Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-11-23
TIE CAVALIER.
Miss Charlotte Tittell And An
Adequate Company In
Successful Per-
formance.

A house lnversely proportional 70
the merits Of the performance greeted
Mr.. Wallace Munro s.. production OF
George w. Cables 1.-The Cavalier" at
the Colonial Theatre Saturday night.
It is unfortunate that this presenta-
ton clashed with hop at the Acad-
envy, and with several other local en-
tertainments. The play, as whole,
was excellently rendered and II the
house had been filed. as it should
have been, il would probably have met
with an enthusiastic reception.
Mr.. Cables romance does not lend
itself readily to adaptation to the
stage. The most striking incidents
which, in the book, are woven into
the plot with a considerable appear
ance Of natnralness, are thrown into
strong relief in the dramatic version,
frequently requiring an extensive
stretch of the imagination in order TO
include them all within the realm OF
possibility. However, the adapters,
Mr.. Paul .Kester and Mr.. George. Mid
dleton, have performed their task cred
itably and have compiled very "act-
able" drama.
The story is laid in the South, dur
ing the Civil War. Charlotte Durand,
the heroine, enthusiastic in the cause
of the Confederacy, marries Captain
Francis Oliver, who, though wearing
the uniform of Confederate cavalry
officer. is in reality a Union spy. His
true character is revealed to Charlotte
Immediately after the wedding, upon
his departure back to the Union forces.
His wife denounces him for his treach-
cry, and elects to throw her lot with
the defenders of her cause, rather than
accompany her husband in his career
of military villainy. This villainy of
Captain Oliver is the weak feature of
the book, and, from an analytical
point of view, the still weaker feature
of the drama. 1t is difficult to con-
ceive the motives that must have act
uated the unfortunate captain in his
subsequent career of infamy. Ii he
had stopped at being q mere spy, all
might have been, at least, comprehensi-
BILE, but he hesitates at nothing in
the way of wickedness that offers dur
ing the two following acts. Though
denounced as a damned scoundrel"
by his brother officers, he continues
his career of treachery, without APP
parent cause or pretext, until he is
happily carried off by fever before
the curtain rises on the fourth act.
Charlotte, of course, has warm admir-
ers among the genuine southern Off
GERS of her acquaintance, and one of
these, Lieutenant Edgar Ferry, event.
ually becomes her accepted sutton, i'm
mediatey after news is received of the
despicable captains demise.
The work of Miss Charlotte Tittell
1--WE wish the lady had assumed some
more euphonious stage nancy was, by
all odds, the feature Of the perform
ance. She was painstaking, tactful,
and, to use an overworked word OF
the critics, convincing. So cOnscf-
entious has Miss Tittell been in the
portrayal of this role, that she has
even mastered the delightful accent
and information peculiar to the ante
bellum residents of the far South. In
this age of overacting and hectic rant,
it is geuine pleasure to be able to
commend this lady for q successful
effort at conservative realism.
Her support was, with one or two
minor exceptions, creditable. A good
word must be said for the easy stage
presence and articulate enunciation
of Mr.. Franklin Richie, who was cast
for the thankless role of the incompre-
hensible villain, Captain Oliver. We
regret that, owing to the exigencies
of the occasion, Mr.. Richie did not
have a more congenial part to play,
and that he was removed from the
scene of his usefulness before the fourth
act. And unless our Judgment is at
fault, we are of the opinion that Mr..
John Monks, who assumed the double
role of Gen. Jewett and of Gen. jew
ett's son, Captain Robert Jewett, of
the Union Army, has future. He
possesses the same praiseworthy quail
ties that we have noted in the case of
Mr.. Richie. Mr.. Frank Powell as
the ultimately successful sutton, Lieu
tenant Ferry, may have seemed, at
times, trifie stiff, but it is q fault
that becomes q shining virtue when
we consider how the part might have
been overdone.
If we were asked to pick q flaw
with the rest of the cast, most of
whom represented military persons,
we should say that they were trifie
too tumultuous. An actor in soldier
uniform, booted and spurred, is apt
to be led astray by an almost irresis-
ible temptation TO rapid, indistinct
utterance, and noisy DECENTRALIZATION.
This temptation, on Saturday night
was not always avoided. An eleventh
commandment should have been hand
ed down especially for our stage folk,
Lamely, "Thou shalt not speak indis-
tinctly, nor make too much noise. =
The mounting of the piece was ade-
quate and tasteful. The "practica-
ble'' doors, fire, piano and other ac-
cessories, were real helps to the per-
Torrance. In fact, the only short
coming was ON the part of our local
theatre goers, who should have turned
out in larger numbers.
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