The times., 1899-10-03
AT THE THEATRES.
Column bia-"The Muskefeers.v
Into bowling. marching. enthusiast

N"iStaEce c. ftruCie Bennett
Into bowling. marching. enthusiastic
Washington staggered D'Artagnan-uot
Dumas DArtagnan. but Jar,es O'NeIIFs-
last night, finding his way to the Columbia
Theatre. There he was greeted by an an
telligent audience and rather psrfunctory
appiauded, despite the fact that many in
that self same audience had tolerated not
only E. H. Sothern but Paul Gilmore in the
role Outside, all manners of celebration
were going on, and perhaps the assembly
at the Columbia felt that it was doing
/ everything that reasonably could be asked
when it consented to forswear the festivi-
ties for an indoor performance.
There are few persons who do not know
The Musksteers" and the history of its
recent productions. Two years ago there
was "Musketeer" craze in London-a
craze that ended with a war OF which the
press agents and H. Beerbohm Tree had
the uDdoubted best. In these days of syndi-
Gates and Steamboats, everything dramatic
that happens in England is Immediately
reflected in America Last season, road
cities were given a taste Of the Sidney
Grundy version of Dumas immortal story
as interpreted by Mr.. O'Neili a plenty of
! the Waller version of Dumas immortal
story, as interpreted by Mr.. Sothern, and
l
| Dumas immortal story as interpreted by
! Mr.. Gilmore. And the ideas of the afore-
| said immortal story were as varied as are
| ideas OF the Bible Washingtonians saw
/ the two adaptations last mentioned, read
/ the New York criticisms of that first alIud-
ed to. and decided to suspend judgment
! This judgment was given yester-evening.
| Freest of all transcriptions. that arrayed
by Sidney Grundy and played by James
| ONeiIl is by no means the best In an
even greater degree than did its predeces-
! sors, ii reminded one of the Drury Lane
| meledramas that have recently been
| brought over to this country. The Mus
! keteers'' is an oid-time thriller" of tri-
| flingiy more strength and coherency than
the average thriller" and ii has been
/ produced in a manner that Is calculated
| to overbalance any of its more apparent
I defects. Gush is buried beneath plush:
| paucity of words forgotten in a super
I fluffy of swords. Mellowed by age and
I hallowed by the fame of it's author, the
theatric "Musketeers'' has attained prom
| inence it never deserved-or never de-
served until fortunes had been expended
ON it. Set in ten magnificently painted
''tableaux," acted by a cast swelled with
the use of scores of sGpernumeraries, cos
TUNED lavishiy 1.-The Musketeers'' at the
Columbia wen fayor-as it won favor else
WuSIc-NtilAc IL LHiSul ISNcI nave bCCh
noticed otherwise in the excellence Of more
modern playwriting.
Mr.. ONeill is a better D'Artagnan than
was Mr.. Sothern, because not so noisy
one A man may swagger and roister and
even fight without giving the impression
that he has dined mot wisely but too
we'll" But, unfortunately, if Mr.. O'NeilPs
impersonation is low In tone, it is also
low in comedy, his efforts at laugh-pro-
1acf iubf how cd nf ho
simplest buffoonry. Except for this his
performance is entirely creditahle his
reading intelligent his mannerisms pleas
ing, and his entire portrayal of unexpected
strength and viriIity Mention should
also be made of his fencing, which is good
beyond the ordinary.
The supporting company is not wholly
praiseworthy. Maud Odell has replaced
Blanche Bates in the role of Mfiadi, and
nothing is lost IN the change. Miss odeII
has the fire and intensity to carry her
more powerful scenes together with the
/ suppression and reserve force to make all
her work admirable On the other hand,
Edmund Breese is absurd and Ghost-of-
Hamlet s-Father-like in the prologue
ridiculous thereafter. Never has Richie
lieu been played in so unaffectedly cheap a
spirit in Washington. Jefferson Lloyd, John
W. Thompson, and Mark Ellsworth are
fair as Athos Porthos, and Aramis, the
first being the best, and the last the worst
of the three. George A. d. Johnson is
more than passable as the Duke OF Buck
| ingham, and Arthur Garreis. after making
bad impression as Georges de BreuilI in
| the prologue, is beeomingly weak and vas
| cilliating as the King. Little fault can be
found with the Anne of Nora O'Brien, or
with the Constance of Gertrude Bennett.
while ]. A Mum, Jacques Kruger, and
Minnie Victorson are the pick of the re-
naming several.
Briefly, s'The Musketeers'' is wei worth
seeing-not because the drama is likely TO
move one greatly, or because Mr.. ONeili
| is very fair actor or because Dumas and
! Grundy might be called eo-authors of the
piece, but because it is put on as one
rarely sees anything put on nowadays
except comic opera.