The times., 1899-06-04
A Feminine WRITER
PICKS MANY FLAWS
A CaptiOus Critic Reviews the
FraWley Company.
Vaudeville Notes of Performer S
Well.Known in Washington.
Tales and TattIe of Those I'M the Pro-
fessiOn-Newsy Bits of General
Interest Briefly Told.

1 am a captious person and never can
go to the theatre without picking out flaws
which would escape the eye of the cruel,
| collateraily compensated men who work
for the newspapers. This is my delight
to find things that escape others and to
magnify the little mannerisms of the per-
formers until they stand out far beyond
the level of their greater deeds. 1t was a
| source of joy to me when l discovered that
| Edward Morgan while being John Storm
! at the beginning of the season. wore pat
ent leather shoes priest and my graf
| ifcation was magnified a thousand-fold in
/ seeing that the breach of consistency had
been unnoticed by Washington critics who
are usually quite keen as a rule. Then
when William Gillette came on and did his
Secret Service he also wore patents and
link cuffs buttons. which were not yet in
vented before l was born, mean away
back in the sixties. / am q woman, as
| this line would indicate, and take justi-
| fable pride in the fact But to break a few
| other idols you critics have set up. One is
| that of Phoebe Davies, in Way Down
East" All | can find wrong with her is
| that she wears silk skirts while waiting
/ on the table and shelling corn for farm
/
pensive for girl who has just been picked
up on the country road.
All of this is merely subservient and
preparatory to my original text, which my
| few girl friends think is good enough to
get into print, so here it goes to The
Times. I've been a pretty close student OF
| the Frawley Company. and must say that
commendable pains are taken with the
staging of their productions. OF course /
| to ha CT CT md
| bend under the dainty tread of Mrs. Bates
or Miss Van Buren,, but this can be over
! looked If the waits between the acts are
not too long. But as l have viewed the
members of the company during the nine
weeks they have been here, their little &c
! centricites grow on me, and / yield to the
| conquering desire to pick them to pieces.
| It would be the greatest disappointment
| of my life to see that athletic Harrington
Reynolds get his hand off his hip while
| in a moment of .'repose''-I understand
| that is the technical term for resting.
| Then; whenever he gets warmed up, as is
/ quite easy at this time of year, he makes
q small-sized front as he did down in Zu-
| luland or thereabouts. Out goes his front
! finger of his right hand, reminding me of
one of those old guide posts in the Alps.
| Really, this is most amusing to me, and l
| frequently sit down there and time him"
TO see how long it will be until that index
| digit leads the procession of fingers to
make an emphatic gesture. Some of these
| times it will go forever. Mr.. Reynolds is
| a little like William Faversham. whom l
saw from the gallery Thursday; his man
nerisms are part of him. born and bred.
| If Willie F. walked across the stage with
| his arm leading him in sort of diagonal
direction. his salt would lose its SAVIOR for
me- But to get back to the stock company.
After Mr.. Reynolds, Miss Selene Johnson
| has caused me the most wakelesS nights.
| If person ever was thoroughly frigid, she
| is that one. I'd hate to play opposite her,
| because in my love scenes / would be con-
WINGED that she considered me divine. Her
eyes go up above her lovers face, and as
| she says, with that low gurgle of hers, Il
| have loved you all my life,' her eyes focus
| themselves on the man in the fly gallery,
and if / were the one apparently addressed
would take out insurance Immediately.
| If l were the other fellow l would never
| cease to rejoice. | like Miss Johnson in
many ways, but she needs more warmth,
| less affectation, more grace, more ease.
| think a course either in the gymnasium,
dancing parlor or the swimming pool
would Timber her up a bit. Then she could
| look at the man she is talking to and not
make her auditors and observers feel fool
| ish Then Miss Johnson needs more polish
1
always stiff and it is a labor OF love and
| difficulty 10 embrace her.
| There is Miss Van Buren. I've been
keeping tab on the cuff of my shirt waist
not the same cuff all the season, however
and have made the following summary. In
| the eight parts she has played, she has
| wept energetically in all OF them. She has
been the customary unfortunate in seven.
and the other was an ingenue, SO innocent
l.I,, I tUfrh tn. a
hearse. This is the difficulty in playing
"seconds"-you have to take the leayings
and let the first lady have the best of
everything. like Miss Van Buren, for sew
eral things.
In the first place she never wears the
! same dress twice, which indicates either
reckless extravaganza or a good bank ac
count back home. In this she is the equal
of any actress / have ever seen. Some one
says she was once an Emerson school girl,
but she should strive energetically to live
il down She is oratorical but in the few
| bits of comedy she has had to do, she has
| been pleasing and / wish Mr.. Frawley had
been better situated to give her light parts.
To hear a woman OF her physical develop
ment weeping and spelling her powdered
| nose with tears is not only distressing but
| ridiculous. She would merely grab the
man by the back of his neck and break
him into souvenir bits. stick him with
| hat pin and otherwise get even with
| vengeance.
I've hopes for Miss Mary Then there
is Tim, good old boy who was the most
mischievous child in our room at school
and who carries this characteristic with
him today, though he don't think We in
front can hear all the little aside jollies"
he works up. Tim always thought faster
| than he talked and today he runs his words
| together and does not enunciate properly.
| He has made lots of friends among the
girls Of Washington, even though half
of them do think he is married, though he
will never supplant some of the metro
| politan favorites since he does not have
his photo taken so often. That is a great
idea, having photos taken frequently and
| paying for them 10 be published Next
| time our old schoolmate comes back, he
| must send his photographer ahead subsi-
| die all the papers and make himself gen.
| orally agreeable to the feminine sex.
Why all old ladies on the stage end each
| sentence with a gasp is probably a secret
| OF the antiquated school but certain it is
| that il is so. Dear old Mrs. Bates is no
exception and l suppose she is too old
learn new ideas. / always keep think
however what would happen IL the
ice was too long and the breath
t hold out That would be sad
70 nice woman apparently and
children to depart by the suf-
esphyxiation route.
TO become intoxicated too
otherwise good record of
ch alacrity shows either
y or world wide ex-
mess of his knees
vent in walking the
get his Dick In
d man in Ala
IN their waV