The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-15
"a Royal Family. at EngIish's.

Robert Marshalfs light and graceful
comedy, "a Royal Family" in which he,
an English dramatist, makes fun of CONT
mental royalty, was acted last evening at
English's The rulers Of the neighboring
kingdoms of Arcacia and Kurland find their
peoples arrayed against each other, threat
ening war, and the only way out of the
difficulty is the betrothal of the Princess
Angela, of Arcacia, and the Crown Prince
Victor. OF Kurland. They have never met
and the princess appears rebelling against
being married ''for the purposes of geog-
raphy"-that is, sacrificing herself that her
family may not, presuming that Arcacia
loses contest with Kurland, be put aside
in the revolutionary making of the kingdom
into a republic. Her father is bored and
timid man. shrinking from any reforma-
tory measure and unable to understand
why persons he calls Socialists should
wish his death. The serene and ingenious
cardinal archbishop of Arcacia proposes
and carries out plan by which the prin-
cess and the prince come together. without
the princess knowing the identity of the
young man, and fall in love with each
other.
The most amusing of the complications
is the puzzlement of the queen dowager,
who is affronted by every matter in which
she does not control, and cynically resents
each difference from the political and do
nestle methods that obtained when she
was in power. In professions, she COM
plains. she is impertinently passed by fifth
announcing her entrance into the throne
room. blow very feeble blasts. She Is not
less than outraged on discovering that the
princess and the mysterious young man are
a great deal together and walk so fast that
she cannot keep up with them, and she is
struck with horror discovering them sit
ting in the branches OF tree under which
the tea table has been set. These excit-
ing incidents bring TO the family an in
valuable security when, at the formal be-
trothal, the princess generously stricken by
the thought that she must be married TO
a stranger. while she loves man that has
finds on looking up into the face of Kur-
lands prince that he is her lover
Inc comedy is deity constructed and
offers pretty surface over which there
Is play or wit The characters are diff
cult. The king easily may be made an
unpleasant fop II the actor do not exactly
matiSt, and there Is a depth Of tenderness
In the nature of the cardinal and a refresh
ing. Keen irony In the behavior of the queen
dowager that ask uncommon skill in their
impersonators- y pleasant memory re-
mains OF the performance of this play by
Miss Annie Russell and her company a
year ago, when Mrs. George H. Gilbert was
the dowager and Mr.. w. II. Thompson the
cardinal.
Al lnlS tune MISS HerCy HaSWeu acts as
the Princess Angela, Miss Maud Granger as
the old queen and Mr.. Frank Roberts as
the fatherly churchman. Boyd Putnam i'm
personates the king and Harry Burkhardt
the Prince OF Kurland. Miss Haswell
though she plays brightly and graciously
does not produce the full effect of the
princess's shy helplessness tender vivacity
and delicate fancy that Miss Russell so de-
lightfully made known. Neither have Miss
Haswells associates the proper key and
the perception of finer details made requi-
site by their presenting themselves I'm a
work for which a contemporaneous stand
ard has been set. Nevertheless, the COM
edy is played in fashion TO show its many
merits and TO make IL a good entertain
ment. Frequently IL sparkles. Two per-
formances of II will be given to-day.