New-York tribune., 1901-11-02
LONDON NOTES.
PLAY AT WYNDHAM'S-M
oCoNNOR-N1R- WHIsTLERs
sHON-CORONETS.

Waters KUN DcEt'- - - Oil <hi4lCAA-
hes - for Mr.. Isaac Henderson has not lost
'sA s.,onality by prolonged residence in Rome,
BIS entitled The Mummy and the Hum
sn' p,r5 II substitutes for John Mildmay an
HA'5 reer Lord Lumley. who IS preoccupied
b-s ,,,-l. in his laboratory. ard neglects the
= % -sfs leaving her TO be ensnared by Signor
y-"er, rake and lady killer. Like John
- lord Iunlley goes away for a season,
-strrns Unexpectedly, and by shrewdness
V". rossession battles and outwits the in
N- and after regainfng the affection of his
.,noses and huniljates his rival The part
mich suits MI. Wyndhar's characteristic
etyle and enables him 20 act with more
- than he usually displays III the course
:, single evening: but il is deficient in comic
-. and he is essentially comedian and out
T.orcb with rnelodrana. The play does not
= ingenuity Of construction, and there are
= effective stage situations: but as enacted
-.-e evidences Of revision and adaptation to
:. exigencies and caDriCes Of stage manage
=. The literary scheme suffers in this way,
ais thrown out OF balance. and the spectator,
-.,ou- understanding the processes Of transi-
conscious Of the results OF reconstruction
,5 of a want of symmetry
To-s Iurnley al the opening OF the play is so
...,lv engrossed with scientific experiments that
- torgets his dinner engagement with his
4+a,5s and also that il is his wifes birthday.
T.5v Iurnlev Miss Lena Ashwel) goes out to
s,ra a. restaurant with Mrs. Ruth Thornton
,,rss Mary Moorel. Signor DOrelu iNIr. Robert
-obs-l and Lord Ronalds (Mr. Frank Ather-
,s,,. and the absent minded peer. pulling aside
=. curtains and hearing 4 hand organ played
= snovrsrorrn is moved with compassion for
o,5a-ing Italian. When his servant evinCes
.;-ation in taking out sovereign TO the beg
~ IN +b4 street Lord Lun1ley plans object
,.sson in charity and ordering the organ grinder
- he brought in invites him to dine. Little by |
r,-,l4 the ItaTan's story is drawn out and h1 is
-arssled as Giuseppe, whose wife has been be |
+-syed by Sgnor D'Orelli. and who has come 10 |
England to Kill The seducer. The scene is made |
a,,psing from the methods by which the two |
men come 20 an understanding when one speaks |
English and the other Italian; but II is crude |
-rslodrsnoa entirely beyond the range Of proba- |
hil;-es The conclusion Of the play is clearly |
forecast from The outset. The titled husband |
is 70 make use Of the Italian peasant in inttni
dating his rival and forcing a revelation Of the |
rakes abject cowardice. The course of under |
pot and episode is tortuous. and suff1ces 10 I'll
aut an evenings entertainment. Lord Lumley |
returns to his home. with Giuseppe as his valet,
N find his wife entangIed in q love affair He or
her TO drop SlgLOT - OTeIIl ) dtNO1AIiISASS-
She refuses in violent scene. and takes refuge
IN her lovers rooms. where her husband rescues
her after fne play Of Wit and resource. Again
she leaves his house and runs to Paris. and her
husband follows her. after another bout with
he Italian rival. and in the end there IS recon
citation between lord and lady, with tableau
Of rilany co9eIinl. II terror in the presence Of
he njdred organ grinder.
Nelodrau,a so fantastic as this hardly requires
serious analysis. especially as Its interest does
not depend upon the evolution Of character Mr..
Wyndham, however. succeeded in making some
thing Of II on the opening night. His own per
fornance was finely balanced in light and shade,
and there We're moments Of deep passion. subtle
irony and T7asterfui seIf-control Mr.. Robert
Taber supported him most artisticaUy the
elegant and accomplished seducer, and AIr- Dew
ereux performed little less than 4 stage feat in
rescuing the organ grinder from rIGicule- Miss
MARI Moore had little employment fer her YER
satle talents in playing the part OF benevolent
peacemaker between husband and wife Miss
Lena AshweIl 3ra1 less successful than on the
opening night os ".Irz ran='s Defence" but
was az fault through excessive nervousness
:athe- than lack Il disCeirlrsnt of the rgouire
merits of TIE part of women OF moods, caErIces
and resentnents with an artistic mise en-
pleased TIE first night audience act by act. and
there would have been re EXPRESSIONS Of dissent
from pit and galleries Il he had not responded
too readily 10 calls for the author Cre Of these
days playwrights viii learn wisdom and insist
upon printed announcement in the bills Of the
play that they will rot be present the opening
night
Mrs. 7. P. O'Connor, who mas been playing the
o-- 80 5--l
from Texas at the Opera House, in Crouch
End, has prohted by advice and avoided any
thing approaching carfcature OF American
~omsnhood- She enacts the part with refine
ment and delicacy. does not accentuate the note
OF vuga-ity in nasal tones and loud dressing.
and plays with moderation. intelligence and
sound Judgment. Eer performance IS indeed
exceptionally good for d newcomer on the stage.
and the play IS going very veil in the provinces
and suburbs. Her voice IS soft and nelodious,
and her stage action easy, graceful and natural
Inc play is improved 10y the moderation and
good taste with which the heroine is presented,
ahe americans who see II no longer have cause
lor complaint Of q libel upon the women of the
Sunny South. II Is 10 longer farcical in effect
sao vulgar IL execution, but has approached
Ns standard Of the legitimate comedy of man.
mrs with well salted satire.
M Whistler's International Society Of Sculp-
@s Painters and Engravers has changed its
Sse Rom Knightsbridge TO Piccadilly. and is
7N-'lng al once q largeT>Tneasure Of public
paueaage. This is meri5ed'Ntor. while the Con-
-7a'al painters are less prominent than Mr..
paSuer himself and his apprentice" Inez
Aaaafns it is interesting. if not a brilliant.
--oition, and the pictures admirably hung
ao lhere are not too many Of them The group
: "nisilers is distinctly inferior and only 1
serves to accentuate the affectations OF a really
seat painter. There are two studies Of the sea,
Sie O. the nude low in tone several notes Of