The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-21

| orte curing MS stay, while the other
farce comedy exploited by Frank Mckee.
The Star and Carter" in which were
Introduced Otis Harlan. Joseph Coyne,
Marie Cshiil, ana a large number of 9TH
as ea IaneS,e entertalpers RS9yeg iaseo
ca admirably for its chief purpose, which
| was to present the August family of
Jugglers; Matthews and Bulger in The
Ter ia Miss Print did not get as far
as Washington on their travels. so local
theatre patrons had no chance to pass
Judgment on their offerings.
Mrs. Fiske continued her crusade
against the theatrical syndicate. and on
TINS account was not seen in Washington
during the year. She has been appearing
principally in the smaller cities of the
! country. where she has attained a great
popularity. Stuart Robson, Otis Skinner
James X. Hackett, N. c. Goodwin and
olga Nethersole retained their last sea-
| sons plays for their use this year and
| the local appearance of each star was
| noteworthy by reason of good financial
| results. The year saw OTIS Skinner. one
| OF the best of the native actors, firmly
established as favorite here. Ben
Iiur, the stage version of the Lew wal
lace story, was seen in New York, Phila
| delphia, and Boston during the season
| and is still crowding the Colonial Thea
| tire in the last named city. Ii is expect
| ed that the big spectacle will be sent on
/ the road next season, in which event
| Washingtonians will undoubtedly enjoy
| the production. The Bernhardt- Coquelin
engagement in "L'Aiglon," "Cyrano de
Bergerac, and Camille was not par
| tlcularly successful, peculiarly, on
count of the 81 charged for seats. The
visit of these two eminent players served
to demonstrate that the native stage pro-
| ducers have but little to learn from the
French, while the art of Bernhardt shows
| no evidence of diminishing with advance
| ing years. Coquelin. in the name part in
Cyrano, was a revelation and con-
| slant delight and his acting was one of
! Some of the more prominent stars pre-
scented new offerings during the season.
| being Mr.. Mansfield. whose Henry W.
| was perhaps the best illustration of the
| high development of American stage man.
| agement that has ever been displayed in
! this city. Ada Rehan, the former favorite
| of the Daily organization, showed her con-
| cepuon of Neil Gwyn in Paul kester's
play, Sweet Nell Of Old Drury" with not
little success. Blanche Walsh who was
last seen locally in some of the late Fanny
Davenport plays. tried a romantic piece
| Marcelle,' in New York. but it proved
to be one of the most pronounced failures
| of recent times, and was quickly taken off,
and Miss Walsh revived Julia Arthur's
play More Than Queen" The Kelcey-
s9annon company presented weepy sort
OF play by Mrs. Madeline Lucette Ryley
| and called My Lady Dainty" but 1t fall
ed to attract sufficiently large audiences to
snow balance on the right side of the
ledger. and it was withdrawn In favor of a
dramatic version of "Manon Lescaut,"
which likewise was denied a vogue. Il. H.
Sothern's production of Hamlet was one
and in the name part the former matinee
idol demonstrated that he is without any
exception the best Danish prince that has
been seen since Edwin Booth.
Willie Collier, the comedian, was well
fitted in "On the Quiet" by Augustus
Thomas. and in New York this spring the
scored In this city. May Irwin made her
first failure in New York since she became
a star when she tried THE Belle of
bridgeport, but she readily realized its
dehclencies and substituted 'Madge Smith,
Attorney which was not great deal
better although it served to bring large
audiences to the theatres in which she
played.
Locally. the introduction Of stock
company at the Lafayette Opera House
has been one of the pleasurable incidents
of the year. Mr.. f. G. Berger secured a
good company and while the perfor-
mances were excellent. for a time Wash
ingtonians fought shy of them. and after
some months trial. Mr.. Berger turned
the company over to the stage director,
Walter Clarke Bellows. and Thomas d.
Long. and from the first week of the
change big business prevailed. During
the season many admira BILE presentations
nave been made at this theatre and the
members of the organization have become
great local favorites. This week will mark
the farewell Of the Bellows company. al
though Mr.. Berger Will once more take
up the relns of mana cement and conduct
his own company during the heated term
A review of the year would be incom-
pete without mention of the season of
musical comedy that Manager Luckett
VIII give at the Columbia. Most of the
pieces that will enlist the services of
what promises to be a very strong com
pany of singers and comedians have
been previously presented at Daly-s Thea
ire New York. and will include The
Runaway Girl, The Circus Girl" 1.-The
Geisha,' etc. The season will be inauglI-
rated May 6, and it is expected will con-
tinue for siX or eight weeks
One Of the most refined. intellectual,
and highly interesting offerings of the
vaudeville season is the condensed version
Of Nell Gwyn' which was presented by
Fanny Rice last week at the Grand The
sketch is the work of Robert Griffin Nor
ris and aside from the interest which the
character is exciting consequent upon the
London craze and the rivalry between
Henrietta Crosman and Ada Rehan over
here. Miss Rice's sketch is notable for its |
excellent Interpretation and careful and |
artistic mounting. Fine tapestries, an
tique furniture, and costly ornaments |
have been provided at no small expense, |
and the little play may be reckoned |
among the best offerings of the year at |
the Chase house. Fanny Rice has al |
ways been a favorite with the American |
public, which is quick to recognize and |
to acknowledge ability, and she has been
responsible for number of bright sketch
es and clever portrayals. She has indi-
viduality and certain piquancy that |
lend charm and fascination to her work
Her dramatic ability has long since been |
determined and in her recent playlet she
has added another Characterization which
certainly merits approval and commenda-
ton. A Times representative found
Miss Rice In her dressing room one night |
last week and Nell Gwyn formed the
chief topic of a very pleasant chat.
There is no end of Nell Gwyns," said
the actress, but in one particular my |
Nell is all by herself l am the only
actress who is making her lame. l
Sprained my ankle a week ago in jumping |
from the improvised throne and so have
discovered a defect in Nell's gait which
historians failed to mention. But seri-
ously, four years ago a Nell Gwyn play
was submitted to me by a Chicago dram
atist. That was long before the London |
craze | considered it for a long time |
but, ultimately refused it. The author
however, declared that l was the ideal of
the character in point of complexion. hair, |
and figure. Yet one of the papers here
said that l am too large for the part"
Miss Rice dclicateiy refrained from men
tioning the name of the paper, which, as
a matter of fact. happened to be the one |
for which she was talking.
However. she resumed, Il have read
every book relative to Nell Gwyn that
could get hold of, and everything de-
of her time, environment or in |
any way pertaining to her. l have studied
it all that l might more closely portray
the actress. Nell is an interesting char
acter, with bOundless possibilities, and
II Is strange that she has not been made |
the subject of play before now My |
present Offering is merely a sketch, yet |
IL cmbodies almost as much a long |
play Nelfs character. disposition, and
charm are definitely shown. and her in
ftueucc OV, Z Charles is clear in the Rich |