The times., 1899-07-11
AT THE THEATRES.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES


1t is perhaps a fortunate circumstance |
that the dark-eyed. dangerous beauty anl |
her associates on the curtain at the Column |
oia Theatre have their. backs to the stage |
during the intermisions, and are above |
noting what transpires while the play is in
progress. Else all the divinities repre-
sented as laying their offerings on Loves !
Altar" must have been so Mortified at the
condition of affairs shown in "Divoreons.
which Eugene Blair and her company pro
duced last night at the Luekett & Dwyer
house. that they would have blushed the
I picture color different from that IL nov
assumes. But only the usual hot-weather
| audience saw and heard the Sardou com
edy yester-evening. Hot-weather aud
! fences seldom crave anything ether than
amusement, and this one laughed and
applauded in a fashion that was generally
| gratifying to the entire assemblage, but
| which occasionally must have wearied
those Of the gathering who possess an or
binary idea of the fitness of things.
For the performance is not always ex-
cep1oaal. Il is never wholly bad and
rarely wholly good, unless one takes into
consideration all the difficulties of a sum
nler presentation. The cast interprets the
brilliant, if rather antiquated, piece. but
adds to it none of the charm which may so
reasonably be anticipated. Each member
of the organization seems decidedly givel
to that egoism which so often leaves play
ers to work without the faintest Difference
to their colleagues. Then the rendering is
pitched in so high key that climaxes be-
come as impossible to the company as per-
spiration may be supposed to be TO his
demonic and satanic majesty. All this be-
, ing true, the enjoyment of the perform
7 arce is made to depend upon the one or
/ two clever bits of individual effort noticed
1 and upon the vehicle itself
Had not the iron grasp OF the theatrical
:. syndicate kept Mr.. Fiske out of Washington
A last year it would not have been neces-
:. sary to comment upon the last of the fac
A tors named. As it is, one finds himself
v obliged to remind amusement lovers that
= despite its age, "Divorcons'' is a mos
/. pleasant trihe in which the suggestion tha
- must arise from plot SO French that 4
a concerns the method adopted by husband
. to cure his wife of her infatuation for an
other man, is never disagreeably in eyi-
dence. Indeed, with all its sauciness ant
O danger, the Sardou comedy might easily
have been the labor of either A. W. PI-
= nero or Henry Arthur Jones' who have no
: scrupled to use many of its points for theil
: own purposes. Rather loosely constructed
o DivOrcons" is nevertheless witty and In
r teresting and memorable.
Eugene Blair, who may be supposed t,
Of Julia with confidence and earnestness
a Her Interpretation shows forethought anC
e care, though it is more a Julia of word
than of actions. Miss Blair obscures non,
OF the points in the play and is gener-
e ally praiseworthy. AS much cannot b.
;, said of William Bramwell whose phras
ing is ill-considered, and who has the un.
happy faculty OF being quiet when b.
o should not be and noisy under the samt
o conditions. The NJ Robert OF Albert II
: Sackett lacks fine shading and convince.
one that its handling is that Of a player
more used to the toga or breastplate thar
t to trousers and like conyeniences of mod
S ern civilization. Charles W. Sutton's make
h up is bad but his acting shows intelli.
: gence and is otherwise creditabe Ant
Godfrey Stein plainly does not do his bes
with lines that certainly could not be at
q tractive to one of mis- ability.
r AS usual Mrs. Ella Wren is the house
e keeper Mrs. Wren has been seen as
menial so long that one would positivel!
expect to find the stage dirty if Miss Blai
= put on piece without having the cleve
old lady presiding over the servants. And
as usual, Mrs Wren is good. Nora 0'Briel
purrs through an ingenue part withou
:. looking in the least kittenish. though sh
n I, is pretty. Virginia Carter initiates her
= and is not pretty. Stuart Robertson an,
4. others in the cast are passable. thougl
q Ralf Roberts French accent is inexcusab BILE
= So is a sideboard which is set at the parlo
, door in the home of Rene and so is tn
~ very American slang with which Mis-
v Blair occasionally gilds her conversation