Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-04-06
A COLONIAL GIRL.
One OF the Best Performances OF LegIII-
mat Drama Ever Seen In Brattleboro.

One OF the Best Performances OF LegIII-
matt Drama Ever Seen In BratIlebOrO.
Brattleboro audiences, as a rule, are far
from demonstrative. Deserving plays sell
dom receive more than mild-mannered APP
plause, and The best stage articles are often
allowed to pass with only slight show of
appreciation. With these facts in consid-
Grafton it is an unusual recognition for a
company to receive two curtain calls at the
end of the second act and narrowly miss
being given an ovation at the close of the
performance. But this is just what hap
pened at the Auditorium last Friday even
ing when Daniel Frohman's "a Colonial
Grip company made its appearance.
Probably no company has ever appeared
in Brattleboro, which gave more general
satisfaction. The play was an extremely
pretty Revolutionary romance, fascinating
for its simplicity of plot and containing
just comedy enough to give relish to the
more sober passages. The story is laid in
New York city during the Revolutionary
war, but there is none of the booming of
make-believe cannon nor the firing of
blank cartridges which CRATE on the nerves
of one attending many of the modern war
dramas.
The story is of Godfrey Remsen, a pa
triot spy, who has married a young "colo-
NAL oirl' after a courtship of only a few
hours. Godfrey's cousin Judith, young
widow who was his betrothed before her
marriage, persuades Godfrey's wife to be-
lieve her husband false, and out of jealousy
causes the young girl to deliver into the
hands of the British papers which prove
Godfrey spy. Godfrey at first believes
his wife untrue, but is afterwards con-
WINGED of her faithfulness by the confession
of Judith. While hiding in his own house
Godfrey hears of supper of English Off
cersto which his wife has been invited.
Disgusting himself as British fop he at
tends, finds his wife the only woman pres
emit, and rather than TO see her insuted,
reveals his identity and kills the British
host in a duel which takes place on the
spot. He is saved from capture by band
of Liberty boys who happen on the scene
at precisely the right moment.
The story is set forth in such a straight
forward manner that no one can help en-
joying it. Howard Gould, as the young
hero, proved himself romantic actor on
an equal with Mantell and O'Neill. His
work in the emotional passages and in the
lighter veins was equally good, and the
fortunes of the young American which he
portrayed were followed with interest and
sympathy by the audience. Miss Grace
Freeman scored pronounced success in
the part of Mollie Heddin. Her portrayal
of the uneducated yet naturally refined
girl meeting the hero of her dreams and
marrying him purely for loves sake was
charming, and later in the play when the
heart of the young wife is wounded by the
supposed falsity of her husband Miss Free
mans acting could hardly be improved
upon.
Miss Eleanor Carr as Lady Judith Dan
vers, Godfrey's scheming cousin, played
her part with becoming dignity and the
needed amount of sarcasm. John L.
Weber was good in the role of Giles, the
old servant, and Robert Conness made a
very acceptable Captain LoVeace, the viii
lain of the cast. Most of the comedy was
supplied by Bratton Kennedy and Miss
Helen King Russell as Jack Osborn and
Lady Sarah Ketlas, secretly married
couple. The actions of the impetuous
young husband and his teasing little wife
were a source of amending merriment
whenever they were on the stage. The re-
naming members of the company gave
complete satisfaction in their respective
roles.