The times., 1901-04-16
AT THE THEATRES.
The MISUNDERSTANDING CarveI.,

The Northumberland CaryeI.p
John Drew has put away his frock
coats. creased trousers. and society man
ners in the dramatized version of Rich
| ard Carvel" which was shown at the
| National Theatre last evening. and has
| taken on the garb of a hundred years
| ago. Imagine it, John Drew not up to
| date in the matter of dressi And he is no
| longer man of the world helping, half
| Cynically. young women out of scrapes
! and haunting the salons of the smart set.
| Last night the former idol of the matinee
! girl appeared as an ingenious youth who
| loves ardently and unanalytically, who
| buffets his humble London landlord about
| in the most outrageous fashion, pluuges
violently into his country's defence
| against the British in an entirely unmod-
| ern manner. and swings stage sword
with great recklessness. In short. John
Drew is the central figure in what is ad
! vertised as romance, but which is. as a
| matter of fact, melodrama of the most
| thrilling type, the very sort of a play that
! the patrons of the Academy of Music take
delight in.
Edward L. Rose made Richard CarveI'
over for the stage and he succeeded in
butcherng the book most effectively.
While the novel was not natural the play
is something quite beyond definition. The
Churchill story. long one. it will be
readily recalled by those who had the
hardihood to wade through its pages. had
to be condensed for the footlights, but
the product of Mr.. Rose is something
worse than a condensation; the book has
been telescoped. jammed UP much after
the fashion of an opera hat being put out
of business Very certainly Mr. Drew
cannot AXE his preSept offarips- .sapiouciy,
Were the women removed from the play
it would be the weakest sort. of an affair
imaginable. They are the only persons
who appear natural and simple. They are
the living beings of the piece and give it
all its charm and sweetness and are the
redeeming features of the presentation.
The first act, which introduces any num-
Der of persons of whom but little or moth
inS is heard during the remainder of the
play, reveals the mutual love of Richard
and Dorothy. hints at the shameful bar
gain by which the latter's father pro-
poses to sell her to the profiigate Duke of
CharterSea, and concludes with the plot
of Grafton Carvel to compass the abduc-
tion of Richard by pirate. In act two
the principal characters are transported
to London by the dramatiSt and Richard
who has been rescued In the interval from
the pirates by Capt. Paul Jones and from
his creditors by Lord Comyn, has
meeting with Dorothy, which convinces
HIM that his suit is hopeless, whereupon
he resolves to return to Maryland. How
ever. he changes his mind and decides to
remain and try conclusions with his noble
rival. The third act is in the reception
hall of the duke, who has asked all his
friends to witness the announcement of
his betrothal TO Dorothy. The scene af-
fords good chance for some patriotic
defamation and historical "reminiscences
which the audience apparently takes to
with aVidity, and the speeches are most
heartily applauded. The act eliminates
in the conspiracy of the duke and his CON
tidential agent to assassinate Richard. the
rescue of the latter by his friends, and
his defeat of Chartersea in what is sup
posed TO be an exciting hand-to- hand
encounter. This is evidently intended as
the great scene of the play, and the
curtain falls upon the discontinue of the
duke and his myrmidons and a tableau
that is quite picturesque. The last act,
which is located in America two years
later. is devoted almost entirely to long
drdwn-out and not especially spred love
passages between Richard and Dorothy,
while the fate of the other petsonages is
left to the imagination of the spectators.
Last nights audience applauded with a
glsto that was evidently genuine. and
was an appreciation of the work of the
acl"rs more than the excellence of the
piece as a dramatic composition. There
is no doubt but that Mr. Drew will enjoy
q prosperous local enga cement, although
it must be admitted that his personal
popularity will have more to DO with the
success than anything else. "Rchara
CarVci is staged very elaborately and
the costUming is pretty and effective.
B1r. Drew is entirely too good an actor
to be cast for such part as Carvei, but
he makes the best of the situation by a
conscientious endeavor that is very com
mendable. While at times lacking in fire
eloquenCe. and fervor, he is eminently
frank, courageous, Yivacious, and not at
all deficient III tenderness. Ida Conquest
as the brilliant. coquettish, distressed
Dorothy. is piquant capricious. and fasci-
mating, and adds considerably to the
charm Of the play. Frank Losee as
Chartersea is good enough in his vilainy
To excite the derisiou of the gallery. and
surely no one could do more. Dodson
Mitchell is seen in secondary villain
part, which he plays with remarkable
secondariness. Brandon lyman makes
Charles James Fox a thin and pale fellow,
while the parsonage i'm tine book was any
thing but this. Arthur BryOn in the early |
portion Of the performance holds out
great promise. but this fades away as the |
piece develops. The Horace Waipole of
Francis Powers is one of the very best |
things Of the performance; it is played
intelligently and at times brilliantly, even
if it is one Of the unimpOrtant bits of the
play The rest of the company is salts |
factory.
There will be matinees tomorrow and
Saturday.