Evening star., 1900-11-27
ADJUSTMENTS.


approval in the performance, which brought
| to the footlishts a tale which has enjoyed
such exceptional favor with the reading
public and which now serves to introduce so
many popular players. First, there is Miss
Mannering herself; gentle, vivacious and
| comely to look upon. She finds a congenial
| part In the title role. The wealth Of animal
spirits which in her case is attractive
| would, with less winSome personality,
seem like idle capering. But the audience
| romps and froilcs with her moods. Inc
! cOquetrieS of the heroine, improbable, nay,
! even Objectionable, as they might appear
| in real life, become artless and charming
| as Miss Mannering portrays them under
| the magic ray of the stage calcium. The
| play is presented under the most advan-
| tageouS conditions. The picture disclosed
| by the rise of the curtain on the first act
| is one of rare beauty and genuine orginal-
| ty. The old farm house has so long been
| the subject of the scenic artists attentions
| that it seemed impossible to get any abso-
| lutely novel effects with that subject. But
| this desirable end has been distinctly at
| tanned in the representation of the home at
Greenwood. The settings for the remainder
| of the play less admirable, either
| for beauty or fidelity to detail.
The colonial costumes add materially to
! the picturesqueness. The popular reverence
/ for the sturdy old patriots of that time is
| 50 complete that it is hard TO get over a
| first impression that anybody wearing that
tire must be sort of demlgod, instead of
| real flesh and blood. The thee and thou"
style of dicton is also more or less awe
inspiring, and ii is not until the curtain
rings down on a stirring climax at the
close of the first act that convincing as
surance is given that the play proposes to
meet humanity on its own level, and give
it some heart-to-heart talks love and
fighting. Burr Mcintosh is, of course, de-
lightfuly genuine. His impersonation of the
overgrown farm lad adds another tally to
his long score of successes in character
| Dol, Two, ,nt hnc, q 10
Janice's lover, and it is difficult to imagine
how it could have been better played. He
has grace and refinement without effemin-
acy. Tie looks the part of lover in
manner of which no Story-book reader could
complain. but he does not allow handsome
personality to prevent the character from
being earnest and masculine. al Lipman
is another good actor. He makes the viii
lain scoundrel of consummate quality,
ard yet does not sacrifice the polish of man
ner natural to a man in his social position
Vivian Bernard put a wholesome dash of
character comedy into the piece by means
of her impersonation of the colored woman,
'Sukey.' The cast is, on the whole, one
Of a high average of merit.
The play is eminently successful in car
rying the auditor back TO those times of
tional disquiet when a man might be hailed
as a patriot one minute and hanged as
rebel the next, according to the fortunes Of
1t abounts in rural personalities. Some
OF its scenes belong distinctly to the do
main of the 'hayseed drama the only dis
tinction being in the styles of apparel and
the habit of saying "ecod' instead OF
''bgosh." But when the story dons its regi-
mentals it proceeds smartly and surely with
military stride, and at the end Of act
three develops q battle picture which
causes the curtain to be lifted so many
times that, IN the excitement, it was i'm
possible to count them.
COLUMBIA MISUNDERSTANDING the Co
lumbia Theater last night at 11:20 o'clock
~. n raF
had transpired in The Monks of Mala5aT,
and what it was all about. There We're
lingering memories recalling to view smiling
Francis Wilson clothed in monkish garb.
and riding on the stage behind a large ard
suber-yisaged billy-goat. There were the
most pleasant recollectOns of Madge Les
sing, dainty and pretty, who danced so
gracefully and artistically. and sang with
expressive sweetness number of pleasing
little songs that were not too ambitious for
her tender and tiny but true voice. The
other memories of the piece were a jumbled
mass from which one must needs sit down
quietly and think 4 over to pick out any
individual feature. But perhaps it Is bet
ter that memories of comic opera are feet
ing. If one be entertained for the nonce
the offering has undoubtedly served its
purpose. Last evening The audience Uttered
while Francis Wilson was on the stage, and
felt decidedly interested when Miss Lessins
danced airily and effortlessly. And while
as a whole the entertainment was pleasing
II must, in truth. be stated there was moth
ing str king N the piece. either as regards
music or humor. J. Cheever Goodwin is re-
sponsible for the book, and he has given
'The Monks a plot extensive as 10 r.
qure the assistance Of a program arsu-
nlent to help it through to consummation.
"The Monks of Malabar' is a catchy title,
but in the operate ice-cutting the monks
have little more than thinking part. Lud-
wig Engdnder stands sponsor for the mu-
sic, and while he has provided a number of
light and catchy bits, there is an absence
of any ringing, swinging choruses, so conf
IDENTIFY expected and hoped for in comic
operas of the period. In the first act Miss
Leasing has delightful little song. which
tells of her desire to see gay Paris once
more, the chorus of which leads into a
rhythmic movement and melody which at
once caught the house. The boys in the
gallery whstled it tween acts, and all of
the audience hope to hear it again in the
firale, but Mr. En glander appears to have
been in a hurry when he reached that part
of the score and The ending is ra her ab-
rupt. Francis W lson. after a meteoric
tour into ambitious operate work, has come
down TO earth again, and Is the same Will
son as of yore. In The Monks he has
a number of DISCUSSES to don, and in eacn
is most laughable The blithe Francis has
a method which IS all MS own and which
is most taking. His very good friends in
front, however, regretted that he was called
upon to perpetuate such lines Step into
the room, please, and you may see the fire
escape. If you become thirsty, wiring the
towel" Such infections were few, be il
said, to the credit of the piece. Wilson
does a little Bit of everything during the
evening and was called before the curtain
a. the end of the second act. His speech
was extremely brief and consisted chiefly of
a very sincere expression of thanks. Miss
Leasing delightful throughout. She has
not been seen in Washington since the days
of Jack and the Bean Stalk" She has an
appealing personal charm, is full of magne-
tism and whatever bit of work she was con-
nected with in the production brought out
the most enthus astic applause. Van Rens-
selaer Wheeler, a nabob Of India, with
out rhyme reason affected a French ac-
cent being the only member of the COM
pany to indulge in such an offense. He has
excellent voice concealed behind the ac.
cent. and if he would do away with the
senseless thing his work would be more
highly appreciated. The chorus is strong
but unhandsome, and the stage settings
elaborate.
ACADEMY OF MUSIC.-A good. old
fashioned melodrara. under the title of
"A Rough Riders Romance" is presented
at the Academy of Music which opened
under the new management of E. d. Stair
last night. An audience that filled both
galleries to the doors and occupied much of
the seating space on the first floor was
present and enjoyed to the utmost the