The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1900-03-07

the first and following acts, all oc-
curing five years after the murder
was committed. By that time John
son has some wealth, and is desir-
Gus of wedding Mabel Raymond,
the daughter of Philip Raymond,
the blind miller Johnson uses q
mortgage on the mill property as .
club to force Raymond into urging
Mabel to marry him, but Raymond
prefers togive up his milLrather than
do so, aud insists that Mabel shall
marry the person of her choice, Ed
ward Leroy, ajolly go-as-you-p please
young fellow. In order to com.
plete the story there is a darby ser
want to Jacob, Sambo by name,
Drucilla, sister to Jacob, Lucy
Sniff, a lone widow and Mrs. Raw
mond, wife of Philip.
The play mustbe criticised severe
~, on account of it's length. A pro-
logue, followed by four acts con
tanning fifteen scenes, is something
more than a Redwood Falls audience
bargains for when it buys admis-
sion tickets, and Notwithstanding a
hurrying Of the presentation, the
curtain did not 60 down on the de-
nouement until 11:3O o'clock. The
audience and players were both
tired, the latter almost exhausted.
OF the players, however, it can be
said that they were clever, showed
deep study, excellent drilling, and
good conception. F. S. Pollard, as
the blind miller, was distinct in his
enunciation and thoroughly self-ab-
negated for the role. which was
difficult for him on account of the
presumed age of the character. Joe
Chadderdon was the heavy villain.
He has been in heavy parts before
and in each has won laureis. and in
this play, barring a slight dispc-
sition to talk between his teeth and
being too aggressive in the first
parts, he added to the stage efforts.
Ronaldo Theiring as Seth Ran
dolph, the vagabond, whom ohnson
duped as a party to his crime, ana
who afterwards refused to share in
the spoils, but became a vagrant,
made distinctive hit in his role,
as did also Fred. G. Warner, the
easy going lover of Mabel Randolph.
Mr.. Warner had a pleasant role,
made more clever by his version,
and it was as natural that he should
capture the audience as it was for
Messrs. Chadderdon and Theiring
to gain the creditable hate of Mr..
Warner S admirers.
The part of Elias Amsden was the
hardest part of the cast. At first
rehearsals it was wondered why it
was assigned to John Schumacher,
who had no pretensions to even the
the first stage of amateur theatri-
calls But Mr.. Schumacher grew
better at each rehearsal, and ex-
cepting an occasional failure to
raise his voice, he made a star hit
at the public presentation. Indeed,
his actions were fine and his line
readings were excellent. Ned.
Dripps was a decidedly s'wahm'
number as Sambo. Costumed to at
tract attention he made an ideal
colored servant for the house of
Johnson.
In the feminine roles Miss Nc
Grath and Miss Chadbourn had the
most difficult assignments. Miss
McGrath was the lone widow, brim
full of the neighborhood gossip, and
a rustling spirit charactistic of the
part. Her costume, too, was both
striking and stunning. Miss Chad
bourn has been before audiences
frequently, and with each new APP
pearance she shows development.
The Interpretation she placed on
the dutiful daughter of the blind
miller, the sweetheart of Leroy, to-
gether with the boldness of her
reading, made her a favorite from
the time the curtain arose on scene
3 of the first act until it dropped on
the final scene, when she was safe
in the arms of her lover.
Miss Theiring as Drucilla. the
sister to Jacob. gave sound elderly
advice to her brother, and issued
her commands in a manner that