The times., 1899-10-15


ton in general. and OF Washington journals |
in particular. He denisd-or is said to !
have denied-that The Moth and the
Flame" was melodrama, that the pro-
duction had been cheapened in any way.
or that many changes had been made in
the cast since first il was seen hsre.
This final claim drove at least one Of
the worms 10 his scrapbooks with the re-
suit noted above. Save only for the stars.
Mr.. Kelcey and Miss Shannon. the or
ganization last brought 10 this city did
not include single member OF the origi
nal troupe. No one of the changes made
was for the better William j. lie Moyne
was substituted by William Boag, a capa-
bic player but not of the rank of his pre-
decessor; Mrs. LIE .Moyne, whose hit in
Catherine is testimony of her worth.
had given way to Ethel Winthrop. and
that intelligent actor Edmund ID. Lyons.
was supplanted by Charles Stednan. Ex
eept for Mr.. Boag. the new company was
wholly unknown in Washington. Its ap-
pearanee dissolved any wonder the average
man may have felt at discovering that Mr..
Hayman had not named q solitary member
of the Keleey- Shannon support in his press
notices.
Not infreauentiy q combination OF little
reputation turns out 10 be one OF much
merit This is not true of that which
visited here in "The Moth and the Flame.
That it is not as expensive as tho earlier
goes without saying; that IL was not as
efficient is being said all over town. Mr..
Boag's impersonation of Fred Dawson was
admirable, but in no way comparable to
that of Mr. LeMoyne. Charles Stedman 5
pantomine, at the close of the first act,
was anything but impressive. Har-
ry NJ Blake made his Douglas Rhodes as
aS un1zfftIa Tcahcfla WaIdron G
Mrs. Wolton was stiff and awkward and
Miss Winthrop, the frivolous. said
damn" as most women fire reyolvers-
with closed eyes and elaborate prepara-
| tions. But this is not all. Either the COM
pany seen at the Lafayette was composed
| of forty persons or its manager was mis'
| taken. The writer recalls the fact that,
| when the guests at the perfectly lovely
party" of the primal scene danced about
| the stricken mother and daughter. the cir
| Gle completely reached around the stage
| At the Columbia no more than eight super
numerarieS were used. This is the cas-
| that was so little changed
| Still there is more. On their last ap-
| pearance here, Herbert KeIcey and Effis
| Shannon brought only one setting Of theil
| own, the remainder being familiar to hab-
/ itues of the Columbia as anything from thi
| foyer of the Theatre des Bashi Bazoucks {,
| Madison Square Garden. As a result of thi.
| the first scene failed to impress with wha
| was put forth on the programme-that tbs
| Weltons were fashionable people with Z
| home on East Sixty-ninth Street. Thi
| walls were bare the furniture in pool
| taste, the curtains OF the cheapest mate.
| rial, and the palms in need Of dusting. Ado
! TO this the fact that many of the supposed
/ nabobs were badly dressed, and one has Z
| few stings of the worm that cannot bS
| easily extracted.
| With all these things, the local paper:
| were right in urging theatregoers to see
| "The Moth and the Flame" Despite many
faults, the acting was not really made
| quate. The play was excellent Clyde
| Fitch has done nothing better than THE
| Moth and the Flame" And then
Ellie shannon is one of the most capable
| of women. This was generally recognize,
| when she was at the Lyeeum. and it be-
came evident when she was seen in th'
ilT-ftting "A Coat of Many Colors-" Bu
| never has it been so notable as in The
Moth and the Flame" where her refine.
nent, grace, and thoroughly artistic i'm
pulses were more than impressive. Moth
ing OF the sort has been more Adequately
done here in long time.
Indeed, last week Miss Shannon rem nd
ed Cne ODDLY Oh ANNIE RUSSELL CdtHSE-
ine'' had a bit enacted by Miss Russell ant
Frank worthing-superbly enacted. Wit
ten words, a glance, and few quiet ges
lures the little star told all of her stor,
without seeming TO obtrude it. Thesl
same simple methods were especiall,
noted in Miss Shannon during the last par
of her play; particularly in the converse
ton between her and Herbert Kelcey. Il
the first act, too. her emotional work wa
vivid and foreeful, even while who'll
without apparent effort. There was not
glowing fault in the entire impsfsonation
If Effie Shannon continues TO improve W
shall have another Mrs. Leslie Carter sur
I prise before many moons have changed.
Herbert Kelcey's only creditable actin
was done in the final scene OF 'fThe Not
and the Flame At other times his wor
was conspicuous for its lack of the yer
quality that makes Miss Shannon delight
ful-repose. He is without the ability I
achieve strength, too without using tn
extreme power Of his lungs for it. and b
reading is anything but perfect. Mr. Ke
cey belongs to that double class of me
whose excuse for being on the stage
that Of the tailor's dummy for being G
the street. The double class is divisib
!. into two sorts-the sort of individual WI
wears good clothes without seeming
know it and the sort that never forge
, | the fact or permits an audience TO forg'
+ it, Otis Skinner is of the first yariet
Mr.. Kelcey may be given share OF job
| D-axv'S rnOnOn0lv Of second