The evening times., 1898-11-08
AT THE THEATERS.
NatiOnaI-"Hecause She Loved Hin
So"

So"
There was a very select audience pres
ent last night at the National Theater.
and il applauded William Gillette's lat
est adaptation. Because She Loved Him
So, with a fervor that nearly hid the
fact that the house was even smaller
than il was select. The size of the as
sembly however, counted for little from
an artistic point of view for the farce
offered is a new one and Washingtonians
are not prone to casting their bread up
on the waters without Ilrst assuring
themselves that the tides and other con-
siderations make its return reasonably
sure. And if those present did not lose
their enthusiasm while on the way home
or fail in their efforts TO voice il Mr.
Frohman's combination will receive more
financial encouragement through The
rest OF the week than it did yesterday
evening.
NJ. Bisson, to whose credit may be laid
mol only The Masked Ball' but that lat
est success. On and of" originally
produced Because She Loved Him So"
The piece was done in Paris There Mr.
Gillette, Of whom ii is needless to re-
late that he is responsible for a line of
plays ranging from Mr.. Wilkinson's
Widows 10 Secret Service saw it
and decided upon first adopting and then
adapting It. The result of this determi
nation IS a sort of international compIi-
cation-a French comedy with American
variations. laid in England The first
two qualities seem al! right but the To-
Gale "f the farce appears strangely in
conSruent when contraSted with its Incl
dents and episodes. Still. this is \
tritiing fault. even with "A presentation
80 purely Bissonesque as is Because
She Loved Him So.
only Frohman could hang an even
ing entertainment on plot so thin is
that used in this effort. and were tie
said evenings entertainment at all heavy
the result could not be good As il is
sometimes Mr.. Gillette has used his ma
terial two or three times-as de Koven
does his music-tO make it ill in three
acts, and the end of this is in a great
many duh moments that the play af-
lords. But dull moments are as ntces-
sary 10 the best OF productions as are
tnorns to the rose and there are NOT
many ounces Of stupidity in Because
She Loved Him So. The comedy is not
uprOariously funny nor was il intended
To be, but it is highly diverting and thor
UuShly amusing. The lines are bright
and the situations ingenious; the story
unique and its construction interesting:
the whole comedy at once intellectual
and laUshable. 1t affords two hours and
a half Of real enjoyment and enjoyment.
at that of which no one need be asham-
ed.
There are eleven people in the cast de-
serving of special mention and in all of
the cases that mention could be nothing
less than extremely favorable. ]. T.
Dodson, Edwin Arden, Arnold DAILY, Will
lam Smith, c r. Gilbert. w. ]. Constan-
tine, Ida Conquest. Kate Meek, Leonora
Braham-who is as cosmopolitan as the
play-Margaret Fielding and our own
dainty. sweet Margaret Mayo are these
people. None of them are sufficiently
sure of their lines to risk saying them
backward and a few more performances
will add smoothness to all, but the ind;-
yiduals are, without exception, careful
actors whose conceptions and characteri-
cations are most creditable. Those who
do not enjoy their evenings at the Ma
tional this week had best stop going 10
the theater for time sufficiently long to
whet their appetites and sharpen their
sense of enjoyment