The times., 1898-10-16
FRIENDS OF LAST WEEK.

Washington. Thespis and Company
have turned out another success at last.
and that success is dainty Alice JudsOn.
who came to town last week with De
Wolf Hopper, TO find that the score of
friends she had left behind had multi
piled into a thousand during her absence.
For the little singer, who quilted this
city without showing much more than a
vestige of talent, and who is reputed to
have been selected by Mr.. Hopper be-
cause Of her stature alone, has not only
beaten expectations. but has proven TO be
positive genius in her line. OF course.
reports had been reaching here for some
time regarding the impression Miss Jud-
son had made on Montreal and New
York, but localities were not quite content
to take the verdict of either place. and
so suspended judgment until they could
see for themselves And once having
seen, the most dubious became the most
admiring. and, having conquered the big
gest cities of two nations, the actress be-
gan proving that prophet may be hon
ored even "in his own country
With due seriousness, there is every
reason for the surprise afforded. Miss
Judson's last appearance here was with
the Castle Square Opera Company, and
while the critics were not hard-hearted
enough to say so, the imprint she left on
the memories Of her auditors was not
deep. Despite her evident effort the lit
tie woman was amateurish, undisguisedly
nervous, and not at all clever. Whether
the cause lies with her work with exps-
rience, with native talent, or simply with
Mr.. Hopper and his ability as coacher,
the fact remains that no brighter. dain-
tier, or more delightful parsonage ever
stepped upon the stage Of the National
than this same Miss Judson was when
she returned. Her methods were quaint.
her manne-ismS catchy. her effects
bright. and she herself as prettily be-
witching as even the best of her friends
could have desired. Both in and out OF
tights she made 4 delightful figure, and
this, with the intelligent manner in which
she delivered the lines that fell TO her
part and the ready appreciation of every
bit of humor in the piece that seemed
TO be an inherent quality of her assump-
tion, won over to her standard the most
blase in the house. Neither Della Fox
nor Edna Wallace, In their primes, ever
gave such distinct promise does Miss
Judson at the beginning Of her career.
and the result may readily be foretold.
Since the actress is too clever a woman
to allow her head to be turned by sud
den step upward. she viii continue work
ing and studying until she has placed
herself in a position Of secure prominence
something she has all bat attained now.
Williamson and Stone. the .'rag-time
swells.' spent last week at the Bijou.
where they renewed the impression made
last Summer at Glen Echo Neither of
the pair can be said TO excel as a come
dian, and the matter used by both might
be improved by little renovation, but
each has confidential way that seems TO
please an audience greatly. and each can
dance in a manner calculated to drive the
boys in the altitudinous heights of the
gallery Wild with joy. Then. too the
peculiar speech from which they have re-
ceived their sobriquet though a bit
coarse and unpleasant, is remarkably
novel and cannot fail TO attract attention
and even laughter. The men are both
clever and have earned the place they
/ occupy on the variety stage.
! One of the pleasing things about new
| production is that II invariably serves to
bring into view some man or woman who
/ has passed unnoticed during the former
years of his or her career Often the OBJ
I livion that has surrounded the performer
4 has been due to a wrong classification Of
| talent, and hence to a line OF parts both
| unsuitable and uncreditable. When The
! person is finally forced into something
/ entirely different from the roles that
/ have preceded it. the result may be as
beneficial as 1t is unexpected. "A War
( Correspondent" served last week to in
! troduce an Edith Barker. who. while
practically unknown before. really dis
tinguished herself for her fidelity TO ma
| ture and for the intellectually she DIS
played in her work. Personally charm
ing, she exhibited degree of womanli-
| ness and lovableness that made one sym
| pathiZe most fully with the young Cuban
/ whose part 1t was TO fall in love with
her. Miss Barker is evidently rather new
10 the business. but the business is ar
| parently not new to her, and a future
of roseate hue with elaborate giIt-edsed
trimmings may be shortly expected for
her.
A great deal of the humor afforded at
Kernan's by the Rentz-Santley Company
came through the efforts of Richard
Ward. whose bicycle speciality, though
by no means novelty. was well done
1t is only at rare intervals that special.
lists can be found whose humor is not
of the order that causes one to wonder
whether or not the performer is in q
league with some dispenser of liquiG
refreshment outside. But Mr.. Ward 1:
funny as well as skilled manipulation
! of the steely steed and his act provoked
almost continuous applause every even
ing last week. He handles his machin.
with the dexterity and confidence of al
expert. while many of the feais accom-
plished are of seeming impossibility. Mr.
Ward is a fitting successor to the tri
wheeled tramp of In Gay New York
and his turn is one of the distinct fea
lures of the Rentz-Santley show.
Nothing in recent years has shown tn
: capability of the colored performer NOR
clearly than did Williams and Walker
''Senegambian Carnival" The organiza
| ton included the best people in thei
lines of which the negro race can boas
and the result was a variety entertain
ment of more than passing interest
The great fault of the production wa
that it needed stage management an
, piecing together to a lamentable degree
, and some of the longer turns. as in III
case of Hodges and Launchmere, wer
very tiresome. But the performance
taken as a whole, was most creditabl
and served to win no small amount o
admiration for the genuine black-fac
, artists and their hackers. The star
themselves are possessed of ability ina
is too well known to require extende
mention, the comicalities of Bert WI
liams being by-words in variety house
u all through the country GosEin an
Davis, too. are an acrobauc team VIII
have made a reputation for themselve:
I while the Mallory Brothers present
= musical act that for neatness and fms
he Tar MAJ