The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-26
THREE NEW PLAYS ACTED.
THE WORKS OF H. y. EsMOND, CLYDE
FITCH AND n. 4. BARNET.

Charles Frobman's Empire Company He
Gin, its Winter Season in my Lady's
Lord"-The Goodwins in "The Cowboy
and tho Lady''-AKnowlesC Cast In Three
Little Lambs'' - schwcighofer's Debut.
Christmas brought three new plays to Broad
vay theatres. Tho one with which Charles
Frohman's company began its winter season
at the Empire was more peculiar than anything
wa have had on our stage In o long while. In
my Lady's Lord" the English dramatIst,
II. V. Esmond. had let himself 90 fancy free
, and he had found an American manager
willing to indulge him In his whimsicality.
The starting point. that OF lifting young man
out OF conventional. prosaic life and drop
ming him into distant place OF the in
tensost romance. was not unusual Ia
modern fiction. We had had It in many
books and plays between Mr.. Gunter's
'Mr. Barnes OF New York" and Mr.. Hopes
Rupert OF Hentzau." All those tales Of adj
yenturous fellows had been uttermost melo-
dramas when put on the stage But Mr.. Es-
monds comp position was comedy. probably.
though It had spells OF farce and others OF
something akin to satirical travesty OF ro-
nance The story IL told was that JACK Martin.
aLondon lawyer. saw Lady Doura in Hyde
Park. loved her at sight followed
her TO her castle In yasungia. found that she
was unwillinely betrothed to a prince. took his
altar was denied access by her afterward de-
Tended her vigorously against abduction. thus
won her heart. and hnally started TO- England
with her on q wedding journey. There
were reminders OF Don Cnsar do Baznn'
In the proud lady's sudden marriage to a
stranger with whom she had no thought OF
consorting. and OF The Tanning OF the Shrew"
IN her subsequent surrender to him. But In
this latest telling OF a story OF courtship after
,N,,, l..o -. t H.
originality Some OF the particulars were as
fantastic as a fairy legend and some we're as
grim'y realistic as a news account OF mortal
combat There was incongruity In tho un-
blended use OF the different materials. and
few Of them failed OF effect deservcdly.
while others missed comprehension through
their strnngeness and not through worthless
ness. But there was no such uncertainty or
misunderstanding hero as had been no.
t.ecd IN tho Philadelphia reviews. which
said that tho purport OF the piece was not dis
eernable. Much may have been changed in
the text and the acting before last night. The
authors meanings were then obvious
enough, though capriclous. They were
obscured little by his lack OF per.
tpicuty and symmetry. but none OF them
was so vague as to be puzzllng to any
but dull or inattentive person. He had
aimed at outdolng the modern romanticsm
by carrying II beyond its previous limit into a
hurlesque. He had hit his target In the bulls
eye.
Tho action was all in the mythical vasungia
within single day and night. The fellow who
followed the lady there was a matter-of-fact.
every day chan. who sang the 'Oh, Eliza"
coster ditty to cheer himself up. used London
slang In his ardent wooing. but was downright
earnest in his love. William Faversham played
him 10 the same manner OF commonplace man.
illness. The lady was vertable princess OF the
lo!test and haughtiest kind known to fiction
until she capitulated at length to the ardent
mastery OF her accidental husband. obeyed his
repeated request to pack her things. and started
with him. to the tune OF "Oh. Eliza" to be his
housewife in London fat She was
enacted felicltously by Jessie Millward.
with n grand manner OF romanticlsm touched
delicately and delicously by travesty Hers
was sepsrksSIy happy GsTtoss%Sncs , Be,
TSsrs and the end 0a haE'
.ns bsss s sSa smR sysss.
these were given to buriesaue antics There aT
were court ln,rlrnes IN the me old comedy
and ' assEs s Df HsHsrd Ra'Sa sis$sns q
Ss ssi s9Ws Ss.os Sno f1 as%
while waiting around There was outrieht
melodrama In sound 6ght by Mr.. Faversham
g gwen Win al o sHH
odd Ssong,omsrste but ip5 d3m =, T. IL
%s sort Hle p h but dong 50 It
will be In Itself a peculiar and positive success.
The abilities OF Clyde Fitch and " c. Good
win have been brought together again. The
best that the author and the actor could do In
avid Western play was offered in The Cow
boy and the Lady" at the Knickerboeker last
night. These men are positively clever.
and nothing that they attempt Jointly
can fail through weakness. Blu:
there may be faults OF strength,
and OF these the writing and the acting in the
new Fitch piece show too many. The depletion
Of life at the Colorado edge OF civilization. II
sincere. was bound to be impolite in some re-
spects. and perhaps 1t had to include drunk
ards. gamblers and social outcasts. but II Mr.
Goodwin ever presents these pictures to q
modsh audience In Denver. Pueblo or Colorado
Springs they will raise either resentment OF
ridcule, according to the temper OF the people
The Characterization runs into caricature
breeziness into absurdity and romance into
nonsense. Perhaps IL Is not possible to transfer
the charm Of Bret Harte's fiction from print
10 thu stage. Anyway. IL has never been ac-
complished. His places OF drinking and
gaming. as he describes them. are the resorts
OF agreeable lawbreakers. but when shown In
atheatre they are no more than groggeres and
faro dens for loafers and sots. Imagination
may idealize such things. but true representa-
ton cannot so II Ia that the attempt to
do a Bret Harte kind OF thing mis-.
carried in Mr.. Fitch's hands. and the
play. instead Of being distinctly above
the ordinary stun oi the od-style dime
novel and the current Bowery under melo-
drama. Ia almost altogether down TO theiI
level This failure by the author to realize his
expectations may have saddehed him. as he
writes with an ambitious pen; and Mr
Goodwin may have been chagrlned by
the acceptance OF his heroics In
spirit Of mockery only; but II must moi
be inferred that last nights audience
lacked entertainment The people laughed al
the gaucheres. WINGED only little at the pro-
ianity, and generally enjoyed the utterly In
consequential and unimpresslve matter sc