The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-11-18
Cbe Cbeatre$
urr.a.. southern sIkIe..o

Once there was a talented youue man of Tennessee wno rnoa weas actor W but T is | VII said that his soft Southern accent | initiated against him. Finally ne va cast to play a Juvenile hero part n {. drama of,.Southern life. he pieso" ~ we'll and won high encomiums-
 I A real genius of critic on a eoutn- l ern newspaper saw the young map play the part Then the genius wrots
 that 1t was a shame 10 .,ern c1 accsnt to play this Southern hero. | Naturally the young actor Was ans gfy. He went to see tne S Sr,..c an ao
 this is what he saia: rnsrsd N in Southern Tennessee. My voice was born there | with me. This is a Tennessee pay you say that I understand the other Requirements but that 1t is uniortu- nate that my accent is not Southern !.
 The trouble with you : is the trouole 1 with all people They resent a cor rect, portrayal of themselves T, {.
 truth. It is written for the benefit of those of us disposed to peck at tne players. who presented Under Soutn- ern Skies at the Montgomery rs rnena tba s
 some of the players erred grlexousIy in the pronounced reckons, ants and .'mah deah sahs,:. but perhaps the
 Undeniabiy Under Southern Skies is q. drama of strength and stirring climaxes, Its interest Is so great that 1t tugs at the heart throughout the live acts. l It was a relief to witness a play of Southern life without the war between the States being dragged into the ac. ton. As matter of fact the perloo is ten years after the close of the war and war-tired play-goers were grate- full that no reference was made 10 the bloody drama between men or one l country.
 \ s- nS ba niaV has do with Major Crofton who removed | to Southern Louisiana from Georgia after casting aside his wayward wife: He takes with him his baby girl anc | prominent planter and is held in high | regard by his neighbors, rich planters and their families. - l The story begins it's development on | the eighteenth birthday of his daugh- ter Leila, ho has been brought up be- lieving her wayward mother Is dead. | Tn the shifting scenes Of the play the mother, in broken health, visits the he her child. She comes at time when Leila is wrung with the emotions of 8 l young girl sn choosing between two | suitors. Steve Daubeny. favored by her father. has visited Georgia and has learned the secret of Major Crofton's g breast. Hc reveals the secret to Leila and uses 1t to tear her from Bur leigh Mayor, the man of her choice.
 As Leila is at the marriage altar with Daubeny she faints and her way ward mother, who has been concealed in the Crofton house. by & faithful ne- gress. appears. There is reconcilia. | ton and all ends happily.
 This Is but bare thread of an in- teresting story deftly woven by Lot tie Blair Parker. There are numerous sub plots. according. to Mrs. Parker s most approved fashion, and enough | shading of sunshine and sorrow to make the whole intensely interesting.
 The moral so often and so vividly drawn by women writers Is that If d l man may sin and may be forgiven. why not q woman? This is the theme of all l of Mrs. Parker's plays. and they ap- pear to appeal most forcibly to the matinee audiences. The best answer If answer Is needed, Is that the world will not have 1t that way.
 1 If there were. no. negro characters in written that the producing company was all that could have been desired | Of the twenty-three persons In the cast six of them were negro parts. All of Miss Arnold. who made Aunt Doshey' convincing at times She was decided ly more painstaking in her efforts than the others. and her makeup was more | effective
 The Leila of Miss victorson was vivid and artistic. She has grasped a high conception of this Louisiana girl and she proved that she Is an emotional I dramatic, more artistically perfect is expected of any player than her execu- tion of the closing scene of the second act: the best act of the play
 l ceptable. Miss Lindstreth. as the way | ward wife. showed experoence and un, derstanding. and MT Perry as Colone pau9snE spsIG,S picture eoS | ventional stage colonel, but the req thing.
 people % py of the play the young south ern folk who made merry at the Hal iowe'en party in the Crofton home. MT Sterling. as Burleigh Mayor. and Mir WalthalI, as Steve Daupeny, suitors fol the hand of Leila. and their associat ties boys and girls, never wandered outside the pictures. All of them were goo( and deserving of honorable mention.
 The scenic equipment of the play might. be improved More acurate stage lpictures would undoubtedly heighten In
 terest in the entertainment. Int Southern atmosphere was lacking, bu
 1t was a production of great interest
 The next time sUnder Southern Skies
 is presented in Montgomery. 1t should
 be accorded better patronage; The at
 tendance last night was not large, bu
 the audience was apprectattve.
 GA Royal Slave"
 "A Royal Slave" presented at th'
 Bijou theatre last night. Is highly
 sensational melodrama, carries a mum
 Der of fine stage settings and all il
 all is a meritorious production.
 The plot of the play Is not new. bu | the theatre-g going public seems nevel
 to tire of the old story of the chang ing of the cradles of the babe of higf
 rank and the infant of lower caste
 Then. too. the scene of action is pic
 tureSque. The gold tipped sombreros
 the loose multi ti-colored garments. tho fla shing knives and the inevitable cig- l arette of old Mexico are fascinating l and amid such scenes the action of "A
 Royal Slave" takes place.
 Gordon and Bennett. the proprietor: l of the production. have spent no little money on the stage settings. There are five acts to the drama and in two l of these acts there are two scenes 1 Every one of the settings Is sumptuous l and the attraction is we'll worth see 1 ing. A
 4 good sized audieace saw the ini- tial performance of. the company which plays at the Bljou the rest of | the week.
 The company is evenly balanced | Frank De Camp, as Fl Agnili. a de- scendant of the Montezumas. has an reminds one of ''Ursus' of Quo Va | dis" just such fine part. and Mir. De Camp fills the requirements. He has | q fine stage presence, a good voice and | dramatic ability.
 l Decidedly a very clever piece of character acting was done by C. G. | Gilmaine. as Juan Alvarez. a maniac | dent that MT. Gilmaine Is capable of | better parts.
 l John Powers played Colonel Carlos 1 Castello. tho hero. in good style. He