The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-24
STUDENT PLAYERS
AT THE LYCEUM

Z 3.55'
The University Dramatic club gave it's
annual performance Yesterday afternoon
at the Lyceum theater. The necessity Of
having a daytime performances was not
favorable to brilliant production for
the altered character of the audience had
Its influence on the players and on the
whole the effort was rather a labored one.
Ihere was fair sized audience but not
one to generate thrilling currents of en-
thuslasm that would carry the players out
OF themselves and force them to their ut
most endeaVOrs.
The play. One Summer Day" by Henry
Esmond, Is a society drama with no i'm
possible characters or situations. and for
this reason would seem on superficial ex-
animation particularly well suited to
amateur production, but it proved disap-
pointing, for the hands of inexperienced
players it seemed quite. colorless. 1t de-
mands exquisite artistic finish to give it
the required puances and the ring of
genuineness, 1t would seem as if the act
ors in carrying parts with which they were
entirely familiar in real life, were made
+. self conscious by that fact and their. re-
|. pose instead of being the serenity Of
suppressed emotion, suggested only lack
! of emotion that seemed to argue a failure
to grasp the situations and characters.
The selection Of a play was certainly ill
advised and a disappointment. It is
quite natural to expect Of a university
club play that has distinct literary
qualities that make it worth doing and an
ambitious attempt at something of high
quality that was a little beyond their
reach would be admirable mental eXer-
else for the club members and would COM
mand the attention of the public to
much greater degree than a mediocre
piece Of dramatic writing that offers at
best nothing but very ordinary entertain
Tment. The play was mot worth serious
effort and its success with the hnest cast
could have been but ,moderate.
The performance. on the whole. was
pleasing. It was attractively and appro-
prately staged and went! with cOmmenda-
BILE smothness The most unfortunate
feature of the acting was: that the hero In
makeup and manner was wholly at Varl-
ance with his lines. He reiterated with
frequency his age as bar to his swooing
Maysie and yet he looked and acted sew
eral years her Junior. as well, as that OF
his young subaltern friend. and rival IN
love, Phil Marsden This was distinctly
false note that Jared Through the whole
performance. 81 .
The honors belong ,to< Miss Cornela Hol-
lingshead as the gYpsy,s. which, part,
through the fault Of the dramatist. domi-
mates the play unduly., Miss Hollings7
head entered into the spirit of the part ad-
mira bly, and her voice and reading was a
sdelght. Miss Alice Bean was a very
.winsome .Maysie and her sincerity made
her work much more effective than could
be expected under adverse circumstances.
She gave evidence sof considerable dra-
matte ability. Cyrus Brown played the
younger, lover with zcommendable discre.
.tion and naturalness. that deserves much
praise. AS bits of individual work the
minor parts were nearly all good, the chief
fault being a lac kof unity and atmOs
sphere. The remainder of the players
were Miss Ruth Leonard the middle-aged
wife of painter; Mary NJ Alden, Irene,
a pretty young girl; Miss Jessie Gillespie,
gypsy; M. LIE Roy Arnold, an amorous
painter; Horace Reed school boy IN
love with the gypsy; Frank S. Lyon, who
was particularly good as the, fond and in
dulgent uncle; Arthur L. Myers, gypsy;
Stuart M. Thompson, a street urchin will
ingly- to be. bribed to hold his tongue Il:
The reading OF the lines good in all
cases and might well be considered by
professionals The scenes were all out Of
doors, two being at a picnic at an island
on the sThames and the third on the lawn
at party. In the third a figure Of the
german was danced on the lawn by twelve
young women Scenically this was very
pretty for the soft effect of the lighting
on the dainty garden. party gowns was
charming, but the music was hating and
in consequence there. was a. lack Of pre-
cision in the movements that snarred the
effects. Those appearing lii the dance
were: Helen Burbridge:'i Emily J3nr1ey,
Edna Kiny on, Bessie Scripture, Fac Col:
Inns. Pauline. Coggeshall;Sh. Catherine
Stoughton, Hattie Nan Bergen, Eva Blais-
DELL Florence Prouty, Florence Parker:
Flarence Dickinson. , e. Il,
The play was staged by Mr.. and Mrs
Charles M. Holt. re =. ..., 49, -. f,r-