The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-27
|IFiqTr'eAl,

nave been convinced last night by the
tremendous ovation. accorded him at the
Metropolitan, upon the occasion of his
second visit with his play 1.-The Parish
Priest
Mr. Sully has always been a welcome
| guest in, this city because it became
known long ago that Daniel Sully's
| name was synonymous with honest and
worthy effort. Mr. Sully in his own
| proper person is such an embodiment of
/ genial good nature and captivating joll-
/ Ity, that no role, however uncongenial,
could wholly despoil him of these ele-
| ments of popularity. 1.-THE Parish
| PRIEST is easily the best play that Mr..
Sully has ever lent his powers to. The
play fits him and he fits the play. The
combination is winning one. The role
of Father Whalen is by all odds the most
congenial one which Daniel Sully has
ever interpreted, and his Interpretation is
so satisfying and so appealing that his
admirers will wish no immediate change
in his career.
1.-The Parish Priest is not great
play. But what is more, it is a thor
oughly good play. The real need of the
American stage today is not great
plays, but rather clean, simple, whole
some plays which have a tendency to
lead people away from mere artifice,
plays which shall redeem the artistic
sense of the time from the adulation of
such merely clever nothingness as The
Marriage Came" and its kind.
The most abundant and abiding serv-
ice to the American drama has not been
contributed by the men who have written
great plays, or the actors who have Gre
ated great stage traditions, but rather
by such plain, whole-soued, unspoiled
men as James A Herne who have
m q 10 fhniv
the firm faith that in time mankind
would not disewn its own better nature.
it is in this direction that 1.-THE Parish
Priest is great, and to fail in such an
enterprise is better than to succeed to
those enterprises, which are such abom-
nations to true art as to be unredeemed
by any boX-office success.
But Mr.. Sully has not failed in his eff
fort to appeal to the best in the public
heart. His reception last night is an adj
d1uonal proof that those managers who
claim that in producing the sensati onal
and the risque they only follow the pub
lie demand are mistaken and do not I'M
derstand the public need.
Here is a play as beautiful and sweet
IN spirit as was ever conceived; rich in
humor and tender in pathos: running
close at times to the deeps of ira gedy
but frightened always by the play of
sunshine across the Somber clouds. The
person who can leave the theater after
the performance without feeling the heart
beat little faster is hardly to be envied.
Inc story of the play need not be told
mere. 1t must be seen to be appreciated
AS Father Whalen, 1.-THE Parish Priest -
by whose good heart, wisdom, nobility,
diplomacy and abundant humor the
tragedy Of four lives is averted Mr..
Sully is wholly satisfying wholly Iovable
winning, unforgetable. 1t is good to get
a glimpse, even stage glimpse of such
lives, which, running quietly along the
unknown byWays of the world leave a
joy and gladness in the atmosphere long
after they have passed into oblivion.
Mr.: Sully was forced to make a curtain
speech last night, and he made a good
one. He could not have desired a warmar
welcome than he received on the opening
night of what should prove to be record
breaking engagement. If there is any
theatergoer in st. Paul in the least DOUBT
as to whether he will visit the Metro
politan this week, let him decide in the
affirmative or he will miss performance
that he may be able to get along without,
but which he will be the better and the
happier for seeing.
The company is an exceptionally ca
pable one. Mr.. John D. Griffin, as the
irrepressible Mike Sullivan, is a host in
himself, and as good 'real Irishman''
Heck, as Jim WEIGH was entirely ade-
quate to the role. Miss Augusta True, as
Agnes cassidy, deserves unstinted praise
for her superb handling of a somewhat
ungracious role; Miss Helen Nelson as
Katherine Corrigan, a visitor from Ire
land, injected the requisite bit of ginger
into the performance, and Miss Juliette
de GrignOn, as Nellie Durken, the priests
niece, was satisfactory. The only mem
Der Of the company not up to standard
was Mr.. Robert Blaylock who made a
very pathetic effort to play the part of
DR.. WEIGH He undoubtedly did his best.
but his best was most atrOciously bad
But once again. if you want to laugh a
real good-natured, heart-born laugh if
you want to feel a little bit kindlier to-
ward all mankind, if you want to enjoy
an evening of pure and unalloyed pleas
ure, you cannot afford to miss Daniel
Sully and the delicious Michael Sullivan.
The usual big Sunday house saw Lost
River at the Grand last night and
seemed pleased. From a Spectacular
point of view the play which is a pas
toral drama, with melodramatic trim
mings is all that could be desired. but
the cast, unless it be Paul Gilmore and
Miss Elizabeth Woodson, has a tendency
to weakness that might be overcome
with credit to the production
In Miss Edith Fassett, as Ora the pearl,
in this setting of country life one finds
considerable that is disappointing She
puts much life and color in the part
but as the demure, simple country girl
there are periods when she is lacking.
The Robert Blessing of Paul Gilmore,
however, is a thoroughly satisfying piece
of work, and calls for no criticism. His
curtain calls were frequent an ELUSIVE
The prolonged hiss is synonym for
credit when the villain appears, and
these are dealt out in liberal quantities
when Miss Elizabeth Woodson, as Gladys
Middleton and John E. Luce Jr ap-
pear. In, the work of Miss Woodson
there is much to praise. Mr. Ince is at
times too dramatic Harry Webster,
as Claude. Middleton, and Howard Missi-
mer as Ezra Cookus, are characetriza-
lions that are clever. The Grandma
Gates of Miss Ada Boshell is meritorious
In the shape of spectacular and scenic
attractions Lost River offers much
Three horses IN full speed across the
stage, a toll gate, bicycles ridden
across the stage with a terrific storm
raging, and ball room scene, are a few
of the things in this line.
The cast is a big one, and the scenery
is excellent. The story is combination
of city and country life, and is certainly
melodramatic enough to satisfy the most
exacting. a country orchestra and n
repeated 4encores.
That once again 1.-The Heart of Mary
land is to be seen in this city is a bit
of good and welcome news for the the
atergoers who are interested in sustain
ing the higher and noble works of our
dramatic writer's. Mr.. Belasco's play,