New-York tribune., 1903-03-24
THE DRAMA.
MISS GEORGE AS PEG WOFFINGToN.
HERALD SQUARE THEATRE.

$500 c-.oroa VINO appeared last night at
+be Herald Square Theatre In part I'D III iieu 80 %
0oHneton in a new play by MISS r - ,,,,a
a1Ie5 pretty Peggy is known to the local pun"
'"i "s.n,o- If rIeasrg aspect and useful talent
rer acting is not in any way rernar AaOi'' "
often as she appears she Is cordially "elco"Tu' anu
her professional worth is thus duly recognize" AZ
+ha rar+ called Peg Wellington Miss George Hnper-
sonates Young woman who Is, at hrSt' cdJoieN
d docaived oy a tickle, faithless lover then
osonized and made desperate by perception "f HIS
,na1aIIty. and, last. afflicted with d stloNe u
aIts ,n5er the extreme pressure Of mental
eio, The mart might have been called susan
1,a. nc AtIv "a Peg Wellington, for. as an image
oP that actress II Is neither harmonious Win t,'
attributes Of her character nor accoroant WIN INC
facts of her life In this case, though as IN laI Vi
Eau cUyn fancy suppIants biography margaret
wellington. according to the hest an'h"rl'eS' We"
NOT a particularly handsome woman but as ai'
actress she succeeded. Notwithstanding ner Soi"e
what plain looks and her decidedly harsh voice
because OF her personal fascinatlon' her '"quo. -
and her great and diversified ability she was the
,.r,roo,,- Of David Garrick but when he grew tiren
NJ her and made that unlucky reference
70 the robe of Dejanira. she dlo not p'e"H
her heart about him, any more than ne hau
done about her The liaison was not creOltaOe I"
t.bo- Of tbar and the business of Garnishing these
dead and gone amours of distinguished persons ut
is not long since Lady Hamilton and Lord NelSoh
wore exploited on the English stage) IS not only
sophsticaI and petty. but excessively tedious Let
4ba dea5 mast bury its dead''-parcularly its dead
sensuaities and all their incidental fTiPpeTleS OF
vanity sentimentality. and hystericaI nonsense.
That there would be "a rum on Peg Wonngton
might have been-and, indeed, was,-eNpected, now
ever at the tire of the epidemic OF Nell G"yn
that OF her ornament 10 her sex and to society III
the eminently respectable time Of King Charles the
Second. "Du Barry Is with US, and Mary Rooin-
son Is about due. so the world away
Charles Reades play of Peg Wellington Is
much better one than Pretty Peggy because 1t
is plausible and contains we'll drawn characters Is
rapid In movement. compact in fabric terse In
style and because 1t truly depicts the manners or
the Wellington period-with an all suTcientiy rosy
ideal OF Peggy herself but It lacks the hyoterics
that are just now, thought to be emotional, and
these Miss Mathews has aimed 10 provide In CO.
pious abundance. Her heroine is like the Prince
Ruperts Drop, that flies to pieces at every touch
Mr.. Garricks behavior. 1t must be conceded, is
reprehensibIe In the highest degree. and thus far
she has for her explosions: but such tu-
mHts can be viewed very calmly by any observer
who has seen much Of human life \ wicked at
tempt to represent David Garrick was made by
Mr.. Robert Lorraine. Garrick may have been some
what 60. IN his earlier days. but at least ne was
actor: iIe had voice, and 1t IL said that ne
knew how to it. Travesties were. likewise
furnished Of poor old COlley CibberI-made even