The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-24
AT THE THEATERS.

"a Bachelors Honeymoon a farcica
comedy which has met with a considerable
degree of success in the East, was seen last
evening in St Paul for the first time at the
Metropolitan, and under decidedly unfavor-
able conditions. Miss Camille Cleveland, the
leading lady OF the company, was out of
the cast, and it is said she is i'll at the Great
Northern hotel in Chicago. With a farce of
the character of the one presented, It is
difficult, under the circumstances, to do jus
tice either to the play or to the players, or
for that matter to the playwright. It's &C
ton must be crisp and breezy, and when 1t
is not both the company and the play may
suffer more than is deserved. Thorough
unity in lines and action is a prime essen
tial, and in hastily rearranged company
this is manifestly impossible. The result is
that the play may seem lacking in possibil-
tiles and the company may appear weak,
when the fault is, at least in part, unfa-
nriliarity. There are members of the cast
who, under more propitious circumstances,
would doubtless make a more creditable
showing. AS 1t is, all are handicapped, and
the dialogue seems crude and weak and the
situations Ineffective and not particularly
clever. One Of the best effects. that Of bring
ing on the ladies of the company in mourn
ing. is adopted, and adapted from Gillette's
''All the Comforts OF Home though in this
case not for the death of the paterfamilias
but because Of his supposed moral lapses
1t Is a pleasure to be able to single out
two members OF the cast for special COM
mendation, Miss Virginia Jackson and Rob-
ert Patton Gibbs. Miss Jackson's impersona-
tfon of a wzy-haired domestic, with an
Unsuitable craze for detective stories and
''clues to work on" is a promising piece Of
work, and Mr.. Gibbs characterization Of an
excitabIe German physician very good.
Miss Mia Sykes, in the role Of Minerva, the
stralght-laced aunt. was acceptable.
Whoever wrote at the head of the pro-
gramme for ''McFadden's Row Of Flats"
which was given its first production in st.
Paul at the Grand last evening, that devo-
tees of Shakespeare would not accept it as
a play, had a strict regard for veracity. 1t is
not to be taken seriously. OF Townsends
book there is practically nothing, and the
only suggestion OF Outcalt's pictures is
found in Alex and George, the yellow
Kids AS to the play, 1t Is a nonsensical
thread of a story, upon which is strung
number of specialties, some good. more in
different and a few bad. The effect is aero
bate rather than Intellectual. At times it is
hard to tell whether the performance is q
drama or a game OF nine pins, so many
directions, and the actor has small part who
does not manage to fall down at least three
flights Of stairs during the course OF the
production. But there is plenty of fun of
rather broad kind. abundance Of action,
and some pretty costuming, and the people
who packed the theater liked it all and ap-
plauded the comedians, the specialties and
the musical numbers with equal enthusiasm.
OF the specialties, the best beyond ques-
ton is the funny sparring turn done by the
Speck brothers, who are seen as the yellow
Kids The act of the -Four Emperors of
Music" was clever. entertaining and in some
respects novel The dance by Charles Loder
was really good and deserving Of all the ap-
plause accorded. Aside from these the
specialties were below the average at the
Grand. The work of the three comedians,
Rich X. Mullen as McFadden, Mr.. Loder as
Baumgartner, and George Leslie, was clever
Of it's kind, and when all or any one Of them
held the boards something happened fire.
quently. OF the women, Mrs. Lizzie Conroy
was the only one who had anything in partic-
ular to do, and in the main her Mrs. Muir
ply was an effective bit Of character work
The others some pretty costumes and
danced little and sang a little and did
neither particularly we'll.
The company was late IN arriving but the
audience good-natured and waited
willingly until nearly o'clock for the cur
tain to rise. ttMcFaddens Row of Flats
will be repeated during the week with the
usue1 uatinees II n
-
The fourth concert of the season given by
Seibert's orchestra yesterday afternoon was
the most enjoyable one of the series. There
was greater variety in the programme, and
the work Of the orchestra was generally ex-
cel,ent. The string orchestra played a
bracket which met with an enthusiastic en-
core. 1t was perhaps the gem Of the pro-
gramme. The appearance OF two young la
dies added to the merits of the concert. Miss
Leonis Lienau, a young girl Of fourteen,
rendered piano solo. "Grande Polka de
Concerta," and pleased the audience so well
that they demanded another solo. Miss
Lienau puts good deal Of strength in her
playing, and her technique is good. She made
a most favorable impression on her audi
ence. Miss Edith Blanchard sang a solo.
Miss Blanchard has a sweet, clear soprano
voice. She sang "Salve Regina" and merit
ed the encore that followed The audiences
seem to show an increase with each success
siVe concert