trebles its worth
The characters are clearly and def
nitely drawn with a firmness surprising
in a woman playwright, while a certain
element of roughness and crudity will
soon give way to careful and judicious
pruning. Above all, the play is human
and of absorbing interest mainly be-
cause of its distinct realism and intense
dramatic force Had the audience present
last night been critical it must have been
appreciative of what is undoubtedly one
of the best first productions of the year.
The company presenting the piece is
large. though not of uniform excellence.
Nance ONeil. who heads the cast and
fills the title role. takes advantage of
every opportunity offered in a manner
highly commendable She Is an intellec-
tual actress whose natural fire and in
tensity have not been allowed to run
away with the results of good sense and
careful training. Some of her work was
wonderfully well done and her scene with
her father at the close of the third act
could probably not have been equaled by
any three women in the country. The
of her portrayal might be
Increased by further definition of con-
=" sts particularly in showing the differ
between the savage and the woman
Rankin apparently does his level
to spoil the production and comes
..ear succeeding. If Mr.. Rankin's ability
as coacher is to be judged by his ability
as an actor all his clients mry be ex-
lung testing machine. Andrew Robson
seems TO have been trained in the same |
school and his work reminds one much |
of his star. Still his voice and stage |
presence are good and he has so far dis |
instructions as to put some |
thought into his speeches. Burwell Cut |
er's young minister is a clever concep- |
ton and Carlton Wells is a very stilted |
villain of the kid glove and silk hat kind. |
Julia Stuart is a winning Anice and Rose |
Eytinge contributes some excellent |
while Mrs. John 7. Raymond |
Toes not reflect any particular credit on !
her late and very much lamented hus- |
band Ricca Scott is one of the best |
Juvenile actors ever seen here. he being |
Dne of the only three members of the |
who were wholly familiar with |
heir lines. The other two were a baby /
md dog. On the whole, the presenta-
ioI was most creditable and should be