The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-30
MONTGOMERY THEATRE.
Miss Rose Melville Presented "Si' Hopkins."

|
 Miss Rose Melville in her artistic char acter sketch "Sis Hopkins" delighted a large audience at the Montgomery Thea- | tre last night. ,or,t A play and a company of average merit were inc setting of this gem of char l arter sketch. The portrayal of the gawky. self-conscious girl Is really nota- ble stage study. Miss Melville does this one thing better than any other player has done 1t. No other player mas hau
 the temperament, the subtlety or this par
 ticular kind of genius to do the roe as she | does 1t. -s ,,s. | Her extraordinary success with Sis Hopkins, sketch in vaudeville has become
 matter of stage history. It Is com parable with the great popular favor that met that intelligent artistic conception or | the "Old Clo' Hebrew" of David Warneid
 success that followed her sketch on the l vaudeville boards.
 Both Miss Melville and Warfield were furnished with plays written around their sketches. Wariield was the more fortunate in his literary assistants. They gave him a play, of merit strong in in-
 terest and which rang true In sentiment. The play Sis Hopkins" does not so chain the interest and attention. The sketch appears to be drawn out too long. It is spread out so much that 1t appears weak ip spots. The play is a bucolic drama, with the cltifed villain, the coun- try comedian and the country lover. The first act shows Sis Hopkins as she set New York wild with laughter. The
 two remaining acts show the development of the plot and the development of Sis Hopkins into a young woman who dresses
 her hair into a fashionable coiffure and who wears a tailor made gown. ss of NNa aokf kfnsas
 young woman, but she is hardly the rare and comic young person of freshness and gawkiness that she was in the first act,
 Miss Melville was charming as the tailor made young woman. In this phase of
 portraying the character of the Hoosier youngster she showed herself a clever actress-a very clever actress. She dis
 played a ripe experience. a fine technique and a thorough understanding of the craft
 of her art. This was fin itself fine hit, but there are other clever actresses and some of them could have done equally as well as the resurrected Sis.
 It was in the first act, in showing
 "Sis's' virgin freshness, that Miss Mel vile was alone and unapproachable. The conviction she threw into the character. the way she made the audience know that her presentation of the green and awkward girl of the form was natural, was something remarkable. The audience sat in unalIoyed enjoyment of Sis's awk- ward gyrations. her bashful mishaps, and her queer mental turns.
 Artistic acting has been defined as send ing q message across the footlights and getting one back from the audience. The mediocre actor sends one over the foot lights, but he doesn't get response. Miss Melville was both sender and a receiver of messages. She never failed to receive response.
 It Is doubtful if her support barring young Frank Minzey was so fortunate. The other members of the cast were not receiving any thought wages of approval from the audience. They were averageiy good, but not extraordinarily good.
 MT. Minzey gave fine and unconscious presentation of a manly young fellow in the difficulties of love.
 James McDuff, also deserves praise for clear cut character sketch of an India ma countryman.
 There were several entertaining and diverting spectalties scattered through the performance. A large audience saw the play.