The Washington times., 1905-04-18
MISS ADAMS ENACTS
OPPOSITE ROLES
little Minister and "Op
u My Thumb" at National.

Two types of womankind-the one high
o,eu' Scotch, wiiful, coquettish, hoyden-
ish' ihlpoisive. but always loyal and light
hearted, and the other a low-born Lon
uoef' oeceittui, degraded, lying, de-
p.esseo' ana observation-disclosures vivificd
at the National Theater last night fv
uue Aoafns. Ihe plays in which this
excellent actress appeared were Mr.. Bar
bright comedy, The Little Minis
yer, and new one-act play called "'Op
Q Me Thumb, by Frederick Fem and
Richard Bryce
IN the nrst OF these plays Miss Adams
recalled all the sensations with which
her admirers noted her success as n star
ihal suspicious season six years ago
which was begun in Washington and
Included the whole country, sensations
oh uhaHected pleasure and undisguise1
admiration. In the second she acted a
type at the other end of the feminine
scale, and the sensations then ircascd
were chief1y surprise at her versatility
ana d1smay at the portrayal cf so de-
pressing type with so much fidelity to
nature.
MISS Adams has long enjoyed an
extraordinary popularity among her
therefore, that last nights assembly at
the National consisted of three women
Ior every man. The audience had fur
tner sunusualness in the presence of
hundreds Of Daughters of the Revolu-
ton. whose brilliant toilets contributed
to make the scene brilliant Fashion
was We'll represented, as 1t is always on
MONDAY nights, among those present
being Mrs: Taft, Miss Helen Taft, Mrs.
draper, Miss Margaret Draper Miss
Katherine. d. Brown Mrs. Mary Scott
Townsend. Miss Mathilde Townsend
Mrs. Scott, Gen. and Mrs. W. w Dud-
ley, Miss Dudley. Mrs. Charles Will
mans, Miss Elizabeth Williams Am
brose Bierce, Miss Isabel Beer and the
Misses Williams
Two Noteworthy Enactments.
1t was. the manifest Judgment of this
Whole body that the stars two enact
n.ents were noteworthy successes. APP
plause and laughter punctuated 1.-The
Little Minister as though Mr. Barrie's
delightful story of girlish impetuosity
putting manly self -sufficiency to rout
had not been entirely familiar before
the curtain rose.
Nothing else which Miss Adams has
done SO clearly displays the natural
channels of her talent. 1t is figure
vibrant between the lightest playfulness,
and the deepest sympathy, singing and
dancing over troubles and through
prejudices, aglow with sympathy and
splced with teasing, as full of the Joy of
life as the woods through which she
r9mps are full of leaves. All these at
tributes have been expressed in one earl
Ter impersonation or another, but until
Miss Adams acted Lady Babbie they
We're never. brought all together No
wonder, then, that the whole country
finds the enactment wholly delightful!
Too True to Be Pleasant.
The other side of the picture is not so
pleasant to look upon Amanda Affiick
Is a study of sordid materiality. not Of
efferveseent happiness. starved imag-
ination fights resolutely against the con-
tempt of her workmates in laundry.
against the poverty of an empty and
well-nigh hopeless life, against the stig-
ma of birth in a workhousc, and, finally.
against the tragedy of a long-expecteJ
sweetheart who comes at last only to
be ashamed of her There is no light
anywhere. The one Benefit which may
come in the wake OF "'Op O. Me Thumb
is that 1t will probably broaden the pub
lie conception Of Miss Albums art ami
SO widen the field of her future ACTIVE
ties. The impersonation is clearly