The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11

and a selfish charaeter. he gave us g. pretty good stage view of what may be seen in many a village type. In this regard 1t might be well to add that the action of the play depends not on the dramatic movings of the characters or their emotions, but on the natural re- suits of their several little failings. their evil gossip, their idle misdoings in words and thought. their provincial ism and narrowness.
 With the parts of Hiram and Sa- manthy we were given wholesome, and at times real creamy, comedy. Hiram. taking an hour to paint a For Sale" sign, is always threatened with the danger of some one sitting down op the same as 1t dries in the sunshine. His anxiety andcare make a character istic touch of comedy, and finally it is sat upon by two people (sitting very close), and the man person carries the For" on his trousers and the woman person the Sale" telling story of spooning.
 The scenic effects are very bright and pleasing. Especially good are the October farm-yard scene and the last scene showing both interior and exte- rior of the Pettingill home"
 S Stock Company at Bijou.
 It Is said that the stock company of W. Dick Harrison. which begins a weeks engagement at the Bijou Thea tre Mondy night, has about broken all records of repertoire shows in excel lence of the productions and patronage It Is claimed that the company is ex- cellent from star to property man, and that the scenic equipment is gorgeous
 The company will begin its Montgom- cry engagement with a production of The Tradesman."
 Of the company The Little Rock k.) Gazette of September '. said:
 MT. Dudley has not been seen in Lit tie Rock before, but 1t did not take long for the audience to warm to him. He is a young actor of much promise. at ease in his movements and forceful in expression, and received three cur tain calls.
 Miss Helen Aubrey. as Jessie Cor don, the heroine, whom the villains pursue all through five acts, was warm ly greeted by her old friends, and her work was. as ever, painstakingly and intelligently done. Next in order of merit came another Little Rock favor ite, Will Hilliard, who, in the character role of Jack Tar, was right in his ele- ment. Edgar Mayo appeared to ad- vantage as one of the two villains, Lawyer Blake. and Fred Reynolds got
 
 the comedy role of the Irish servant Special mention is due Tommie Boyd. a precicious youth, who is particularly clever as a tough kid, and who does a good song and dance speciality be- tween acts.
 The play. Ben Bolt is me1odrama from start to finish, starts with d plot to rob the heroine and siay her half brother, and ends with the entombing of the living heroine, who is given a sleeping potion. but is rescued at the proper moment and the villains duly fciled."
 Paul Gilmore Talks of Audiences, The difficulty in determining the con dition of an audiences mind from the manner in which a play is received, moved Paul Gilmore, who appeared here last week in The Mummy and the Running Bril-" to remark that the American theatre-goer is almost the only one of his class whose exhibition of displeasure at performance is evil denced entirely by his silence. The American audience, except in extreme cases. has but one weapon of offense in the case of an unsatisfactory performance, and that is hard stony silence" said MT. Gilmore in his dress ing room at the Montgomery Theatre. Tn other countries, the people out in front generally evince their displeasure by criticism which often takes the form of a riotous demonstration, but performance has to be pretty bad in this country to call forth from the au- dience anything more than silence. This is the rule almost all the coun- try over. For instance, the other night our first act. which usually brings forth all sorts of enthusiasm | from the audience. and which generally | ends in roar of laughter, closed in almost dead silence. We had but one | Interpretation for this behavior on the part of the house and redoubled our ef- | forts in the second act. Same result. When We were almost in despair, a critic came behind and told us that | the play was making the finest kind of | impression on the people and was one of the most delightful of the season. That cheered us up some, but it was not unti lthe close of the third act. when I was honored with several cur | tain calls and finally compelled to make little speech that I learned that we | had won our way. It simply demon strates the inability of the actor to de- termine the real attitude of an undem- | onstrative audience. Silence when comedy Is In progress betokens a hos | tility which in other countries would | De evidenced by something much more understandable. The American au- ences are generally wonderfully polite, but they might save us actors good deal of artburning and considerable nervousness If they would let us know that they like a play instead of keep Ing us in horrible doubt for three acts. It is an unintentional oversight which is characteristic as 1t Is unappreciated | by the people at large"
 PLAY AND PLAYERS. ] During Chauncey Olcotts coming