The times., 1898-06-03
THINGS THEATRICAL.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS john"

w. II. Cranes former success, Brother
John" as performed by the stock COM
panv last night al the Columbia. is chiefly
notable for two facts-Jhe perfect manner
In which the leading roles are played and
the homicidaI treatment accorded the
smaller ones. Fortunately for Jimmy
Barrows and his aggregation IT IS the
former class that has the opportunities
and the wretched acting of lot Of sec
ond rate amateurs who have been set IN
the smaller parts. goes for almost Moth
ing by the side of such wonderful work
as is done By the principal members Oh the
cast
AS a matter of fact the organization
could not have appeared 10 better adFan-
tage than it does in Martha Morton's
beautiful comedy. and the many excellent
scenes are carried in manner that
shows fully the uniform excellence OF its
regular people This being the case, Il
really seems too bad that three or four
delightful situations should have been
left in the hands of local hedSings whose
ability is only shown in the manner IN
which 1t contrasts with the portrayaIs OF
other players. Perhaps it was for this
reason that they were engaged-lf 50
they earn their salaries
Brother John has always been q
popular favorite, and the audience II
drew last night was as large as any yet
brought out by the supplementary season
Those present had come 10 enjoy too'
and they needed only the provOcauon TO
laugh or weep in conjunction with the
characters in the play. The dainty and
breezy little piece has probably never
been given to more appteciative audit
ors. and the simple charm OF the pro-
duction found few who were not easy
marks for its influence. The carefuI
blending of quiet pathos and quaint
humor. the human feeling and honest
sentiment of the play cannot be too
highly praised and We're not yesterday
evening.
As has been said, the leading roles ara
taken in a manner that defies criticism.
1he Columbia Company has five mem
bers whose superiors do not exist on the
stock stage and they are all seen TO re-
markable advantage. Agnes F1ndiay, al
ways at her best in character roles pre-
sents a study of inimitable worth in her
Beck Hackett and keeps an audience
roaring with her natural and yet gro
tesoue methods. The Dersonificauon of
all that is easy and graceful IN modern
comedy. she nevertheless contributes n
constant study in general effect. Mrs.
Findlay is" every part she plays and her
sincerity and excellence in this latest
effort are not open TO doubt. Her Beck
will rank with that other wonderful I'm
personation, the scrub woman in My
Awful Dad" Quite on a par with Mrs.
F'indIay's Characterization is the Brother
John of Jimmy Barrows. As a rugged.
natural and thoroughly meritorious bit
of work it has not been eQualed here in
some time. Difficult as it was at first
for the house to accept pathos from the
erstwhile comic old man. it soon be-
came necessity and the power and force
of his action carried with them convinc-
ing ability. Maud Haslam is a charming
Hetty, her chess scene with Mr.. Bar
rows being wonderfully well done, while
William Ingersoll and John Lancaster
are both clever in roles rather limited
for their manifest capabiity. Elenora
Browning, a new member of the company.
iabors hard to be a pleasing and realistic
ingenue and succeeds partly while Mar
garet Mayo does well as Maggie Rolan
and Lillian Evans, though plainly an
amateur. deserves praise for her Maria.
On the other hand Alexander kearney
plays the role of De Ruyter in a heavy,
cumbersome, melo-dramatic fashion that
soon awoke the gallery to memories of the
old Bilou and won him frequent rounds of
applause from that quarter. After his
Surgeon Fielding, the part was a disap-
pointment Annie ALT is simply absurd
in the really fair role of Helen. She over
acts continually. keeping herself always
at the highest pitch and showing no tall
ent whatever. J. R. Furlong. Edward