Evening star., 1898-06-14
AMUsEMENTs.

4
| pany good? The first can be answered
affirmativey without reservation, and the
| other with the statement that the audience
| seemed pleased encored frequently and sat
| contentedly till the last note sounded from
| the orchestra. The theater was bower-hke
| in appearance. The lobby was rendered in
| viting by clumps of palms, ferns and fresh'
| green, plants. Inside electric fans, hidden
| among ferns, sent swirling currents from
! the proscenium arches toward the audience,
and from the balcony ceiling great fans
| cooled the air. so that inside the audito-
rum was more bearable than outside In
| the still, hot night A large audience was
| present, and the manifestations of pleas
| ure were frequent and abundant enough to
| satisfy the artists. Emphatic hits were
made by Miss Carlotta Gilman, the pr1ma
donna: Adolph Mayer, Arthur Tempest and
| Miss Cee Ellis. Taken a whole. the
| company gave remarkably smooth first
night renditions of "Pinafore'' and "Caval-
| leria,' and there is every promise of sat
| isfactory and profitable season. An unusual
feature of the evening was the applause
| bestowed upon the director, Josa Van Den
! Berg, whose handling of the orchestra and
| chorus in the difficult passages of "Caval-
| leria'' was remarkably fine. The chorus,
| which it's feminine side is attractive,
was large and sang with force and pre-
| cision.
| "Pmafore" somewhat modernized was the
| opening bill, and the first act was received
| rather coldly, the artists have little
| chance to show their quality. More warmth
| of appreciation on the part of the specta-
| tors and less nervousness and difhdence by
| the payers lifted the second act to the
! level of success. Miss Gilman was a pleas
| ing Josephine. Miss Ellis good, if a
| trife too coarse, Buttercup Miss Hart
| was passable but not pretty Hebe. Ad-
| olph Mayer was very good as Captain Cor
| coran. Arthur Tempest made a handsome
| Boatsw ain and was cheered as he tied a
| red, white and blue handkerchief around
| his neck after singing He is an English
man. The chorus rendered efficient aid.
The surprise of the evening came as the
performance Of "Cavalleria' progressed.
| 1t seemed as II entirely new company
was giving it. Every singer fitted his part
| in makeup and voice. The chorus let out
| their voices, the orchestra unloosed new
| tones from their instruments, and the di-
rector led and commanded the whole with
the air of general winning a victory. All
| the weird, wild. romantic coloring of Mas
cagnts opera was brought out vividly and
pleasingly. Encores followed nearly every
| number and the audience forgot to keep cool
| in showing their appreciation of the work
| of everybody. Miss Gilman as Santuzza
| was exceptionally good. She has strong,
| dramatic voice, we'll trained and liquid in
quality. She uses 1t discreetly. sometimes
however. failing to enunciate clearly as
she should. Her acting in this role was
most natural and by far the best given in
this city during summer opera seasons.
The costumes of the company were new
and effective. The scenery was appropriate,
and in every detail the purpose to give Il
complete and popular performance was evil
dent and deserves appreciation. Next week
The Grand Duchess will be given.
COLUMBIA THEATER-Last night the
Columbia Theater stock company got out of
thu beaten track, and the audience found
the excursion interesting and refreshing.
Won at Last" is one of the pieces upon
which the dust of years has been allowed
to accumulate. 1t has been shelv.d to make
room for some material that is better and
great deal that Is not so good. Despite its
somewhat conventional title and its tradi-
tonal methods of developing situations, the
play is powerful one. 1t Is forceful re-
hinder Of the extreme idealistic tempera-
ment of its author, Steele Mackaye, whose
successful plays are less fitting memorials
of his genius than the records of his
strange, stupendous projects which failed.
The lighter phases OF human existence and
its problems would have but little attrac-
ton for writer of Mackaye's tempera-
ment. won at Last must be classified as
comedy, because the misunderstanding
are not allowed to work out to a conclusion
OF sadness, they easily might Yet life
is often considered in its serious aspect, and
the touches Of tenderness are more potent
than the sallies of fun. Miss Maud Haslam
plays the part of the girl who discovers or
her wedding day that the husband whom
she ldollzes Is a scoffer at sentiment; that
he has married her for reasons of social
convenience. and not because of love. These
facts are rected by the husband (Mr Will
lam 1ngersolD in her hearing and an es-
arrangement follows. which is heightened by
the appearance of an old flame of his and
an old lover of hers at inopportune mo-
ments. 1t is the Introduction Of these char
acterS that causes the plot to become some
what mechanical toward the close of the
play. But the cleverness and spirit with
which thu characters are Interpreted causes
the disposition to force events into accord
ance with picturesque requirements to be
obscured by excellence in more important
n
pleased and astonshed his admirers by the
FACILITY with which he elected laughter
Last night he delighted his audience by the
laughs he did not provoke. He gave the
character OF the gentle. unworldly scientist
an atmosphere of delicacy and sincerity
which preserved all It's humor without sac
rif1cing Its dignity. Miss HasIam and Mr.
lngersoll were intelligent and dramatically
effective in all they did. Under all the cir
cumstances it would be sheer captiousness
TO ask for more gracefully blase man or
a more Winsome or womanly heroine than
the stock company's leading man and lead
ing woman. respectively. The less respon-
sibie characters were assumed in manner
which reflected great credit upon the vari-
Gus members of the organization.
CHIMES OF NORMANDY-Last even
Ing the Parry Opera Company inaugurated
IT'S third week of the summer season at
Glen Echo by presenting the charming
light opera, The Chimes of Normandy"
Inc threatening weather had some effect
on the attendance, though the large am
phitheater contained number of specta-
tors. The presentation of the light opera
was very successful, and thoroughly en-
1oyed by the audience, which was liberal
In Its applause. One thing especially
noticeable was the excellent chorus work.
This feature showed clearly that the COM
pany Is now in thorough working order
and the splendid support given the leading
characters was commented upon by many
Indeed, so much was this so that a number
OF the tuneful choruses were Obliged to be
repeated owing to encores.
The cast is well made up, and every char
acter shows up strongly. Viola d 'Armon.
as Germaine, the lost warehouses is es-
pectally interesting, her solo work being of
high order. Allene Crater, as Serpolette,
the good for nothing. piquant and viva
cious, just the reverse of Germaine sings
her score in a fine manner. and her acting
is of the same order. Her rise to the ranks
of nobility, and her decline in the third act
are well portrayed.
The acting of Frank Deshon who as
sumes the part of Gaspard, the miser, is of
exceedingly high order, and clearly shows
the range Of acting of the comedian, whose
appearance was successful in 1.-The
Mikado" and in "Olivette." AS the aged
and decrepit skinfiint he carried his part to
perfection, and 80 realistic was his por-
trayal that at the end of the second act
when he Is surprised in the ghost scene In