The times., 1899-01-10
AT THE THEATRES.
Lafaycttc-"TEc village Postmns


If any person with a misery disposition
and good imagination sat in the audit
torium of the Lafayette Square Opera
House last night before The curtain rose
on The Village Postmaster" and if that
person devoted any of his spare time to
reading over the programme given out he
must have grown very sorry that he didn't
stop in the lobby with the printed infor-
nation instead of paying for an entrance
check Manager Rosenquest has provided 4
bill for his entertainment that not only
tells the story of the play in advance but
details the characteristics of the people
engaged in evolving it and republishes
nearly all the favorable criticisms his Of
fering received while in New YoTh-quite
good many, by the way. To a critic
whose paper went to press early such an
announcement would be invaluable. But
the aforesaid miserly theatre goer must
have felt decidedly at variance with him
self until the comedy had progressed far
enough to show him how little its plot
had to do with the enjoyment afforded
The theme of The Village Postmaster
and the manner in which it is worked out
proves TO be not only the smallest but the
weakest portion of the presentation
Authors Alice Ives and jerome Eddy evi-
IDENTIFY thought little of it, for they had no
! hesitation in leaving it entirely alone for
half hours at a time when something else
came into their minds. In doing this both
were perfectly right. for the tale is a
hackneyed one, told in hackneyed way
and in lines that could not be made to
sound original if they were recited by a
! two o-day-old baby. The effort possesses a
beautifully sympathetic love story and that
is all. unless one cares to count the usual
wronged girl, the eternal betrayer and
such melodramatic claptrap as the scene
in which this bad man suddenly decides
| to throw his rival into a threshing ma
chine and creates a veTitable panic by his
failure TO do so.
The really enjoyable part of the piece
the amusing episodes-tbe pathetic bits
come from the wonderful skill both writer's
, have shown in drawing their characters
and in giving their product an atmos-
, phere as fresh and as true as that which
one might expect in the country they have
depicted Denman Thompson was reared
I in New Hampshire and his drama tells
of the people he knew and of the habits
that had been his-Jerome Eddy was a
New Hampshire boy and his work de-
scribes the same people and the same
habits with infinitely greater fidelity than
! his competitor ever showed For The
Village Postmaster is Il more entertain
| ing offering than is THE Old Homestead
! because its events are more real and more
typical than those of Mr. ThomDson's
play just it is not so artistic a pre-
sentation as is Shore Acres" because its
/ story is neither so strong nor so coherent
as that of Mr.. Hernes masterpiece.
But the creations to which Mr.. Eddy
. and his collaboration introduce one are as
genuine and as picturesque as possible.
Even the manner in which the cast ex-
aSgerates them cannot hide their verify
and their faithfulness. There are any
number OF comedy flashes that cannot be
too highly estimated. though some of
+ thenl-as in the case OF the bad boy-are
carried to excess. Then there are several
touches of sympathetic humanity and a
, spectacular element that begins with a
rain storm of real water and only ends
when in the third act. The cast retires
10 give 4 gray horse the centre of the
stage and yells at the top of It's collective
voice that it may be heard above the noise
of a threshing machine In general the
offering is delightfully."- simple and simply
I delightful. Without either the powder OF
Way Down East or the mapdlin sensa-
tionalism of Blue Jeans. it reaches an
average of purity and quaintness that can
do nothing else than please.
The cast, as a whole. has one defect that
is serious in so rural a work as The VII
lage Postmaster" 1t has not yet become
thoroughly familiar with ts dialect nor
with the atmosphere OF the work, and not
=
but gives the impression of acting con-
stantly. From an individual point of view
the company is n fine one. and furnishes
many excellent character bits. That YER
satile and excellent actor, Frank Nor
daunt. puts endless personality-personali
ty of part instead of self-inro the title role
and makes it stand out just as strongly as
did his Baron in Diplomacy" a more
/ able creation has not been seen here re
Gently. George Ober, whose impersona-
tions in What Happened to Jones' and
THAT Man cannot have been forgotten,
combines with Richard Nesmith to give
two delicately and deiciOusly humorous
/ bits of work. while Eugene Powers does
Just well in a smaller way. W. II. Pas
coe. once Legitimate" actor makes a
manly and prep0ssessing lover, Frank Ly-
man an unusual villain. Dan Collyer a re-
markably life-like bad boy. and Robert
! Sinclair does a small par; creditably OF
! the women, Mabel Eaton deserves first at
| tention. While bad cold prevented her
| using her voice to the best advantage last
night, she is notably good, and contributes
| greatly 10 the strength OF the last act.
| Maude Monroe is a smpering but prettily
| pleasing beloved. Agnes Farnum and Wv
| ian Townsend are interesting soubrettes
| Jennie Weathersby and Ada Levick are
| convincing in character roles, and Annie
! Buckley-she of Sister Mary James Top
/ Note makes a great hit with a good part
| 4 village band stands Contentedly in the
rain storm of real water. and the choir
I sings bravely TO the accompaniment OF an
! old-fashIoned organ.
Observation-Disclosures and DocLstnder's
!