The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-14
ACTORS IN NEW PLAYS.
oIEpER WORK IN non, SUslNEAHi"
mi "W1Y Down EAST"

josephine Hail In "Oh, Susannahr' 10 most OF
the time like q blended clown ana pantaloon
in q pantomime. She pulls mugs and docs
ptunts like tho clown, and abe gots Knocked
about like the pantaloon. Miss Hall has an
| elastic face. It Is pretty when she let's 1t alone
and ugly when she makes hor muscles distort
it. She is 1.-the and spry and able TO render her
| activity erotesque. These abilities In low
comedy arc rare in a young and comely wo-
man. They equip her adequately TO treat the
FUN of her present role at Hoyt's with all the vlo-
! lonco which its nature demands. The humor
of aurora diminishes so soon as she believes
she is really to marry her adored employer and
prepares herself for tho nj The old-fash-
toned dress which sho puts on Is quaint and uu'
usual, and some Of her opportunities arc enough
to afford real fun; but tho improbability Of the
situation becomes too apparent. doubtless
this was meant by the authors as merely an I'M
important episode, AZ the role Of aurora must
have been before 1t was elaborated for tho sake
Of tho London actress who was to play the
slavey. The twist which was eiven to the farce
Is discernible. Tho staid old lady who 10 put
into the bathtub, after abe has beon Quilted and
jostled, and 10 finally thrown into tho street,
makes It clear that an extension Of "Char-
ley's Aunt was the irstides Of this faroe, with
its anL adjustment, through her Kindness, 81
tho troubles Of the young wife The main
theme ihs91s,s etI oh f %sS;.sn9 Rss.r, ws' S Ss.,iSily , sIn
liant thought Of Miss Haii-who used 70 81 plain
Josie IN her ,"Eyanseline" deys-loa ths
i inTsS aSssSf' o % aini10 g. 1a sfors % eo con BiiiSaI
the purpose and shs old fsvor Of the intrigue
Miss Hall plays. It. Lolita Grebtree psed (. DO
the same kind Of acting az Diokens's Morohion.
f fss; r iMismoSs{l , - o r @Ss'f Ia. o. se Salo cut t' Of : .isss
t tspIIs enough Mate to be %, noG sssrsfsr. fO Si.Srr sna n NIX
| fha aasarffnn thok Mtpa Hall Ia anita fha annnl
don slevey. The more famous actress was
q Il Ter own and sho was q SproScicntt IN The tricks
Enslish v servant sir i possesses those gifts and
accomplishments Of mirth, and. besides, com;
mSnd1 an aS emotional pGTsr y which J Ha,t the S other tha
girls. lovesick antics, have thrown the speota-
tors into, uproarious laughter, she turns like .
IN haS slang E@ h and ie declares s't that sSe's viii 1T "sRtT S u
With them" The outbreak Is no less absurd
SO heartfelt that the laughing stops on the in.
slant, and. upon her exit enthusiastic applause
brings her back.
1t looks In ooh. Susannahi' as though Fritz
Willlams's pathetic air Of complete hopeless.
ness were his most valuable comic possession.
He shows this to particular advantage when,
under the accumulation Of his troubles, he IL
about to succumb. Every time heleavcs the scene
IL . IL III uIuubluB eApE'5biOn VI ulbbIcbop uuu
there is no other note in his acting Of the per-
picked hero which is half SO funny. The ''Char-
ley's Aunt idea has chung to the stage with
singular perslstenoy, and 1t is evidently appreoi- |
ated still more in London than here. Whatever Its |
origin may havesbeen theidea is highly English. |
Other nations have laughed long and heartily
at that farce, but none has taken 1t to its bos-
ON with the Same enthusiasm. Marion Lester
gives a good idea Of q typo that Is much exag-
gerated. Fritz WIliams's agility and case
make him an admirable actor in tho French and
German fatces. and the particular pathos of his
attitude at some times suits excellently the
later scenes of the farce. Alfred Hickman,
who has lost flesh alarmingly since he appeared |
In '~'Trilby,' gives a touch Of character to tho
role Of n fop. But the pulchritude oE.his Little
BLilee days seems to be a thing 9f the past
ire Of the stage deal with the mistake made
Riis az aunt Is a male friend o. his disguised in a1 or.
der to deceive him. The real aunt is to arrive
nephew. who has never seen her, pokes her in
the ribs; chreks her under the chin. and com.
S ons q II. the h t,sa co. Ms In i the sooond a SS . sSs r%esu nes
s%s;iI to lake H. a i bath; rod The d e. il S SRsn and t +.
carnatinR the nephew, turns on tho water,
which flows eon,yincinEly: When tho door Is
makes one trembie for what the result may BE-
when Mr.. Williams decides to come out Of the
o 6SsG , Da,r But By he appears IN a . dressing SIN cow
arrived. and no Is nervous; Still mistakinG her
for his disguised friend, he carries her to the
way is her appearance In the last act. Her
clothes have been sent down to dry. So she ap-
head she puts u red fez. for no other purpose ap.
parcntly than to be mistaken for her nephew by |
the story of her treatment, and is so well salts
fed by the explanation that the solution. which
looked quite impossible. is finally reached.
In tho snowstorm in ".WayDown East the |
flakes do not fall upon the whole stage, which |
is set to show a rustic kitchen, but are driven
by and against the small square panes Of O |
window. In oil its corners the window frame
shows tiny drifts of the snow. The flakes do
not fiutter laZily down. but arc wind.driven In
slanting lines. Tho faint rattle of sleet against |
the glass and the whistle of wind outdoors arc |
accurately reproduced. Tho effect Is such that
the snow on those who come in is like powder, |
and can readily be busted Off. No flakes mingle
with the hot headed hero's locks and refuse to |
melt. The heroine is not obliged. as she raises |
her eyes in supplication, to unsettle tho balance
that bits Of white paper maintain on the tip of |
her nose. All suoh uncomfortable evidence of
unreality ia swept away. 1t 70 seen through |
a question, however, If Phoebe Davies couldn't
encounter misplaced snownakes and villain,
Gus persecution at one ana tho same time and |
s the pays ia fasa aSunds sna SSsh,aSsHf I: sf hsR %sn ss sb ha
are presented, and is rather tho unfortunate
hero!no Of mslodrsma: From the first sight Of
follow scenes in which. tho hero pleads lbs
hearts cause. and which she feels Il her duty
she cannot be any mans wife. Then the VII.
lain has his dislionorable offers spurnod. These
incidents, would DO con intentionally melo.
dramatic hut for the actresses deft treatment Of
them, In IL is not one rantlng speech, and even
hor discontinue of her prosecutor Is accom-
plished with quiet intensity that nightly brings
her several recalls, She 70 fearful, rather than
demand with such of her hearers as are at all
quick in their sympathy with distressed hero
ines. |
A good bit of acting is done In Way Down
East by Odell Williams. He IL a harsh father
when his purposes are crossed and a jovial old
chap at other times. Neither by the parts In
which this actor has been seen recently nor by
nature Is he happily QUILTED for the portrayal 4