The San Francisco call., 1898-03-15

little bit probable. This time Mrs. Ryley gives us g. young Tom and Betty, whose engagement must be kept secret in order not to offend his grand mamma, upon whom their prospects depend. Betty and her sister, Julla, are living at a hotel in New Jersey and, presumably to secure certain amount of liberty, Betty has registered as Mrs. Solomon Bugle, name Which she and Tom have agreed upon.
 Without going into the details aris- ing from visit in the night to Bettys apartments by her cousin Allan and her subsequent inability to account 10 Tom for the absence of doorkey, which Allan has carried off, 1t can De said that Tom is of frightfully jeal- ous disposition, and that the right cir cumstances might almost justify his suspicious. But it is in the arrange ment of such circumstances that the piece Is weak. Mrs. Ryley has not f1n- ished one scheme before she is head first into another, and has twisted and tangled the vital thread of farce and lost all the elements of surprise. When the play reaches a stage wherein you are asked to believe, in the most trust ful spirit of fun, that Tom believes that after all there is really a MT. Bugle and Betty has deceived him all along-well you can't see it for minute and the whole thing becomes clumsy make-be- lieve.
 And, of course, this loose manner of accounting for everything does not tend to give special sanity to the char acters. They are not those characters of real farce who are sent here, there, anywhere in a rush of plausible misad- venture. The actors of MT Bugie" have to resort to being funny of them selves. Even Joseph Holland, an ficf i'm, nd in his efforts to galvanize the part of Tom. In Betty Miss Gretchen Lyons is robbed of brilliant acting by the wild fluctuations of the role. Miss Winona Shannon can be only frankly silly as Sister Julia, and Lucius Henderson, at best an affected personality, is hardly of this earth as Cousin Allan.
 The one clever situation to which I alluded earlier is that in the first act, where Betty accounts to Tom for the cigar stump in her room by telling him that she has become an inveterate smoker T couldn't live without ci- gars," she says. Then I'll save your life'-and Tom sees to it that she smokes a good inch of one of his own perfectos.
 The ingenious indelicacy Is in the cheerful manner in which Tom and Allan settle it between themselves that Betty's MT. Bugle is their own house servant. ASHTON STEVENS.
 AlcaZaP.
 If 1t were allowable to descend into slang the expression to use regarding the presentation of '"The District Attorney" at the Alcazar would be that it tipped the hands" of the stock company of that theater. The whole company, or rather that part of it which is included in the cast, gave evidence of an ability that was surprise to old Alcazar goers. All did well-so well that one wondered why they slack work in other plays.
 The drama. 'The District Attorney" is one that permits strong action, and it can be said that no point was lost or weakened through q misconception on the part of any performer. Wright Huntington, in the title role, lost his Individuality or per haps, personality is the better word, to such an extent that he gave strong iden- tity to the part While the entire cas! is deserving of especial mention for excel lcrce, tlie individual work of William H.. pascoe Frank Pferson, Wallace Shaw as Mathew Brainard, and of Miss Ger trude Foster as Grace Brainaru. added strength to the presentation. Bryant's McGrath was the customary stage pOiti- cisn, and, as that, was we'll played, but it lacked little of the distinction of real i;y..
 Frank Denithorne as Wel.irGton Gridiey, made capital showings, and Miss Castro as Helen Knight in the third act gave evi- dence of real ability. Taken as q whole the rerIormance is a record for the little stock company.