The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-04-29
ADJUSTMENTS
Rose Coghlan AT the metropolitan in
a Double Bill.

To play the adventuress-that is Rose
Ccghlans meter, and she accepts it frankly
This means that Miss Coghlan must do with
out the sympathy of her audiences, and that
lis very great sacrifice for any actress Sue
cess must be won by sheer force of good act
inS--actinS that appeals to the ina gination
on its intellectual rather than its emotional
side. She may releve1th the picture by touches
Of comedy but insincerity of the thoroughly
unscrupulcus sort is the keynote This COM
plicates the problem immensely, for the act
resS is reproducing the stage a woman
who is herself constantly playing part OF
the real woman we see little and guess much.
And thus, despite the repelant quality Of the
character, there is the widest field for the
exercise of ripe art, such as is beyond ques-
ton at Miss Coghlan's command.
Lady Barter, the adventures whose &C
quaintance we made last night, does not diff
fer much from the Stephane OF Forget Me-
Not save that she is less strenuous. She
| fights the same duel with man who knows
her for what she is, but fights it less cum
ringly and less desperately. And she loses
| the battle in the end by q device of her enc
my-an appeal to her cupidity-that is more
clever and more. probable, but far less dra-
i matte than the transport of physical fear in
which Stephanie is vanquished. In short,
| the play, which was written by Charles
| Coughlan, brother of the star, is a. comedy OF
the adventures i'll which the intensity OF
/ the Forget Me-Not'' drama is entirely lack
i ing. The story is not at all original resem-
| bling in many ways that other strenuous
| drama Of the adventures, 1.-THE Crust of So.
ciety,'' but the dialogue is embelished with
the sparkling Celtic wit OF which Charles
/ Ccghlan was a master.
| Miss Coghlan plays the part smartly AM
| to the life. Her voice, owing no doubt, te
the wear and tear to which it has been sub
Z. jected, shows a tendency to play her false
i at critical moments; but in the light play Of
i banter, the thrust and parry of conversa-
tonal duel, she expresses a world Of mean
i ing by the merest infection. The one poin
i'll which, to my notion, she fails, is the love
making between Lady Barter and her victim
J The note OF insincerty is so pronounced here
that the infatuation of Lord Brent for The
woman seems utterly ineXplicable. Miss
/ Coshlan gives us only r1leaser and unsat5
flying glimpses of how the lady has managed
to hook the policeman. We are obliged tt
(. take that essential fact for granted. Thi;
failure is due to the intellectual quality Of
i Miss Coshlan's art and to its poverty on the
! emotional side. If, however, we accept tn,
terms of the problem as she sets them forth
the demonstration that follows is thoroughly
convincing.
Emmett C. King repeats his successful Sill
/ Horace Welby in the very similar character
of Captain Pierce. With the easy, assured
manners CT a man Of thesworld, he yet con.
trives to let it be seen that he is sound al
! heart and unspoilcd by the cynicism thai
springs from experience. The contrasts be-
| tween his scenes with the adventures and
i those with the ingenious young girl to whom
his heart goes out are forcefully brought out
! This latter role is charmingy undertaken b!
! Miss Agnes Roslyn, who gives new value
to the blunt candor with which the author
/ has indicated her innocence. Elwood Bost,
wick is satisfying if not convincing as the
entrapped young noblen2an. Two cleverls
! conceived and well wrought out comedy parts
are those of the archdeacon David Elmer
and the general Gierman Hirshberg), whc
f1utter about the Lady Barter's candle.
i The curtain-raiser, Between Matinee am
Night written by Miss Coghlan. and Jane:
G. Harvey, is rather commonplace, ut,closc
with a strong climax. It affords Miss Coghlal
an opportunity to give us a taste of he
quality in the role of Woman with heart
1t also introduces another member of tht
company, Miss Nell MeEwer, who plays
matinee girl with a fine and girlish enthu
siasm.
Miss Coghlan',s gowns are SO various and 81
/ strikngly rich and lbeautiful.as not only tt
excite the feminine portion Of her audience
a to feelings of envy, but. to arrest the atten
! ton CT the usually unseeing male
~.