Evening star., 1901-02-05
ANUSENENTS.

COLUMBIA THEAIER.-An audience
which would have made the Columbia The
ater uncomfortably packed had it been
few scores Of persons more nu-
"Quo vadis" last night upon its second
visit to Washington. 1t was as appreciative
as 1t was large, and the evidences Of Its
favor were numerous and emphatic
The striking passages. so frequently SER
mons and so often prayers were greeted
with applause that seemed almost out Of
place when the mighty theme of the drama
Is considered. The play was effectively
staged and capably presented. Josenh Ha-
worth. as Vinicius. repeated his vigorous
ardent lover. and Walter NJ. bennett rs
PetrOnius. whose subtle f1attery played such
pranks with Neros conceit, was faithful
and Intelligent Mr.. bennett PLAYED tn"
part for the first time last night. There are
few bits Of character acting better than the
Nero of Edmund d. Lyons. and in this re-
spect the portrayal by Willard Newell Of
Chlo ChilOnideS. the Greek tramD. who
caused all the trouble for the Christians.
was excellent. Richard G. Williams gave
a satisfactory rendition of Tigalinus and SO
did Wadsworth Harris Of the brief part Of
Aulus PIautius. As Ursus Charles Piegel
was mastery. Little Aulus. the child Of
Pautius was beautifully imperSonated nv
George Florence dip. who achieved the DIFF
ficult end Of acting A childs part naturally
The Empress Poppaea Jealous. veneeful
Rohr while Rnselle Knott gained pro-
nounced sympathy by her sweet and i'm
praSsive concention of Lygia. AS Eunire.
the slave and sweetheart of Petronius. Ma
bel Mortimer was altogether good. especial
ly in the scene where she listens to Vinicius
describing Peters recital Of the Crucifixion-
The other characters were well taken care
Of The interpOlated music which Julian
Edwards wrote for "Quo Vadis' IS not the
least impressive feature OF the play.
Quiller," De Koven and Smiths tuneful
comic opera, opened at the National last
night I'm i's second appearance In the ma
tional capital. The reception accorded Je-
rome Sykes and the accompanying corps Of
artists was as hearty and spontaneous as
that with which they were greeted when
they were here three months ago. Since
that time the opera has had a highly sue
cessful tour, covering most Of the prin-
cipal cities In the Uni-ed States. There is a
marked Improvement in the production of
the opera as compared with that of Its first
presen alton here. The work of the princi-
pals is evener and smoother. and the big
chorus shows wonderful Improvement in
all Of It's work. OF course these remarks
do not apply to Mr.. Jerome Sykes whose
personality seems to have become so
thoroughly merged into the unique charac-
ter of Foxy Quiller from the beginning that
Improvement would seem well nigh impos-
sible. The others appear TO have become
more thoroughly harmonized to this CEN
tfdl ana 70 nave adapted them
selves to their respective roles until now
there Is probably no production on the road
which has more artistic or more plea sing
| dramatic whole than this charming opera.
| What with their familiarity with Mr. Sykes
| in the H!shwayman, and his work in the
/ present elaboration Of the detective char
! acter into Foxy Quiler 1t seems that there
| is little TO be said to Washington thea Ter
| goers either about Mr. Sykes or the opera.
| 1t may be of interest however to know
| that Mr. Sykes Is just amusing as he
ever was. He has not lost a single raw of
! dramatic sunshine. but has added some
/ laugh-inciting local illusions which amused
| the audience last night immensely.
| Helen Bertram is another Washington ia.
vorite to whose fame and popularity II
would seem almost impossible to add She
was In splendid voice last night and was
as pleasing to look at as ever Grace Cam
eron as Daphne the daughter of the ship
| builder. Abel Gudgeon. was naive ant
| charming. The wonder seems to be how
| she contains such big and melodious voice
/ in such a dminutive body. Georgia Caine
| though scarcely having the opportunitie:
/ which her ability merits. made the most OF
what she has. In the duet with Miss Ber
| tram she easily divided honors with thu
| prima donna.
| w. G. Stewart does the part of Net
| Register, the ship captain and lover o.
Daphne, with creditable verve and dash
| and has withal a pleasing tenor voice. Ar
! thur Earnest, Mr.. Stewards understudy
| is young Washington actor, who is max
Ing his way steadily in the operate field
| He has minor part as Splicer. the ship
| builders foreman, of which he makes in,
most. Tomorrow night he takes Mr. Stew
arts part of Ned Royster, in which hi
friends here Will have an opportunity t
see. him in a more pretentious roe.
Harry MacDonough and the diminutiv
| Adolph link were wonderfully amusing II
their team work as the two strolling actors
Louis Cassarank. the basso. sang one o