The times., 1899-02-16
THINGS THEATRICAL.

Delays are proSerbially dangerous, but
in spite of this recognized fact and the
religious significance of the day two very
large audiences assembled at the Lafayette
yester- afternoon and night. when. after
many postponements. John Drew appeared
in The Liars" Both assemblies were
distinctly fashionable. too. and they dem
onstrated their position and incidentally
their lack At regard for the players by
coming late, talking through the entertain
ments. and otherwise making themselves
di5agreeable in the time-worn manner so
sacred to ultra-aristocrats. But even the
least impressionable of the people present
gave up their private conversations before
the second act of the Offering was over
and resigned themselves to hearing what
proved to be as thoroughly enjoyable
comedy as has ever been seen here.
The Liars is the work of Henry Arthur
Jones. and it is just such a one our
own Augustus Thomas has furnished in
| The Meddler'' But Mr. Jones has been
| busly studying the art of writing aenter-
taining nothings for some time, while his
| American competitor has been wasting his
time on more real il less appealing pieces.
and so 1T is that Mr.. Drews present We
| hicle is far the better of the two. To be
sure, the lines spoken by the cast OF The
Meddler" are much brighter than were tie
ones given last night by the star and his
supporting company, but those at present
under critical consideration are funuIer-
| or the houses of yesterday thought.
! The Liars" bears the marks of wonderful
construction that was altogether lacking
| in the other comedy, some of its incidents
and situations being handled with marvel
Gus dexterity and wonderful appreciation
of possibilities. Uncommon ingenuity is
| displayed throughout.
| The play has several unpleasant fea-
.s,f.. -
| snobbishness. none of them interferes with
| its brightness and cleyerneSS in the last.
| One only feels occasionally when thinking
! OF the fimsy plot being unrave,ed before
| him-when thinking of the efforts lack of
strength and of sympathy and CT purpose
| that it is a pity that so much abb ily
| should have been wasted to TO end save
very temporary amusement. The real
| lover of dramatic art is anxiousy asking
! himself often what is the use of ii al %
| But then the house laughs uprOarious Y.
and he is slenced THE Liars" is real y
a wonderfully able play of its sort, and the
! only pity is that the sort should be so in
! effectual. However. the man who wants to
/ be entertained and the woman who wishes
| to see handsome gowns and to listen 10
! either pretty or witty speeches would not
| go far astray in visiting the Lafayette.
Space forbids the detailing Of the very
] >.
and consequently the cast may be taken
I up as being next in interest. In the role
/ OF Col. Sir Christopher Deering the star
! has a role that comes more within his
limitations than anything he has ever done
| since the days Of The Butterflies" And
so, while he still impersonates John Drew
( studiously and is usually maudlin in the
! few bits of pathos given him.
the actor really does enough good
/ work in this three hours time
/ to make up for all the bad work that has
preceded it. He delivers his speeches with
| careful regard for their meaning and their
provocative powers, while his portrayal is
still what his portrayals always are-pol-
| ished and careful. Isabel Irving is not
{ convincing and is artificial in ridiculous
! part, but she Is girlish enough to be pleas
! ing; Ethel Barrymore contributes an ar
4 tistic impersonation, and the remainder of
/ company too long for individual mention
here is like the maiden with the curl
either very good indeed or simply ''hor-
rid"
"As You Like It. succeeded "A Lady of
! Quality last night at the National and a
fair-sized audience of literary people
turned out to welcome the local adyene OF
Julia Arthur in a ShakespCarean charac-
terization. In many respects this fayorite
classic comedy appeared in new form, the
/
tent and the time consumed in its presen-
taton minimized proportionally without
in the least interfering with its beauty.
Miss Arthur may well be considered the
I physical personfcation of the love-sick
Rosalind, but her characterization can
hardly stand comparison with those of
other great artists who have gone before.
The chief fault with her work may be
found in the first and last acts. Her scene
the nature of a defiance. and in the first
score of the final act she reads her lines SO
rapidly that it is difficult to understand
/ them at all. She is at her best in the
| comedy bits with W. s. Hart-the Orlan-
io-while natural and effective in her
scene with Oliver. Generally speaking.
the Rosaiind of Miss Arthur is not SO ar
tistic as that of Miss Marlowe. nor so
scholarly as that of Madame Modjeska
But it is always pleasing in a great de-
gree-forcefu and still natural.
The supporting company appears i'll IT
ease in its roles Probably the most Vul-
nerable Is MIR. Hart. whose Orlando is 100
( vigorous, at times veTging on the melo-
dramatic. Florence Conron is a gaspy
Celia and Herbert Fortier 4 most accepta-
BILE lie Beau. The bit done by William
/ Herbert is notable, while T. B. Bridgeland
iedeems his rather Indifferent work in the
I previous bill by presenting really eX
cellent Jaques. The smaller parts are
indifferently assumed. Sumptuous mount
ings Of immense proportions are used and
from a scenic standpoint Miss Arthur's
AS You Like It. surPasses that of any
, recently seen here.
"A Lady of Quality will be continued
until Saturday evening, when the star is
to appear III Pygmalion and Galatea" and
Mercedes
After having been snowbound for forty
eight hours, the missing principals of the
| Ward a. Yokes company reached town yes
| terday and so, despite many difficulties.
The Governors was presented last night
at the Columbia. II would require micro
scope OF more than ten thousand magnify
ing power to discover filament of plot in
the Offering. If there were 'one it you'd
! be buried in the sur!eit OF musical spc-
cialities with which the farce fairly bris-
ties Ward and Vokes are good themselves.
and they have in support the strongest
company recently seen in this line of work.
OF these folk. Johnny Page and Lucy DAILY
are cleverest, each being at the head OF
his or her own separate and distinct class.
In well-htting man IS trousers Miss DAILY
sings some new songs well and :. few old
ones better. while Mr.. Page re-estab!:Shas
his reputation as the best allround aero
batic comedian in America. Margaret Day
Vokes is eccentric. Clarnda Simpson a
marvellous pianist, The Boston Quartette'