The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-04-30
The H|:'||..l||.'''I| !
The, SEASON.
.Charley's Aunt Il C' III ISL, k
and Spikins Last Night.
THE.AUDIENCE DELIGHTED.
No Professionals Ever Gave More
{ Pleasure to a Greater Gathering In
the Academy oflMusic y Some III
81 s., Who We're There. ~
"A ~ [. n, l.III .lEIIIll

TO tnbtual theatre goers, AMATEUR! pro-
/ ductions are delightful change from
the offerings OF professionals, and es-
pcclally are the efforts Of the former
welcome at tho end OF season, when
one Is Just bit tired OF the monototy
Of the thing. Therefore, the production at
! the Academy last night by the University
| Of Virginia boys, and tho local talent
proceeding them, proved to be, like the
| spring tonic, relief for that tired feel
! ing. III II u s4 rs u s.sS II # VI n
a brilliant audience, for tile most part
| regular play goers, witnessed the produce
ton. and entered Into It's enjoyment with
! q hearuness that left no doubt as 10.
! their thorough appreciation OF the per-
S8iA DOUBLE ELL.
| The bill was Il double one. the Dramatic
i Club OF tho University OF Virginia pro-,
scnting the three act comedy, "Charley's
Aunt which was preceded by tho cur
tain raiser. Chopstcks and splkins."pa
farce produced in a most admirable 10 man
ner by six clever Richmond amateurs.
! styling themselves tho Lady Nicotine
| Stock Company. s.5, IA
It Is always a ridiculous spectacle to
4 SEQ mon pnrading In womerl's forgery.
| Whom man puts his feet inside Of n
| skirt Instead Of through2$a pair OF
trousers then he is altogether out Of
place, and his every movement shows IT.
A woman can wear our clothes witt very
| good grace, y and often appears In them
| better than we do, but when we don fe-,
! male attire we at once become subjects
i for laughter, not admiration. Therein lies
tho difference. Woman clearly has tho
advantage.
This was demonstrated last night in the
/ production OF "Charlev's Aunt,"Sa play,
by the way, which brings out this very
\ fact, for In tho comedy, the aunt Is I'M
po.sonated by a college man, at tho In
/ stigaton Of two OF his chums. However,
1 as Is known. the entire company OF the
| University Club Is composed OF mon. all
l OF the female parts being assumed by.
them. And 1t is from these impersona-
lions that much OF the fun of the per-.
\ Torrance Is derived, Nothing can be taken
seriously with Messrs. s. r. Caves, r. b..
4 Crawford, J. p. Boogher, Julian Osborne,
and r. N. Pollard. all on tho stage In
skirts. Nearly every speech they make
Is cue for the audience to laugh. AS the
/ purpose OF a farce is to cause laughter,
; "Charley's Aunt" as presented by the
3 University boys. was certainly,a success.
4 The male parts, OF course. had to take
second place.
., CLEVER WORK. ri
& Messrs. r. G. Harris, Marion BROMLEY.
4 II. r. schoen F. s. Tyler and r. L.
\ Conquest were all clever in their respec-
!, tive roles. Their work would have been
taken moro for what It was worth. II the
audience could have stopped laughing at
the female parts, and given the men In
trousers a chance. I'M #
Now, at the ending, we must start at
i the beginning, which was the curtain
raiser. or course, we all know that It Is
4 the customary and proper thing to praise
i the work Of amateurs No one, not con-
4 templating an immediate change OF resi-
| dence would think OF doing anything else.
] Therefore, when words OF praise are
i really and truly meant, as they are In this
4 case, few really believe the half Of It.,
but attribute the opinion. as expressed,
i to the writer's regard for his own peace
| of mind Notwithstanding this. wish
i to state most solemnly that In my 5udg-
ment tho presentation Of tho little farce
was really clevery done, and the audi
1 encc no doubt, shares my opinion. Miss
Blouch Morgan is always clever upon
the stage; and therefore her excellent
! work last night was no surprise to those
i who had seen her In other productions,
! We sec professionals every day who do
i not possess half her ability. and who do
i not nut half the intelligence in their
work as that displayed by Miss Morgan.
1 AS Maud, the terror" she gave cleyerly
conceived impersonatlon.
Miss Stokes, as Mrs 1ronclasp, a
mother-in-law Of the character that its
name suggests. did an admirable bit Of
acting, and we'll won all the praise the
audience bestowed upon her. She did not
overdo the part. nor did she spoil It by
Z following any Of tho old methods en-
ployed In the impersonation OF roles OF
! this type, And therein she displayed good
;, Judgment, Miss Smith, as Julia, the wife.
{ made tho most Of a part that did not{af-
ford any great opportunity. She got all
) that could be gotten out OF 1t. No one
can dc more,
i.s a FETCHING MAID.
Miss Shields, as the maid, was most
fetching. she must have realized tho
2mculties with which she had TO con-
tend. Many a professional has been CON
fronted with the same, There was noth-
Ing in the part except what could be
forced from 1t by the player. Miss Shields
won by her own personality. She made
the part a charming little bit" by her
own charming manner of enactng It,
i TO make a part conspicuous, when the
playwright has placed 1t In the back
\ ground, is the ,grentest achievement OF
Il a player.
\ y Mr.. Reed. as Charles Chopstick, was as
easy as a professional, He was a good
X deal better than many OF them have
seen. lie hasa good voice and q fine
stage presence, both Of which he used TO
tho best advantage. Mr.. McAdams, IN
tho hardest worked part In the piece was
splendid, and carried tho farce along IN
! a manner that reflected the greatest
credit upon him,
I. The audience made an excellent society
showing, the dressing being unusually
I. noticeable, Tho boxes We're taken Dy
Miss Morgan and Mrs. HARDWOOD with
number of their friends. by Mrs. Bryan
and Mr.. John p. Branch, The actors
y wore all heartily applauded and flowers
J We're literally bestowed, After the play
J the casts adjourned to tho Bazaar, where
! they were the guests of honor, The en-
tire evening was one OF the social and
professional triumphs OF the season.
J ss B.g@c,ai