The Washington times., 1903-04-21
In a Musical Setting the In
vestigations of This Fam
Gus Scientific Body Prove
Picturesque and Laugh
able.

able.
The great Samuel Pickwick-expan-
sive. genial. rotund of waistcoat and
ponderous of inteHect-has made a pro-
gress TO Washington with the equally
distinguished PicEwicl5 Club. In Pick
wickian sense he is accompanied by all
the notable personages who contributed
TO the clubs unparalleled scientific re
scaTches-the immortal Mr.. Weller and
his fear of the vidders;'' his son sam
uel, drawn to the very life; Mr. WaUdle
his elderly but entirely respectable
daughter. and the fascinating young
ArabeIIa; the somnoIent fat boy. the ro-
mantle Mrs. BardeII. quivering alike in
heart and flesh and Polly. Sans sweet
and impudent little Polly, with a heart
no lighter than her heels. and a measure
Of worldly wisdom equaIed only by her
Inconsistency. It is a goodly group. good
for the eye but better for the spirits
The characters of Dickens "Piekwick
Papers thus embodied. are to be seen
this week at the Columbia Theater The
Pickwick is DeWolf Hopper: the Tony
Weller is Henry Norman. the Sam
uel is Digby Bell; the merry Jingle Is
Grant Stewart; the Wrinkle Is Louis
Payne; the Wardle is J X Adams; the
snodgrass is George Chapman, the fat
boy is Guy Bartlett, the ArabeIIa is
Clara Lane: the Mrs. Bardell is Laura
Joyce Bel; the Polly is Marguerite
Clark; the Miss Wardle is Grace Fisher
But this is not all the company. 1t in
cludes as one Of its most important in
gradients an investiture Of old English
hunting coats, Dolly Warden gowns for
q group of old England's young misses.
a stage coach with guards. horns. and
post boys a whip which snaps in ~
hands Of the widow-ridden Weller. and
an array of candIesticks and old exers
which recall wildly the merrie days OF
the Pickwick Club
Through two acts these characters dis
port themselves in characteristic vein.
Mr.. PickwiCk rights all wrongs but his
own, winks al Araballa and Polly IN true
fatheTly fashion, stumbIes into the
Widow BardeITs bedroom. fires at q game
bird and kills a cat. and has finally the
satisfaction of seeing all his charges
happily enlarged on the gentle sea OF
matrimouy- He is large, this Mr. Pick
wick, laundering. conviviaI and pedan>
tie; but he is humorous. also. ard even
his capacious waistcoat does not deaden
heart kindly and gentle in all its i'm
pulses
Sam Weller and his father the mem
bers of the Pickwick Club. and the hes
tiers, baEmaids. and post boys Of the
Dingley Bell Arms, step each night from
the covers OF Mr.. Dickens book IT is
surprising 10 note when such realiza-
ton Of book people is accomplished how
much color is lost between the black and
white pages of even the best volumes.
Sam and Polly amuse the reader; they
delight the spectator Every turn of the
sly SamueFs head. every FLIP OF little
Pouy's heels, every bit of color IN their
costumes, give the characters of the
stage a realism and congruity which even
the genius of Dickens could not supply.
What Dickens Might Think
It is. however. most dubious thai Mr.,
Dickens. we're he now alive, would ap-
prove this conversion of his first book
into light opera His. humor lay in
suggestion in the delicate deIineation Of
amusing character. in the depletion.
with q moderate and restrained en-
pbasis, of the foibles Of human nature.
"The Pickwick Papers" is a work Cf
humor. not Of ridicuIe. 1t differs from
Wit and satire as the rarest day in June
differs from fash OF lightning. In
the hands OF capable actors it might
become the most agreeable, warm,
mirthfuI and pleasing comedy Of the
stage. In the hands Of a Poetaster, q
maker o. ballads. and a representative
American comic opera company it
becomes q musical burlcsque.
In this objection the older generation.
for which Charles Dickens and William
Thackeray were living figures and not
memories only, viii subscribe heartily
But The newer theatergoers, the great
body Of those vino VIII attend the
Columbia this week, viii see iH the
opera only q most pleasing. picturesque.
ard reasonable scenario and the define
alton Of comic opera character of a
peculiarly gentle and humorous quality.
The Latter-Day Garnish.
To dwell upon Mr. Hopper's failure
to observe the fine limitations OF Mr..
Dickens "PickwIck" would be hardly
fair Those limitations are. in the first
place. the chief manifestation Of the
authors great talent, To meet them
accurately would require much greater
actor than is now to be found In Amerj-
can light opera But Mr. Hopper Ia $
created aud maintained with much con
sisteucy a distinctive and Interesting
character For the first time IN his
professional career he has ceased TO
be De Wolf Hopper and Casey at the
Bat At last he has become en- actor.
This IS an achievement. sufficiently rot
able at any fine, but especially so now
when plays are written for personalities.
and comic opera has generally ceased
To be an arr form
Dir Pickwick is disfi nguished. how
ever. by "a enactment which is superla-
lively artistic Il Is that Of Digby Bell
as sam Weller. Where SIR Hopper
fails. NJ. Bell succeeds. Here IS the