The St. Louis Republic., 1904-03-15
WINSOME "COUS|N KATE"
AND MISS BARRYMORE.

a bunch of chorus beauties in Cousin
Kate" You wont find d crash of music,
nor yet lordly company of gorgeously
attired men and women. You wont find
lot of smart talk and you wont see
many gowns that call Cor a second
glance.
Instead of all these things you will find
Miss Barrymore and six other persons
engaged in the telling of pleasant little
story in two rooms
You will find no action to speak OF. no
tragedy, nothing very funny-yet you will
get out of your seat at ten thirty OF the
clock very much pleased with what you
have seen and heard: sorry indeed, that
there is to be no more of it.
And it's all because Miss Barrymore and
Mr.. Bruce MacRae and the playwright
happily know their several businesses
This Bruce MacRae played here not so
lCng ago in Miss Marlowe's production of
When Knighthood Was in Flower" At
thst time he had good notices" in this
PAL ticular column as the best young actor
OF the hour.
Now, In quite a different part, he is
all but the best Of our present-day lead
ing men.
He's a bit fat. and he seems to be run
ming that way, but with the elimination of
this fault he is so full of excellence that
he all but has class of his own.
Mr.. McRae, In Cousin Kate" plays
the part Of a young Irish artist wRo on
the eve OF his marriage to an English
country girl. discovers that the two are
not matched. Although the engagement
is not definitely broken. there are signs OF
It when, or a railway train, Cousin Kate,
coming down into the country from Lon
don. meets Mr.. Artist, quite harmlessly.
They chat, have lunch, and at the end
say good-by.
1t is not at all difficult to imagine that
the two meet again; that Cousin Kate
does not suspect that her poor, little,
milk-and-water Amy is the sweetheart Of
her hero Of the train.
So she does her best in urging the fool
ish Amy to send for the recalcitrant one.
The self-sacrifce is bully well worked
out, the audience the while feeling that
the author is all too slow In bringing
about what, of course, must happen-the
actual breaking Of the engagement, the
marrying Of simple Amy to worthy
young man. and the subsequent marriage
Of Cousin Kate and the young Irish ar
tist.
Miss Barrymore IS entirely herself this
season. She is no more nor less a great
comedienne than ever, nor will she change
There is no one on our stage whose
natural equipment is as complete as hers.
She may help herself a bit in experience
and she may hurt herself a bit by a
touch OF mannerism.
pnIr of lra
She has enough personal magnetism to
insure herself the presidency II she were
but a man.
Which she is not, for not in the Ameri-
can theater now is there a player so
feminine as this granddaughter of the
house of Drew.
Fake and Semon. the musical fun
makers. give an act at the Columbia that
is a good vaudeville show in itself. Both
are veterans and in their line they have
few equals Fake. the principal, re-
sembles John Kernell. and like the Irish
comedian he has sureness enough TO enter
tain for hours.
He comes on. playing a queer little
hute that is fashioned like a tobacco pipe.
Semon soon joins him. and they present
the concert companies of the good old
days, when vaudeville WAS plain variety.
And their Joker! You've heard a few
Of them before, still it IS pleasant 10
laugh In sheer frivolity of heart. Even
the old gags are cleveriy told.
II Hal Merrett, the poster artist who
precedes this duo. could caricature Fakes
legs In those tight green trousers 1t would
be the hit of Merritt's performance:
MurcePs living pictures, kifnball and
Donavon, the banjoists: Menifee. johnson
and Company In The Golden Rose; Eek
ert and Berg in The Land of Two
Moons': Marsh and Sartella the dancers;
the Beemers, club swtngers; Rose and
Seyerns, sketch artists, and Lawson and
Namon, cyclists, complete the list.
THE Heart of a Hero" and "a Well
Preserved Gentleman" comedies Of more
than ordinary interest, were presented at
Muth's Hall last night by the Csona
Dramatic Society.