Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-25
AfnuSetnentS
At the Boyd.

AT the bOyOs
Amelia ~Bingham's company in "A Modern
Magdaler," a three-act play by Haddon
Chambers, presented for the first time In
Omaha by. the following casts:
Hiram Jenkins, the father. W. ]. Ferguson
Mrs. Emily Jenkins, the wife. Agnes Ftndlay
Katinka Jenkins. daughter of his first
olivia jenkins, daughter BY his present
Brlnker, retired storekeeper and money
ender.:..: Jarrett
Franklin Roberts
John Strong, a reformer. Victor NJ. DeSIlke
Albert Lindsey. a man about town..
Harold Fischer. Harry Lillford
Paterson, a waiter zee. Bernard c. Mcclure
Eveline, music haii friend Of KatInka..
raham
Amanda another. Laura Osborn
susie, anotner.. Marion j. Johnson
Louise, Kat:nka's maid. ...... Eveline Haven
Right at the outset, let 1t be understood,
"a Modern Magdalen" is a play without
an excuse. With the most brutal frank
ness It deals with one phase Of the sex
question; probably the least attractive of
all its several phases, that in which a
woman deliberately sells herself. Some
effort is made to afford an excuse for the
sale in this instance, but the very action
Of the piece hinges on the fact that the
main object Of the sacrifice fails, and the
weakling who sought to prove her love for
a half sister by deliberately becoming the
willing victim Of a libertine finds too late
that her sacrifice has been in vain. and
that she must bear alone the odium and
stigma of her act, will the added bitter
ness of the knowledge that her self-immo-
lation is looked on as merely the result
of her innate depravity and selfshness.
Evan In tho hands of a panahIa rOmnanv
this sort Of play cannot be made palatable.
To Miss Roselle Knott falls the unenvia-
BILE task of presenting the character OF a
high-spirited girl who becomes the mis-
tress of a rich man that she may provide
Injuries for her invalid sister, and Incl
dentally for her shiftless father and I'M
couth stepmother. Miss Knott is a beauti-
full woman, and brings to her work much
ability as an actress. II 1t were possible
to make the part an agreeable one she
| might succeed. AS II is, she only gives
emphasis to what is a matter of common
knowledge. w. ]. Ferguson endows the
impossible part, Hiram jenkins, the father
who lives on his daughters shame, but
does not tell his wife the source of his
income for fear of disturbing his domestic
tranquility" with sufficient verify to con-
vince one that IL so despicable an indi-
| Vluudl docs eAlSL ne must De very muCu
the sort Of person Mr.. Ferguson plays.
Daniel Jarrett makes Brinker, the retired
shopkeeper and present ShylocE, who
frankly goes about to buy a woman as he
would a COW, all that one would expect OF
a man no more burdened with morals than
with refinement. Victor NJ. DeSilke falls
short as John Strong, the reformer, ap-
p~arently having little conception of the
role. Eric Hargreaves, the only man in
the play worthy Of the name. falls to the
lot of Franklin Roberts, and by him rs
made a very worthy foil against which
to project the manifold and manifest moral
and mental obliquities of the others. AS
the nagging stepmother, who practices
9word-swallowing at the table and re-
freshes herself from the water pitcher to
avoid the use Of a tumbler, and afterward
takes much comfortable pride in her re-
spectability and managerial capacity, Agnes
Findlay is good. She gives the part a
reality that enables one to heave a sigh
Of real relief when she vanishes from the
action at the end OF the second act.
The play points no moral, for it has
none. Neither have most of the characters
that 1t presents. Boyd's theater was fairly
we'll filled last night by an audience that
applauded some OF the scenes and gasped
at others. A matinee today and an evening
performance concludes the engagement.