The San Francisco call., 1899-08-15
OLD COMEDY IS
PRESENTED BY
THE FRAWLEYS
"Under Two Flags at
the AlCazar.
THE TIvOLI OFFERS "FIDELIO"
cELLIER's MERRY COMIC OPERA
WELL RENDERED.
The Columbia Repeats ''The Adven-
ture of Lady Ursula"-New Vau-
deville Features-Attrac-
tions Well Patronized.

"Glee, gIee, made a living thing-Nature.
in some frolic mood, shut up a merry devil
in her eye, and spiting art, stole joy S
brightest harmony to tnrill her laugh,
which peals out sorrows knell. Earth
seems to laugh that it made thing SO
glad This is Lady Gay Spanker, ana
Lady Gay Spanker is the pivot of Lon
don Assurance" a comedy still somewhat
lusty and vigorous at nearly three-score.
Not because of it's plot, for that lacks In
terest, but rather because of rapid ac-
ton, smart" dialogue and the possibility
of unlimited business" The shabby-gen-
teeI characters, most of them, have
noisy desire for pleasure and excitement
with no moments of collapse and inertia.
They are heartless and f1ippant, they nave
not serious thought, and the necessity
of living down TO the hard, even basis OF
their circumstances never lntrudes ilselI
into their experience.
Lady Gay Spanker is but lightly bal
anced on the edge of a rein, but nothing
could disturb her equilibrium by the
breadth of a feather. Her description OF
the most glorious run" that ever swept
over merry Englands green cheek, pc
loved of the elocutionist is her real IN
PRODUCTION TO the audience. Here one
gauges the ability of an actress TO play
the part Miss Bates, in her riding cos
tune, was quite a picture, ana her oeHV-
cry of the speech remarkably good II is
the best thing she has to do IN the play
and it is pity ii comes so soon. w heh
filed with the spirit of the chase Lazy
Cav is altogether charming. In her So
berer moments we find her little dull.
Lady Gay, / mean, not Miss bates, lor
she is never dull. She marries her Dolly
for ''freedom' but she never seems halL
so gay as her name In her horseX
moods she is charming, and suggests an
manner of possible escapades, but she
never lives up TO her first scene, ana we
should like the order OF things reVerseu, SEQ
Miss Rates. an excellent Lady Gay, was
weighted bv the rather slow movement or
the players as a whole Lohooh AsSuA-
ance'' should go with dash -,, ..
Grace Harkaway, sentimental lie ei9Tga gp2tlare re
hrea the" yet finding love an epidemic
madness Ointil she meets the right mani,
was fairly well played T res oy sfI5id MiSS nart d
in the comedy. and that it fell to her lot
is her misfortune. She looked picture
in the gown and hoops OF the per5ou peri "a alo ia
seemed quite at home in them, too. II rs IS
hard to resist the conclusion that had the
part been less stupid one might nave nave
omitted the fairly. Pert, whose me4lal
sfation is Indicated by her grammar, but
whose tongue is quite as witty as any
about her, and who dances quite gayly
given a quaint picturesque settng py
Miss Mould and fingers in the memory as
a rather more important part than 1t ls'
by reason of her good acting.
Max Harkaway, a plain man VINO
speaks his mind, the fox-hunting country
gentleman, the only character IN the play
with even a shadowy moral sense OF rectl-
tude was made a most natural, loVable
being by George Osbourne, who Is ever the
artist and charms by lack OF apparent
effort and perfect SureneSS OIL purpose.
He never makes SloVeniy move: oT
Harcourt Courtley, whose toilet Is a
ceremony first in Importance, VINO, Whlle
nf n,
plans to elope with another mans wife
and then inconSistently closes ms shalIoW
four-act career with moral lecture 70
his son on the attributes of a gentleman,
was quietly but rather coIorlessly played
by Charles King. One cannot say he was
not good, but Mr.. King is a clever actor
and Should have made the shallowness of
the man more apparent. de was not
an ornamental sort at best.
Charles COurtley, the worthy Scape-
grace son of his father, tanned a little by
love, gave Francis Byron one of the best
opportunities he has had to prove MS
ability and he did not miss the oppor-
tunity His exaggerated love scene was
done with the vigor of an impassioned
steam engine and was but one of many
good things he found 1t in his conscience
to favor us with. Dazzle, the quint-
essence of brass" who lived on the best
that could be procured for credit, was the
life of the comedy. Mr.. Reynolds caught
moment lost his breezy identity. His per-
formance was most creditable and his
makeup an excellent one. Meddle, the
attorney, whose business is shouting out
the dust-hole of society and feeding upon
the bad ends of vice. was made a YER
table "black spider" by Wallace Shaw:
In costume. | mean, and this is as it
should be- He gave to the character
rather more humorous than despicable
touch, but was the center of the stage
whenever he appeared.
Dolly Spanker, in the hands Of j. h
Armory, was almost the best character on
the stage 1t is small part but full of
chances In the inebriated stage of his
short career he was inimitable. His only
fault was in disappearing in such Woe
full state and reappearing a few minutes
later perfectly sober. The play, but for
first night slowness, was we'll presented
'Tne clatter of censure has but little place
and the sternest sum total that can be
written is good-very good. Go and see
it. CHARlOIIE 4t1OnI 0OAN'