The herald., 1898-04-19
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At THE THEHTER
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; other productions in the same line They
have not all been equally fortunate in cap
, turing public applause, and indeed there
is little reason to fear that surfeit of
, such plays will be offered. 1t was bril-
liant stroke made by the young author
when he took the Chinatown of San
Francisco for the locality of his drama
and made the strange people there, with
their Oriental manners and customs, the
subject of his work, and weaved out of
their lives a tale which showed them to be
Influenced by those passions of the human
race which we are too ready to imagine
Iare confined to Occidental civilization
'The First Born is, in effect a tragedy
Iof every day life; it is somber and chill
ing, with nothing to counteract the nflu-
ence of it's pessimistic note; it is written
in minor key, the coloring and the at
mosphere are both gray, deepening into
gloom. And. in spite of all this, which
might appear repellant, there Is the fact
that the universal chord of humanity Is
made to vibrate through the action, so
that sympathy Is excited for the father
in the loss of his wife and then of his child
pity is aroused for the poor bond-woman, n,
and the killing of the man who has been
the cause of the misery all around seems
a justifiable vengeance brought upon him
by his own crimes against the universal
laws which govern and protect the race.
The fact that such feelings Of sympathy
may be stirred by drama offered in the
lguise of the people of an alien race, whose
manners and customs have always been
matters Of ridicule rather than of admira-
tion, speaks strongly not only for the
little play, but also for the players in it.
1t is no small task for the average theater-
goer, and he Is the person to be consid-
cred, to sit down calmly and attend to the
working out of a story of domestic inter-
est which concerns only the people of a
nation which he has been in the habit of
regarding as barbarous, or at most semi
civilized, rude, bigoted, suparsttious and
uncanny In every sense. So much depends
upon the point Of view. The story of ''The
First Born translated into another coun-
try with whose civilization we are in closer
touch could not fail to succeed in produc-
1ing the desired effect. 1t Is a great tri-
umph, therefore, when the story compels
sympathy and some amount Of admira-
tion when given in it's present guse and
environment.
The acting last night was admirably
suited to the demands of the piece Mr.
Fanning as the father of the unfortunate
child, really distinguished himself, while
Mr. Osbourne as the highly educated and
much respected physician, made strik-
ing character representation. Mr.. Nlcol-
son as the pipe-mender, had the genuine
Mongolian atmosphere as much as any
1
as the nurse, and Miss Howe as the wife
were both effective, but the principal part
or the work on the feminine side fell to
Miss Gertrude Tidball who was the bond
woman in the case. She made heroic
sacrifice of her good looks in order to look
attractive in the Chinese way, and played
her part with great tact and dscrimina-
ton, the naturalness of it and the way
in which the character was thoroughly
| sustained adding greatly to the success of
the representation. Her little song went
capitally.
| The staging was excellent, the realism
Of the scene being helped by the introduce
ton of lot of Cinnamon of the genuine
kind, also of Chinese music, with its thrill
ing and soul-stirring effects, and a rag
picker whose appearance was so realistic
that he got several rounds Of applause
without saying word.
1.-THE First Born" is the thing to see, but
ut is not to laugh" as the Frenchman
says in the farce-comedy. There is plenty
to laugh at, however, in the piece which
precedes It, so that the evening can be
put in very profitably
LOS ANGELES THEATER.-The house
was crowded last night to welcome James
J. Corbett, who takes the leading part in
"A Naval Cadet" which Is one Of those
crudely constructed and wonderfully sur
prising pieces with plenty of exciting Incl
dents, several black-hearted scoundrels,
prosecuted wife and a pretty ingenue,
which form the stock combination of the
successful melodrama. The fact that
gentleman of Mr.. Corbett's flstic prowess
has been induced to quit, If only tempo
rarily, the practice Of his profession in or
der to grace the Thespian boards Is a mat
ter that excites profitable curiosity on the
part of the public-profitable, that Is, to
Manager Brady, the other managers, and
all concerned.
the ring "makes good" as an actor, which
is saying a great deal. He has a nice,
frank. easy, breezy way with him; is evil
IDENTIFY free from stage fright, and has
learned quite a few OF the stage devices
that are common to the actors of such
parts as that he assumes. He Is not only
quick in his movements, which might be
expected, but he has a certain grace which
comes from his fine physical training and
shows him to advantage, even in an every
day costume. Naturally, he has nearly all
the "fat" lines Of the piece, and there are
plenty of them. A few fall to the share
of Millie James, who is a quaint little
"prairie flower" as she is called on the bill.
She secured instant favor with the audi
ence and indeed the audience was entirely
appreciative throughout. When the viii
lains-there had to be several of them. one
would not be a meal for James J.-When
they conspired in the shiniest of silk
hats and the incest Of clothes and the "ad-
ventures appeared in the swellest of
fluffy costumes and the biggest kind of
chapeau with a mountain of feathers on
1t, the audineoe held its breath with ad-
miration and then let loose In bursts of
applause. Mr.. Corbett performs here to-
night and again tomorrow night. He win
no doubt attract big houses.
O o O
ORPHEUM.-There IL the usual attrac-
tive program this week. Some of the stars
of last week remain and shine with fresh
luster, while the new performers all do
capital turns and were warmly received
by the large audience. John w. West
with new songs and dances, opened the
bill, followed by the English team, Athas
and Collins, the former of whom does some
even more eccentric somersaults than be-
fore. The black-face comedians, Mont
gomery and Stone. are booked for another
week Of success. and McCale and Daniels
have plenty of friends, though their work
Is decidedly of the rough-and- d-tumble vari-
ETY..
The much heralded danseuse, Catherine
Bartho, would be better were she sur
rounded by a ballet, although the comely
young woman can well hold the attention
Of the house. Her dancing last night was
however. heavily handicapped by the ex-
ccrable accompaniment of the orchestra.
and madamoiselle did not conceal her dis
pleasure.