The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-02-10
ADJUSTMENTS.


II mile. Fiji had been preceded by sew
erai other French farces approaching 1t In
brilliance of lines and cleverness of plot,
a very much larger audience would have
been in attendance at Englishs Opera
House last night to show its thorough ap-
probation Of Messrs. Brady & Ziegfelds
excellent Offering The reason for Mile.
Fits poor reception at the hands OF In
dianapolis theater-goers Is clearly that
they have been fooled by such plays as
1.-THE Turtle" and others Of its Tx. that did
not possess even the doubtful recommen-
dation Of spiciness to furnish slender
excuse for their existence However, 1t Is
likely that the people who saw and en-
joyed this really meritorious bit Of Paris
ian farcical literature will do much to
counterfeit the prejudice that initiated so
seriously against it's success last night.
There is scarcely dull moment In the
entire play. While 1t is true that modi-
cum Of melodrama is introduced. the action
is so brisk as to quickly sweep 1t to one
side. With a single exception. the COM
pany is of superior excellence. The honors
were carried off by Mr.. Thomas III. Burns
In the role of Due De Puissac, and Miss
Maude Granger as Mrs. Bess Stafford. an
American widow OIL a delightfully."- sturdy
type Mr.. Burns gave a fiawless portraiture
a middle-aged roue. of the kind that
never forgets the placidity that belongs to
gentility. Without raising his voice above
the tone of ordinary conversation. Mr.
Burns was able to evoke hilarious mirth
principally through his masterful art Of
shoulder-shrugging, gesturing and facial
contortion. He had not spoken many lines
until he had his audience with him TO such
an extent that il frequently anticipated
his characteristic remarks. Miss Granger is
a comedienne of consummale ability. Char
acters like the one she delineates have
often been attempted. but never carried
out with better success than by her. The
game OF "freezeout" played between Miss
Granger and Mr.. Burns, in their respective
characters. Is the hit Of the performance.
Particularly funny TO the audience was the
astonishing familiarity with poker terms
Abeles did fine work in his role of Vicomte
De Puissac, the young husband. who gets
himself into such wretched position by
his own folly. Miss Jane Corcoran, as Flor
ence De Puissac, the yicomte's youthful
spouse. looked so dainty and talked so
charmingly as to make Ii seem impossible
that man could attempt TO get a d.
vorcs from her, even for the sake OF there
by securing two million francs. Miss Lottie
Alter, who plays Mile Fiji, is scarcely or,
the stage long enough to enable one to ap-
preciate her fully. However, she manages
TO utter some very fetching broken English
and act In manner almost naughty in the
kissing scene on the divan. There is strong
cannot truthfully be said that the play has
suffered on account of 1t. An excellent, al
belt somewhat uneven piece of character
acting. is afforded by Mr. Dore Davidson
In the role of Israel Mendoza a Jewish
money-lender. who is one of the arch plot
tiers OF mischief. Mr.. Charles E. Mitchell
as Justan. the vicomtes valet, and Miss
Isabelle Bowman as Therese Florence's
maid. share In the fun TO a considerable
extent. despite the smallness of their parts
Further evidence of pruning is given in the
failure OF four personages. whose names
were on the programme, to put in their ap-
pearances: The manager OF the company
insisted that these people had but a few
perfunctory lines 10 say when the piece
was being presented in New York. and
that for this reason their salaries and ex-
penses could not be paid on road tour.
This seems like an explanation which does
not explain. since there was no excuse for
Milling up the cast with dummy names. !"
IL Is bad practice. since 1t tends to
heighten the suspicion which the public
already cherishes towards productions OF
the kind.
Mile. Fiji" will be repeated at a popular
matinee this afternoon and again Tonight
ment.