Evening star., 1899-04-04
AMUSEM ENTS.

qUet of complimentary epithets and throw
st at Mr. T. Daniel Frawley. But Mr.
Frawley himself forestalled such an enter
prise in a speech expressing his apprecia-
tion and at the same time admitting the
- that personal friendship may have
BASED the applause, which was bestowed
yfth such lavishness as to seem at times
deficient in discrimination. 1t is not sur
kTising that Mr. Frawley should have been
; little doubtful about accepting the per
cetual ovation as a cold-blooded, boX-of1lce
standard of measurement. But the en-
thusiasm which may have been to some
degree prompted by friendly prejudice was
sustained and justified by honest merit
1t was like family reunion. When Burr
Mcintosh came on the stage he was greet
ed with a round of applause, partly for
his own sake and partly for that of the
role he played. So it was throughout the
cast; If the audience was not on previous
appIauding terms with the actor it knew
the character he impersonated so well That
there was no need of waiting for fornaii-
ties. Before the first act was over the COM
pany had established itself as one of
Washington's institutions. 1t invites COM
pariSon with the most pretentiouS organ
iZations which have visited the city in
plays of this general character. There was
no point of positive weakness in the cast.
Mr.. John Kellerd was mindful of tradition
in his performance of Svengai, yet he gave
the character a certain dignity and SYM
pIthy which prevented Its conveying the
impression of mechanical imitation. 1t
was Svengali, the man of genius, as we'll
as the sinister devOtee of mysticism AL
fred Hickman has been seen often here,
but never to such advantage as In Little
Billy. In the hands of Burr Mcintosh Tafy
was himself again. and Myron Calice was
excellent in his portrayal of the Laird
His Scotch dialect was consistent and nat
ural without being unintelligible. Godfrey
Stein played Gecko with ability, and Mrs.
Castor as Rev. Thomas Bagot were dis
Greet and capable. And Mathlde Cottrelly
made the role of Madame Wizard stand out
with vital Importance. She has the faculty
of being interesting without seeming to
exert herself
"Trilby is admirably calculated to ex-
hiblt the resources of a company and the
second act brings all the members together
an the stage. There is probably one
who has not at some time been desirOus of
casting aside conventionality and induging
in Bohemian reVel The company affords
philanthropic facilities in this direction for
the Christmas eve festivities in the studio
are conducted with so much spontaneity
and spirit that the spectator becomes en-
tlreiy in sympathy with the occasion and
is enabled TO enjoy the sensation of high
jinks. conducted with entire discretion by
proxy 1t was in this scene that George
Trader made strong and highly humorous
impression as the mercuria ZouZon. MIR.
Percy Leech. as one of the art students
did the comparatively little which fell TO
his share. with animation and Intelligence
which promise efficiency when greater
responsibilities present themselves Mr.
Frank Mathien ''Dedor'' was good. and
MI Thomas Phillips, Miss Adora Andrews
Miss Alice Pixley, Miss Marie Barringer
and Miss Corinne Parker all played the
minor characters with a Vivacity which
suggested that there is material in hand
waiting on that elusive theatric quantity
the opportunity The title role of the play,
While not of crucial significance in deter
a. "a prfn
CURES TO be We'll played and Miss Mary
Van Buren adapted herself to it with a
1aclilty and grace which mark her as an
actress of superior accomplishments
Irliby familiar as it is delighted the
audience and gave assurance that the
Frawley company is to submit the often
:. cu<Ssa ana much-desired experiment of
a hrst-class permanent organization in this
City to Il practical and Intelligent test.
LAFAYETTE SQUARE THEATER
Mr.. George W. Lederer of the New York
casino begs to present his stock opera
company, headed by Lillian Russell. ac-
Gompanied by Thomas O. Seabr coke and
Edna Wallace Hopper in Jacques often
bacAs opera bOuffe, La Belle Helene
adapted by Louis Harrison" This formal
and lengthy announcement at the ton of
the program at the Lafayette Square The
ateF last night contained the promise of
pleasure To all but the few initiated music
lovers among the many people gathered
there. To the discerning ones the coupling
VI IlLt i4tIIt DI Louis Harrison addprGr
with the production was pregnant with dis
appointment. and the end justified the ex-
pectauOn- La Belle Helene was seen to
be no longer the beautiful creation of Of
fenbach, master of opera bouffe, but the
denizen of Tenderloin precincts
As consequence of the fncongruous
union of Harrisonian "chlmpanzee dia-
lOgue'' and Offentachian comic motive the
performance failed of success Aside
from this and the consideration of
Miss Russell in the title role the adapta-
ton Was made for no other purpose ap-
parently, than to take advantage of Greek
costume and cust~m-
Miss Russell as Helene was certainly not
less attractive than she was when last
here, but, evidently piqued by the audi
ence's GOODNESS. she snapped out her lines
sung her music without animation and de-
Hberately denied an encore to applause
which she thought insufficient in volume or
heartiness.
Ferris Hartman, as the sleepy. seniIe
king. gave character delineation that was
consistent in every point and lifted him
far above the level of Seabrooke His top
ical song. Il Arrived On Time To Get It.
was grUteSqueiy rendered and gained sin
cere applause Mr.. SeabrOOke, as Calchas,
has a c0ngenial role and he extracts its
full comic value His That Is Fate was
one of the few hits of the evening. Joseph
c. Miron. the weli-knOwn basso, was in
splendid voice and sang Agamemnon as
only he can. Mr.. Philip was a handsome
Paris. W. W. Black and Sol Solomon, as
the AjaXes, were Gases of fun in the desert
of deSpond
Mrs. Hopper. as Orestes, the son of Aga
memnOn, went the limit of proper costume.
or, to put it another way, was almost truly
GreC.an in Ter youths attire. Miss Vashti
Earls. Miss lima Pratt and Miss Evelyn
NewmaN complete the femme part of the
cast. ESe chorus is large and musical.
The scenery is handsome.
NEW NATIONAL THEATER-In play
Of more serious pretcnsiOnS than any he
has heretofore attempted Mr.. Nat Goodwin
proved winl.er last night at the New Ma
tiOnEl Theater- Large audiences are not
novelty at this playhouse. Last nights
however, was wonder In many respects
Before O'Clock every seat had been sold
and there was not chair to be had in the
big auditorium. Boxes and galleries were
filed Many ladies preferred to stand
rather than be disappointed or come later
in the week. Hundreds of others were nee
essarily turned away. This magnificent re-
c6ption must have been very edifying to
Mr. Goodwin and his wife. Miss Maxine FL
lott who shares with him the large type
of the billboard poster, as well as the hon
ors gained in the performance of Clyde
Fitchs Nathan Hale the historical
drama written about this welI-beloved char
acter OF the revolution. After seeing this
Nathan Hale in the parsonage OF Mr. Good
win one feels hesitancy in speaking of