The times., 1898-01-16
THE STORY OF
"a LADY OF QUALITY.

The part of CIorinda Wildairs. in \
Lady of Quality is one of the most
difficult ever staged. Clorinda is a girl
who has been brought up as her fathers
companion, that father being one of
the roistering, hard-riding, hard drink
ing old blades of Queen Annes time III
England She is a spirited fearless.
merry y-hearted creature, full of life and
freedom, and her father has brought
her up in boys clothes. At sixteen she
bids farewell to her boyish girlhood and
becomes the belle of the county. While
yet hardly more than child she is
wronged by young villain, Sir John
Oxon, under promise of marriage and
discovering his real character. she
treats him with contempt. She is then
wooed by a man to whom her whole
heart goes out, who is in every way
worthy of woman's devotion. On the
very day of her betrOthaI to him Oxeu
returns. taunts her with the past. and
begs her to marry him, threatening, if
she does not. to tell her lover She
blindly strikes at him with a riding
whip which lies on the table. the load
ed handle strikes his temple and he
falls dead. Guests are momentariIv
expected, and she is forced to conceal
his body beneath a divan. and receive
the chattering and smiling people with
courtesy and calmness She afterward
confesSes 10 her husband the truth. and
endeavors with all her heart to make
reparation for the evil she has wrought.
1t VIII be easily seen that a charac-
ter such as this, daring, strong, excep-
t1onai. presents unusual obstacles to
the actress who undertakes it,, and
would, in fact, be impossible TO most
women. In the first act Clorinda ap-
pears in boys clothes at a feast given
by her father to his friends, on her six
teenth birthday. The chaplain of
neighboring castle, coming in with a
message, takes her for a boy In this
scene the actress must out-Rosalind
RoSalind; she must behave in such a
way as TO make the chaplain's impress
sion inevitable, yet never display traits
which will make the Acknowledgement
of her womanly character improbable
This Miss Arthur does. and at the end
of this scene. disappearing from the
room, she returns in the garb OF a
woman, and makes a picture never to
be forgotten. The second act takes
place in the famous rose-garden, where
Clorinda shows her contempt for the
despicable character of Oxon. In the
third and fourth acts the plot is de-
Veloped. and the climax is at the end OF
the fourth act in which the murder Oc-
ours. The fifth act is hardly more
than an epilOgue. and is very brief.
IN fact. the play might almost be call
ed a prologue, three acts, and an epi-
logue. The modern plan of ending with
a strong scene was never employed by
the old dramatists, who always brought
their plays To a climax during the
third or fourth act and added an after
scene to pick up the scattered threads
of the plot. That is the plan of this
play, and it is not only made necessary
by the action. but is effective as relief
from the intense emotional strain of
the other scenes.
The play has been dramatized by
Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett and |
Stephen Townsend. and was staged by |
Mr.. Maple Lothian, jr. who. until the |
of Mary Anderson from the /
stage was her stage director and as |
sisted in the production of The Win |
-er's Tale" in which Miss Anderson |
Won her greatest fame. The time of |
Queen Anne was one of gorgeous cos |
-umes. rich fabrics, and picturesque /
Lrehitec ure. Snd the G. S um as and fur i
of the time have been repro /
iuced with the utmost accuracy. The |
scene in the. rose garden is particular /
Y exquisite in it's effect, the nlolder-
ng dial, the terraces. and the roses
beautiful background for the
igures which move in the distance,
md the action of CIorinda and Sir John
)xon in the foreground.
The company includes many we'll
lnown actors, Mr.. Edwin Arden, the |
eading man, was last season leading
nan for William II. Crane and starred |
or several seasons in his own play
The Eagles Nest" Mr.. Scott Inglis |
vas last season leading man for Pot |
.er and Bellew: Mr.. George Woodward
vas leading man for Stuart Robson |
or several years; Mr.. Robert McWade |
Won favorable remembrance in rip |
Fan Winkle:" Mr.. Joseph Allen is from |
he Frohman company: Mr. Laurence (
diller. from Olga Nethersole's compa-
ly; Miss Florence Conron was last year
eading woman for Georgia Cayvan
ind Miss Ethel Knight Hollison
.as last year the heroine in THE Cher |
y Pickers.'
One remark which is to be found in
he notices of the advance man is es- |
ecially worth remembering. People
Who come late will not be seated dur |
ng the fencing scene at the beginning |
f the first act. If more actors would
nake such rule it would be good
hing. There is nothing much more |
rovoking than to find, during the |
reathless pause before the entrance {
f the star, an Opaque human body /,
btruding itself between ones eyes and
he stage. If people are not willing to |
AXE pains to be on time they should
e willing to stand at the back of the |
heater until their entrance will dis
urb no one.
Do you know that you can have