Evening star., 1902-02-04
AMUsEMENTs,

Of nature which makes the whole worlG
| kin which vivifes 1.-The Auctioneer' END
makes the play something more than 9
| commonplace sketch, such as may be seer
in briefer form at any vaudeville theatez
In the country. But that touch Is all suffi-
cient. The simple humanity Of David War.
| fields performance raises it far beyond the
| limitations which with SO humble a theme
| would seem inevitable.
Every one has heard of "the East Side
IN New York It contains a population
whose local spirit is as intense as If #
| were separated from the rest of the city
by an ocean instead of a mere thorough
fare. 1t was to this terra incognita that
David Warffeid devoted himself with the
| patience OF student and the zeal of dis
coVerer. 'The Auctioneer'' is essentially a
comedy creation, but the accepted order of
dramatic construction has been reversed.
Comedy Is usually introduced to relieve
the stress Of prolonged synpa athletic atten-
t1on. In THE Auctfoneer' the flow of
comedy Is occasionally checked by the in
PRODUCTION of some rare pathos. This alter
nation of humor and sentiment is about
the only intrinsic merit the play can boast,
Tor the plot is as shopworn q piece of goods
as ever came off the playwright's bargain
counter. The cast contains a number of
finely conceived and splendidly interpreted
characters, with nothing to do worthy Of
their abilities. Warfeld, however, keeps
the audience always Interested, even though
some of his lines came from page 1 of the
scrap book and the situations have the
oId-tfme you here, Jack Daltonw ring
The success Of the company in handling
such ancient and matter-of-faot stuff Is
an exemplification Of the extent to which
art can gfId the most unpromising ma
terlal. Warfeld has, with the assistance
OF Befasco's wonderful stagecraft done for
the East Side what ,Zangwill with all his
ability as writer, failed to do. He has
made the characters comprehensive to the
DubifC at large and for them
the sympathy which comes of the recogni-
ton OF common humanity. If the stage
has mission higher than that of mere
diversion. 1t Is in thus quickening fellow
feeling amongst all classes of society; in
conveying reminder that success and dis
appointment, love and bereavement mean
as much to the lowliest dweller Of a great
city as to the most exalted.
Mr.. Warfeld's stage personality Is well
known to the theater-going public. He has
preserved In this play the characteristics
which have become delightfully."- familiar to
the amusement-loving world, and has added
to them the dignity which real art always
asserts, whether it's subject be selected
from the court or the hovel. Whether Mr..
Warfeld would succeed with equal thor
oughness in some other field of dramatic
Interpretation Is not question for the mo-
ment. His present success Is complete and
undeniable. He has stepped from travesty
into honest character delineation without
a single tremor of uncertainty.
The cast is one Of marked excellence.
Marie Bates plays the part of an Irish
woman In manner which leaves nothing
to be desired.
NEW NATIONAL THEATER-By jog
g1ng the memory, or reverting to school
days and the study of American history 1t
is recalled that Vincennes Is the oldest
town in the present state of Indiana 1t
obtained its name from Jean B. B. Vincen-
mes, a Canadian explorer, who. in the year
112o. built a fort and trading post on the site
or the settlement that In IA
capital of the state and remained the seat
OF government until 1914. Vincennes, ac-
cord1ng to history, was settled by the
French. 1t came into the possession of
England on the surrender of Canada in
1853, but was taken from the English by
the American army. under General George
Rogers Clark, In 17I9. 1t is upon this Incl
dent that Maurice Thompsons novel, "AIice
of Old Vincennes," from which Edward e.
Rose makes his dramatization, is based
Alice OF Old Vincennes' was chosen by |
Charles F'rohman as the play to which
Virginia Harneds fortunes as a theatric |
star should be intrusted The book is of |
the class, dealing with the early days of |
THIS country and of the revolution, that has |
oeeh the vogue of late. The stage version |
tells of the manufacture of an American |
lag by Alice Rousilon, who, for want of a |
better description, may be termed the belle |
u Vlncennes She is compelled by the ap- |
proach of British troops, under Colonel
Hamilton, to haul down the stars and
stripes and hide the bit Of bunting An
american spy visits the town, and having
seen Alice on a previous occasion, succumbs
% her charms The incidents that follow
embrace the giving of false information tn
he British by Alice and her hero. the !
escape of the latter, the attempt of the
or1tish commander to win Alice by means
honorable or dishonorable the thwarting of
he red-coat colonel by the girl, the taking
II the fort by the Americans and the usual
termination, with Alice claspel
n the arms Of her hero.
ocenlcaily, the play Is handsomely
mounted, and it is appropriately costumed
comedy is interspersed to the extent of
nleldlng even the climaXes from the
narse or being intensely dramatic Miss
Is gwen TO certain mannerisms
Vhlch DO not assist the INTERPRETATION of |
ne character, and the analyst would ex
,erlence little difficulty in finding situations
nat are by no means logical For instance.
wen ,,lsi tne american spy, blinded by snow,
mas ms way to an inner room Of a CLOSELY
guarded fort without having been seen NV
ne sehtlneis or any one else, the rather
emarkable achievement is permitted to
as "i.iiout an attempt at satisfactory
Apianatlon. 1t is regarded as a matter Of
curse A number of similar incongruities
nrust themselves upon the attention. How
Ver' the play is full Of action from start
i,llish. MISS Harmed contributes largely
o the momentum, notwithstanding the fact
nat sne does not seem to be as hanniIy
ast as her creditable work heretofore |
you'd warrant. OF course she makes
SSA sIsei oStiFc, N1NdC1OuS and !
ne supporting company is above the aver.
ge. William Courtleigh portravs tho
-merican hero handsomely and with intel
gence. Arthur Hoops, favorably remain
ered as James K. Hackett's leading mar
1r several seasons, is the designing Rrjt-
IN colonel, and Thomas McGrath meets
IL requirements as patriotic priest. Saiia ,
auer displays originality In a female roie j
lat requires comedy Interpretation Nor
aret Gordon looks after a somewhat ay- 8
ctlng part with discrimination. Notw,th- ,
,anding any possible weakness of the NAV :
llss Harmed captured the plaudits Of thn
ddiehce as completely as Alice proved VIC
,rious IN all the situations on the stage /
hd acknowledged gracefully repeated cnr,
IN calls, but declined to respond to ellis
'r speech. " e"iis .
SQUARE OPERA HO1rsE
Last sunday the Lafayette Square StocL :
ompany made leap Of about 1SO0 wears !,
no left the company of Nero and Petro. .
w 'wous 1or modern society. This week sev . :
al actors Of the organization annear In Z
sralsht parts of Augustin Daly's adanta-
on or German comedy entitled "The
Teat Unknown" From last nights ner~
'rmance the latter-day roles are likely r. .
rove unqualifiedly acceptable to the reeno
T patronage which the stock comnanv has G
oM established in Washington !