Evening star., 1901-02-19
ADJUSTMENTS.

| NATIONAL TIIEATER.-As an example
| of play construction, THE Gay Lord Quex'
| is wonder and delight. AS an influence
on public taste, it is miasm. Given roue
who has reached the time of life when he
| longs for a hearth-stone and slippers,
! duchess who is loose in morals silly girl
| who cannot decide whom she cares to mar
ry and manicure parlor visited by patrons
who drop in merely for the sake of meeting
acquaintances, and you have combination
| whose disinfection would be difficult, even
| by so respectable an actor as John Hare.
| The interest of the entire play depends on
| single situation, which occurs in the
| apartment of the ilicitly inclined duchess,
between the hours of IL and 1 a m. That
| there may be no doubt as to the Surrep-
| utious midnight hour, a clock is kept CHM
| ing off the quarters. Lord Quex. who is
| one of the most funereal rakes who ever
| tried to conceal approaching badness by
| the manner of parting his hair Furnishes
| spying manicure girl and puts her under
| obligations of silence by inveiglng her, in
| her nocturnal attire, into an apartment
alone with him. He locks her in and in
| forms her that unless she quits meddlrg
with his affairs and blighting his honest
ambition TO reform he Will keep her there
till morning, when she will be hopelessly
compromised with q shattered love affair
of her own to brood over. A number of
quick and clever turns are given this situa-
! ton, and the highly artistic work of Miss
| Van Brugh, as the manicure girl, gave the
scene spirit and dramatic vigor which
| agreeably overshadowed the salaciousness
| of the topic. The art displayed in pre-
! senting the piece is. in conspicuous in
| stances, exceptional, but not sufficient to
| justify any attempts TO gloss its objection
! able qualities.
/ Mr.. Pinero appears to have made an eff
fort to produce study of the candestine,
and he has succeeded in little else; for ad-
mirable the handling of plot intricacies
is, the dialogue is not especially smart nor
profound, nor are the characters drawn
with notable strength.
So thoroughly has Mr.. Hare heretofore
| identified himself with what is admirable
| in the drama that his art as an actor is not
| open to question. 1t is demonstrated and
| accepted fact. Yet 1t is not seen to advan-
| tage in THE Gay Lord Quex." His meth
| DDS are substantial, deliberate and sincere.
| The mantle OF a Don Juan does not hang
| well from his respectable shoulders. The sup
| porting company is not one of uniform merit.
| The chief figure, besides Miss Van Brugh
| and Mr.. Hare, is Ada Ferrar. who
| played the duchess conscientiously and with
due emphasis. Gilbert Hare also gave a
| good performaice of the role of Sir Chi
| chester Frayne. the elderly gentleman
| whose dignity declines to accommodate it
| self to his advancing years. The play was
| staged in lavishly beautiful manner
THE Gay Lord Quex affords one in
| stance where the gossips have not accused
/ unjustly. He is quite as black as he has
! been painted, and is q thoroughly undesir-
/ able acquaintance for the theater-going
| young person.
| COLUMBIA THEATER-"TheM Man From
| Cooks followed through two acts
| and three scenes with delight by an over
| flow audience last evening at the Columbia
! Theater. Those the pay side of the
/ fcGtights ceased listening to the band in
! the midst of each verse of the stirring
! march song In order to give vent to en-
thusiasm. the medium being determined ap-
plause The assertion that certain Boy
! Guessed Right at the Very First Time"
! also called for unmistakable commenda-
! ton OF the youths discernment. In brief.
"A Runaway Girl with all the tuneful
| numbers Of the operatic comedy. thorough
| ly familiar though they be- was received
| with the most cordial Of welcomes on the oc-
! casion of the opening Of this weeks en-
gagement. The personnel of the Augustin
| DAILY Musical Company, presenting "A Run
away Girl" is, with three or four excep-
| tions entirely different from what it was
| the week the girl stopped In Washington
during her flight year ago. The change
results in a balance heavily in favor Of the
! original company. But those who witnessed
| the present production for the first time
were not moved to complain. Arthur Dunn.
| he Of the diminutive stature and mirthful
| movement, has succeeded Jimmy Powers
| in the role Of Flpper, jockey. He may be
| said to be a second edition Of Mr. Powers,
being very like the latter in facial express
! sion, voice and methods. Mr. Dunn fol-
! lows very closely indeed the standard
| established by Mr. Powers. A movement
| of his hand. the wink of an eye, was suf-
| fcient to cause general laughter. Assisted
| by Miss Jerome. Mr.. Dunn. In black face
made a special hit with the moonlight
| dance. Encores were in order until the
! comedian of abbreviated size begged to be
! excused the plea that ''the performance
! is long, and l am short" Miss Celeste
| Wynn, who assumes the leading female
role improved decidedly with acquaintance
| and before home-going time arrived had
! esta blished herself as prime favorite. The
! other leading characters were well cared
| for by Miriam Lawrence, Hermoine HaZle-
ton. Minnie De Reu, Margaret York and
| John b. Park, Maurice Abbey, Joseph c.
Fay, George Miller. Jack Lyles. g. Aitken,
| Henri Leone. Frank Regis. Charles NJ.
| Holly and Percy Smith. The least that can
| be said Of "A Runaway Girl" Is that 1t Is
thoroughly pleasing. The production is we'll
| mounted.
| LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE.
| -Cyrano has heretofore been synonymous
, with Coquelin and Mansfield. The latter
| actor made much Of it in many ways. His
| stage settings were so elaborate that the
| scenery for one act was struck and carried
| out OF one door before the material for
| the next could be gotten upon the stage.
| AS presented last night at the Lafayette,
| Rostands masterpiece was fully as elabor-
! ate scenically as Mansfields, and although
| everything went with remarkable smooth
| ness Viewed merely piece of stage
craft, this production Is an achievement.
| Too much credit cannot be given for the
| conscientious work bestowed by the men,
bers Of the stock company on this their most
| difficult and most important venture. All
! comparisons aside, considering the magnf-
| tude Of the stage. the large cast and
| the time allowed for preparation. the
result of their labors is little short