The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-14
O'NEILL AT OLYMPIC
IN INTERESTING PLAY.

| There are these among theater-goers
! and they are not so few. who will go to
see Mr.. James ONeill in anything that
may be called play only By courtesy.
| Ana IN truth since Monte Cristo. he does
not seem to have found a play that is a
| play
sill, he comes to us this year with two
offerings, curtain raiser and q three-act
romantic thriller" which have the adj
vantage Of being new 10 St Louis aud
| which possess merit e;oieh to give him
the kind of opportunities business .
10 use the stage word--tiiat he needs.
The engagement he began last night
should draw out his full following and
some others who may be curious 10 know
what IlaEnrr of acting is thiJ O'Nrili
style II" gives every possible c.iaacl Tor
a study of his art.
The opening one-act piece shows hin as
an apostate franciscan monk. al ill., time
OF the French Revolution. The inner COLI
NE: between the int MS ,.h'ct .s...s i'm
toward revolutionary or republican prin-
ciples and the bonds vi the. c!iuru! t. he
pivotal part ct the plot lnvolvcd also is
love Tor Il peasant maid whom. ti.itiiing
himself freed Of the call 90 the priest hood.
he would marry. These opposing: elements
allow him to portray the extreme emo
tional. 10 SHOW us a man distraus;rt by
contendins passions, who finally chooses
the good and dies Tor it.
Such psychological complications enter
into the theme about which the lively
story of the curtain raiser is omit.
Then Ill The Adventures of Gerard"
The conceited. daredevil. hOt-beaded. reck-
less. brave soldier OF experimentation.
nI
successor as Il ciean-cut character TO Shcr-
lock Hulmes-O Neil! has Il totally differ
ent role to essay.
Gerard. hero of hundred duels. of as
many love affairs. and well nigh as many
campaigns. Most famous soldier Of an
army famed for famous soldiers. Swords
man knowing no equal. OF course, ire
siStible with the fair sex Trusted servant
Of Napoleon. for whom he performed so
MANY wondrOus feats that il rather
aazlles the comprehension to endeavor
TO take them all in ut once. Raconteur
about himself, his affairs. of honor and
OF the heart-without ueer.
This Is the kind OF thing into which
ONeill must carry his audience after
renegade Franciscan. He does it very ac-
ceptably.
If man ever could have experienced such
exploits as Conan Doyle weaves around
the BriSadter Gerard. II must have been
some such a fellow as ONeill personates
one who is never Disconnected: one who
can give tit for tat with his tongue. as
well as his sword; on. who takes the I'M
expected as a matter of course; one who
matches his wit against the famous
the bad.
This Talleyrand feature: it's the most
extraordinary succession of indictments.
Talleyrand is anxi ous to prevent the Brig
adler from returning to the Emperor. Ma
prisoner and sending him and also a
certain packet of papers: through the
outwits the Brigadier: then the
Brigadier puts one over on Talleyrand:
bundling him into cabinet. all bOurd
round with hempen ropes. Taileyrand had
ordered the said cabinet. continuing Ma !
poleon's imperial robes. delivered to the |
def ated Emperor at Fontainebleau.
Talleyrand. statesman. diplomatist. the |
Wonderful, Isn't it? But he gets Sat. |
However. all that's part of story Nbo |
and disconnected to tell in
full in one small review.
Yes, the play Is somewhat mixed. Tha |
Is a drawback, but the real point after all
las not to do with. Tal!eyrand or Napoleon,
or the plot-complications involving them.
but with the Captain OF Hussars, Gera'd.
He is the theme. And O'Neill, I think.
gives us an interesting idea of just such a
courageous soldier.
As said. the two pieces give O'NeiIl
.iu'ii Seope. - 'i.e '''el WHICH SHOWS
him as he is best known. His facial dis
tortjons his mannerisns do not on
thuse at first. but gradually he asserts a
sway that is undeniable. His audience last
night was a small one. probably because
Of the weather. but he held It's attention
and ii demanded {: curtain speech.
His slpport is fair-in spots. Miss Selepe
,,,,so,, ,,,.os.d sesnits that hoy ,,,os
'oiiisoi, nv WIZ
was badly broken with cold Mr. Edmund
Breese is the Napoleon. and Mr.. CrestOn
-larke. Talleyrand. Fact Is. nowadays few
Napoleon or Talleyrand seriously on the
stage. That considered. aessrs. Clarke