The Portland daily press., 1900-04-10
MUsIC AND DRAMA.
BROWNS IN TOWN.


at Portland theatre last evsnlnR,is one OF
those funny three-act fares Of the "What
Happened to Jones" family, built to
raise laugh and well does 10 serve Its
purpose.
IL is lively and full Of amusing SUR
prises and 10 made mp Of complicated
improbabilitiss which keep the audience
In q rollicking good humor.
The story IL simple enough. young
man named Preston marriss again 81 his
fathers wish and tries to conceal the
fact by taking houss In tbs country
where he and his wife may not bs dis
turbed by friends who would let the
secret out. They have trouble with the
cook and miEfortunes come rapidly.
FINALLY Prsston's rival turns up and FRO
poses to Preston's wife and Preston has
to pretend that q certain Miss Dacre is
his wife and when the father arrives ON
the scene everybody pretends they are
m irrisd to somebody else and bad
state Of affairs happens.
The company is . well-balanced one.
Lew Ii. Newcomb has the role OF Dick
Preston, which he oils most satisfactorily.
Miss Estee as LEFTY Preston. nee Leonard,
makes q charming companion to Mr..
Newcomb AMI does her work tnely.
Francis X. Hope a. Arthur Howard,
Fred q. Hearn as Atel Preston. Clay
ton Kennedy as Worth .Carsw, Miss
Edith Terry rs Suzanne Dacre, Miss
Edythe Well As Freds Won Holleack,
Miss Maud Lapags as Primrose, the
dArksy servant, and Wallace Q. West as
Pollock, the gardener. are all very good.
There are some clever speuiaities intro
uced all through the play. Wallace q.
West tells some stories; Miss Lapsge,
who plays the part Of the negro ceoK
,ings q song or two; Miss Well. the Ger
man heiress, gives German version Of
"hello, My Baby;" Miss Estee sings q
new coon song. "Lindy Lco." written
by Newcomb and Kennedy, and Is as
sisted by the Browns In Town quar- tstte'
Clayton Kennedy has tie Stage ell GO
himself in the third act, and gives 1ne Of
tho best sre,ialt'es imasinabie. He
plays the piano and dano5s, both sepa-
rately and together, and: works trench
dously hard.
The company will give matinee ana
evening performances today and tomor-
row, closing their engagement Wednes-
day evening.
GEORGE W. WILSON.
The George W. Wilson company began
their second weeks engagement at the
jefferson yesterday, presenting "Harbor
Lights" both afternoon and evening to
good sized audiences that thorouRhiy en-
joyed the performances and rewarded thu
efforts Of MIR. Wilson and his company.
with liberal applause. MIR. Wilson was
seem In the part of "Jim Dossites" q
happy-go-luoky sailor. role he origi-
mated in the Boston Mussum production,
and 1t ia needless to say that he played
the part In his usual excellent style.
Harry Leighton as David kingsley
gave a manly and energetic impersona-
ton. ]. Francis Kirke as the villain
nicholas Morelano' played his part
we'll and was roundly Missed by the gal
iery, which is a compliment 20 the way
he played the part. Herbert Dodd as
frank Moreland'' and Frank Beal In
the dual rclss OF Captain Wilson, and
Captain Hardy also deserve mention.
1he "Dora VAne" Of Agnes Farnem WAS
sweet and sympathetic; Florence Ash
brooke as "Lina Nelson was good. Helen
H'rcsb as "Mrs. Chidleigh" and "Mrs.
HslIstine' was very good. As a scenic
production ''Harbor Lights" Is one OF
the most preten tious sfforts in this direc-
ton attempted by repertoire company
here, ana de serv es n word Of praise as 1t
is most complete in every detail. The
speoialtiss were as ususal excellent One
OF the pleasing features of Mr.. Wilson'S
productions which ara Unusually complete
in detail is the incidental music fur
nished by the Ladies' orchestra, directed
by N. Harris Ware. This afternoon the
bill will be "Two Xmas Eyes," and the
''Inquisitivs DArkey" and tonight "The
Great Diamond Robbery" win be pre-
sented. Friday evening souvenirs will be
presented to those attending, the occasion
being Mr. Wilson's 5Oth appearance in
repertoire at the Jefferson.
THE LYCEUM COMPANY.
Tomorrow morning at tbs Jefferson
theatre the sale of seats will be opened to
the subscribers for the Shakssperean
performances to be gives by the Lyceum
company.
Among the subscribers are j. p. Bax-
Ter, A. Whitney, II. b. Cleaves. Josiah
Burnham, Charles S. Fobes, Albro Z.
Chase, W. Senter, David II. Nash, Sy-
monds, SNOW & Cook. II. b. Milligan.
Charles III. Hay. Prentiss Loring,
Clarence Hale. Vetta Merrill, Mise II. E.
Clark and two hundred additional.
The Lyceum company will give value
received at every performance. At Man
chester they appeared to fair sized audi
eace, and preEs and public claimed for 1t
the cleanest performance given in years,
and Manager Harrington booked q return