Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-09-09
A BANGOR CRITICISM.
A Comment on the Play to be Given
Wednesday Night.

OF the play Jeanne Du Barri'' which
the Clara Turner Company will pre-
sent at the Opera House, Wednesday
evening. the Bangor News has the fol-
lowing fine notice, the company ap-
pearing in Bangor, last week:
/ ION Wednesday night large audi
ence attended the production, by Miss
Clara Turner and her company, of
"Jeane Du Barri," romance, or, more
properly speaking, tragedy, founded
upon the early days of the French
revolution. The performance was in
teresting, not only as the first pre-
sentation in this city of a play of
great beauty and undoubted strength,
but also as an indication of the re-
sources and abilities of the modern
repertoire organization.
1.-The version of 'Du Barri given by
Miss Turner is not the same as that
recently enacted by Mrs. Leslie Carter
but it is strong, well told, and con-
sistent, and admirably preserves the
atmosphere and principal medicines OF
the now famous story. Jeanne Du
Barri, a woman of the common people
"a woman. also. of questionable repu-
tation-is loved by two gentlemen OF
France-One of them Marcel, soldier
of fortune, possessed mainly of an hon.
est heart and ready sword: the other,
no less a parsonage than King Louis
the XIV. The king, as is to be expect
ed becomes the favored sutton; and,
for a few brief months Jeanne, known
to both royalty and the people as
Madame Du Barri, rules as the IA
yorite of the monarch and the greatest
lady in all France. Then come the
dark DAVIS of the revolution-the days
when. cursed by a people whose llber-
ties she has outraged, Du BARR ends
her sad though brilliant life upon the
scaffold, deserted by all save the honest
lover to whom she clingS in the SUI
preme hour of retribution. 1t is a
play unrelieved by a single touch OF
comedy, unlight by aught save scenes
of the most bitter tragedy and dis
play of all that is deepest in human
emotion; but it is a fine, strong play,
tersely told, cleverly conceived, ana
one which seems destined to stand as
a representation of all that is pure ana
good in recent dramatic literature.
"In the leading role. Miss turner
accomplished on Wednesday night the
difficult task of stepping from the ap-
breyiated skirts and tangled hair OF
the conventional soubrette to the err
mine robes and distinguished bearing
of the kings favorite-and it would
seem that she appeared to advantage
in the transition, giving CON-
scientious, frequently brilliant and az
ways interesting Interpretation OF the
character of the great French woman.
The Marcel was Gilmore Hammond,
who was very successful in the part
raising to real dramatic strength and
intensity in the more important scenes,
while Mr.. Lester acted with dignity
and intelligence in the role of King
Louis. The remainder of the company
was generally competent, the cos
tunes handsome and historically cor
rect. and the mob scene as effective as
the number of supernumeraries intro
duced during it's action would permit.
But. after all. the best feature OF
the evening was, perhaps, the admir-
able Judgment displayed by the man
agement in omiting the coon songs
ard other 'tween-act diversions usual
" introduced, and which. on Wednes-
dav night, would hardly have been IN
strumental to the success OF the pro-
due tiOn.'