New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-02
THE DRAMA.
MR.. ROBSON IN THE MEDDLrp /.

The calm effrontery Of the theatrical manages. l.
asking the public to come into their THEATRE
nights like these and to pay money for the priv,,o.
is equalled only by1 the serene compacency u,s
which the public acquiesces. New-York City I, ,nn
OF persons who would brave all the horror :.
climate. war and famine for the chance OF se.,..
the first performance of good play. They uo"s
also brave the nineteen chances in twenty nv
or less. OF Its turning out bad or an ndlSera..
play Persons of this dauntless character an.
Wallack's Theatre last night.
II was the opening night OF the season NJ a..
house. The play was new one by August
Thomas. called The Meddler." and the eaas'
actor was Stuart Robson Mr.. Robson has ~
something Of stranger to Broadway thea,r..
for a long time. and the audience was glad 70 90.
him. He IA surrounded by "A capable COMPANY a..
that fact was cheerfuuy recognized
II is clear that the author had easy tssk .
fitting Mr. Robson with play and part, nr,
Meddler' deals for the most part with serious ..s
tects and that too, In a serious manner 70, NJ,
Robson's part has the air Of farce. And there +, :,
kind OF seriousness about that. too. II Is the ,,.
of a man who takes IT upon himself to regulate ~
affairs OF his relatives and friends. They rean.
seem TO need n bit OF regulating. and Mr. Fr.,o.
ELS intentions are obviously sincere and d,reo..
by right motives so far the character Is a ser,o,
one and one which commands respect. But an..
LAYING "A boz. course Mr. Francis Ell l. ,in,d =
following IT, no tries to avoid doing jus, yha, ~
has made ms mind TO do; he tells l.es s,s
makes mista.es and gets himself into diffcul,,.
which are intended by the author and the actor >,
be comic. and the character becomes farcc.i
Thus Mr.. Robson and the person whom no rsn,.
sents have the air Of having strayed out O, q f,,o.
where they partly belong. into a drama where ,b.,
by no means belong. and where they are unco,'
forta BILE and make everybody else uncomfort,
There Is no reason why dramatic author sho,,s
guide himself by the conyentionaies OF any n,.
vious play or OF any number OF previous PLAYS -
he can produce good and consistent work uI,bon,
them. Nobody would quarrel with Mr. rhou..
for not writing a drama for no, writing a f,r,n
But the present work does not seem harmor,o,.
within itself and that is a just ground ~ oh,a.
ton. And there Is another. There is no cha,.
acter In the play for whom the audience feels an,
marked sympathy. Nobody has any but the ,rend
Hest feelings toward Francis Ell and neither 40.
anybody care enough about him to feel anxious 70,
the OF his acillating schemes. There Is IA
deep solicitude for the husband who devotes nj,
whole attention to misunderstanding his wife and
his friend nor Is there any for the wife herself o.
for any OF the three or four other women concerned
OF course, every feels a sort 81 sympathy with
every young and Innocent girl. especially II she 10
good-ooking but that belongs to the race. rattle,
than to the individual and a drama needs some
thing more than that.
Mr.. Robson's personality Is an amusing one. and
he communicates II to every character which 10
assumes on the stage. And because he always does
this he aid II on this occasion. Miss Marie Bun.
rough. gave personal grace 10 part which aska
for nothing else. So did the Misses Maude Grange
and Gertrude Perry John f.. Kellerd played The
part Of \ bad man who turned over new lea. at
the end with as much artistic complacency and ais,
as much reason ms II n had been the las, leaf Of
sunday hool book. The full cast follows:
stuart Rotsca
Mr. Chandar. j ohm F. Ksls.i
bancroft
Mr. shirlaW. novelist. sD'oIee fasn' oI
Ijerierson col,.sd .........W Walter pemlrs
Holland Bancrp,ts servant..............s = Whitoecf
James Oiphants servant........J Goodman Braye, ~
Mrs Porter hetrothed to Elt...... Mrs stuart Roos'a
wrs Oinhan, ....................M Miss Mauie Granger
pAs.ie flPs NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. Miss Gertrude PERI
Me- bancroft OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Miss Marie Burroughs