Evening star., 1899-04-18
lMtsEaEsfs.

WaA reason to expect much from Her
Atonefnent,h Which Mr.. Charles FrohIrAfl
presented at the New National Fheatef
last night. fhe following advertisement.
which appeared last week, was calculated
to prosaote great Expectat!ons Of aiianttyi
#anted~88da fffeft ta take .s41ss. 1s n sl9al l3e
Atonement.' Apply at stage entrance 9t
National Theater Sunday morning at IL
o'clock.
The 200 men were on hand last night-at
any, any rate as mahy of them as the stage ia g,
clothes, they paraded the mimic Streets
while the brass band played, and then rode
from New York to Jersey City on ferry
boat. which sailed majesticaily for dis
tance of six feet over the canvas waves.
At Jersey City the gallant 200 took the
train and started for war, with the crowds
cheering and the colonel making a rear
platform speech on dead political issues.
agitating scene. Even the entire Pennsyl-
vania railway station was visibly moved.
The spectators Joined the supernumeraries
In an enthusiastic farewell. And there was
equal enthusiasm shown when, an act later,
into the mouth of the calcium light, into
the Jaws of the brass band, marched the
Zoo. There was subsequently a court scene,
In which the colonel pulled another Grafton
out OF the fire of situations and climax.
Inc stage management Is accredited to
Mr. Joseph Humphreys, who has been as
sociated with fine and scholarly produc-
tons heretofore and does not seem exactly
at home in the propulsion of pasteboard
Terry boats. good melodrama is highly
enjoyable affair to the vast majority of
playgoerS
Some of the best play-wrlting and play
presenting talent has been devoted to it,
with memorable results. Mr. Anson Pond
however, has limited his appeal to that por-
ton of the public which cares not how
things are said, so long as the railway train
other mechanical TO- ri ,baJ
uie tlme He appears to have set up what
is known in technical parlance as a scena-
rio, and then dumped in the words, phrases
ana clauses with a shovel. Mr.. Louis Aid
rlcn Is Well-remembered as an excellent
actor. His present surroundings appear to
depress him. He goes at his pathetic
speeches with the perfunctory gloom of a
dyspeptfc at breakfast. The dialogue and
.he manner OF enunciating it belong to
oy-gone era. The mother who suspects her
son says, tell me the ter-rooth.' The
heroine refers to her chy-uld," and the
1ather, when he forgives her, calls her my
dee-yur."
But despite the forgetfulness of detail.
excusa pie to some extent in performance
OF such scenic pretensions, the audience
maze the house echo with hearty and fre-
queht applause. The little band of principal
players made a gallant stand against what
seemed overwhelming odds. They struggled
DraVely against the parts of speech which
frohman, Humphreys and Pond rained
upon them from ambush. But back of the
scenery came the faint sound of music
followed by the trend of marching feet
The gallant 200 rushed to the rescue and
1or the moment at least snatched victory
from the Jaws of defeat. What the final
outcome OF the engagement will be time
alone can tell.
COLUMBIA THEATER.-Happily cast,
eXquisitely mounted, and acted in true ar
ustic style, Augustus Thomas Alabama"
he xtrirn
fraWley Company's repertoire, as so far
presented at the Columbia Theater The
good old play sentimental and soothing
Is gwen production which is almost per-
iect. Inc members of the company enter
into their southern roles with grace and
knowledge, the obnoxious and ignorant
negro dialect SO often attributed to the
educated people of Dixie being commend
last night show a thorough study on the
part OF those to whom they are assigned
ne atmosphere of the production is one
OF southern warmth and beauty, and this
ldea Is we'll conveyed through a series of
wonderful stage mountings, and the tender
regard which pervades the actions of all
in the going" 'Alabama'' deals
win heart story, and in its simplicity
and tender force 1t is touching and ap-
pealingly pleasant The theme of hearts
reunited after the civil war is one preg-
nant with opportunities. Mr. Thomas did
not neglect one. He wove into the play
some OF the prettiest and brightest lines
HIS characters are true to life, for the
most part, and the interest in each is not
allowed to lag until the final curtain
The Frawley Company is admirably
adapted to Alabama" Its many sympa-
thetfc roles fit nicely the favorites of the
o. orsanlzatlon' all having work to do which
Is hattering to themselves and delightful
to their admirers. Without dealing in su-
perlative adjectives ad libitum 1t NAV be
said briefly, that Alabama" has never
had a better Interpretation. Critics who
nave watched the play in the hands of the
most noted could point to but one or two
weak spots in the FrawIey interpreta ton
These sallow spots are overlooked without
much effort in the general excellence of
the cast. AS there is no doubt as TO the
work of the principals it may be well to
say something, primarily, of the scenic
surroundings There are three stage set
tlngs for the four acts, and each is COM
pete, from the flashing of the fire-f1ies to
tle sweet perfume Of magnolias, which per
Vades the house with the rise of the first
curtain. The third act brought out the
triumph in settings and evoked prolonged
applause OF admiration. The moon, stream-
ing through the trees, shed its light upon a
breach in the wall and an old deserted
cannon, the harshness of both being hidden
Dy natures pretty vines and flowers In
TINS atmosphere is enacted one of the
strohgest S,;p scenes of the play. Banjo melo-
dles, played by Steve Clements. and negro
songs rendered by the Hoosier State Quar-
tet, are heard in the distance. Nofhine
could be more attractive
In Alabama Mr.. Charles w. King ia
gwen MS hrst important part of the season
his portrayal of Col. Preston, an old plant
er, Feeble in physical strength, bur power
1ui IN his prejudice against the north. which
robbed him of his son and tramnled tba
graves OF his dead, is ideal His quiet and
tender affection for his loved ones and his
courtly hospitality, extending even to vic,
ltors from the hated north, form the con-
trast for the stronger lines of character
ashing forth In his Indignation when toid
OF an anront to his cousin, and again when
ne Is led to believe one of the northernars
mas eloped with his little granddaughter
From henceforth Mr.. King viii be regarded
as promising candidate for the first bon-
ors OF the company. Next on the program
Is Burr Mcintosh, as Col Moberly a relic
OF the confederacy, polite and gallant and
ready to throw his big, loving heart at the
loot or every pretty woman 1t is one Of
those slow, droll, sympathetic parts that
SUIT Burr. 1t fits him like a glove and In
1t he will but heighten the already high
esteem In which he is held by the Wash.
1ngton theater-goers Harry Corson Clarke
comes along in third place, as Squire Tuck
er. Coosa county justice. With his ouaint
humor and blissful ignorance the squire
OF Mr. Clarke becomes one of the most an
terestlng characters of the play. Myron
al