The Washington herald., 1906-11-25
ON THE GOTHAM STAGE
VIEWS AND REVIEWS
VIEWS AND REVIEWS


Special Correspondence Washington Herald.
New York, Nov. 2t-The new offerings
at the theaters this week were Mrs.
Fisko in The New York Idea by Lang
don Mitchell. at the Lyric; ''The Daugh-
ters Of Men," by Charles Klein. at the
Astcr; Eleanor Robson in Susan IN
Search OF a Huband." by Jerome K. Je-
rome, followed by "A Tenement Trage-
dy." an afterpiece. at the Liberty and a
Haddon Chambers comedy, Sir An
tnony," with William Norris in the prin-
cipal role. at the Savoy. The openings
scheduled for this week are THE Rose Of
the Rancho" at the Belasco. succeeding
Blanche Bates, and Anna Held in new
musical attraction
At the Madison Square. where ''The
Three Of U.s. has been proving a winner,
with CarIotta Nillson in the leading role,
a new star is 10 be introduced at the
Wednesday matinees. As Miss NiIIson is
ss--'aE zither from what George Ade
would diagnose as a case Of enIargiensis
Of the COCO. or else is really not strong
enough 10 play eight performances q
week, Manager Walter y. Lawrence has
engaged Laura Nelson Hall to take her
place at the mid-week performances,
which are largely patronized by oUt-of-
town shoppers. This engagement is pre-
liminary to a starring career which Mr
Lawrence has mapped out for this clever
actress in a play which Rachel Crothers,
the authoress Of THE Three Of U.s."
is to supply.
1 have always predicted great things
for Miss Hall, and shall hasten me down
10 one Of those mid-week matinees 70 see
her measure herself with one Of the
most effective emotional actresses We
have. Miss Hall is now the wife Of
Frederick Truesdeil. the actor. who plays
the lover in the Madison Square play.
and they have the reputation OF being q
very happy couple. The husband thinks
his wife is the greatest actress on the
American stage, who has only been held
back by circumstances. while she would
find the acme of bliss in having her nus
band play all the heroes IN the plays
she is % appear in. Whether her en-
pl0yment viii enEender any bitterness
remains TO be seen. II is always a
serious matter 70 put two lady stars in
opposition 20 each other.
Two actresses dlspJting for prs-emi-
nence IN a role in which each respectively
won distinction in England and the United
States. was the attraction that drew two
large audiences TO the Lyric on two sepa-
rate afternoons last week. The semi-pro-
fessioual matinee crowds called it "the
duel between Lena Ashwell and Margaret
Anglin.' but IL had none Of the aCrtmony
Of personal feeling, and the two actresses
disputed the occasion with so much sister
ly regard for each other that It was i'm
possible to describe 10 as anything more
serious than a little affair d'honeUr. Just
how much Of professional Jealousy enter
ed into the contest was not apparent on
the surface-Drobably none. Miss AshweIl
is the leading exponent Of the emotional
drama in England and Miss Anglin is
certainly one OF the greatest emotional
actresses on this side % the waters, The
English actress was playing The Shula-
mite" at the Lyric. and Miss Anglin
The Great Divide" at the Princess, both
enjoying a FUN share Of popular favor.
The play chosen for the contest was
Mrs. Danes Defense" by Henry Arthur
Jones. Interest was added by the pres
ence of Mr. Jones at both performances.
The distinguished author Of The Middle
Nan" The Dancing Girl" &C., occupy
ing a box with ex-Ambassa5or Choate,
William Dean Howells and other American
nOtabjes. The public was permitted 10
get a glimpse of him now and then be-
hind the curtains in the attitude Of an
attentive listener and an enthusiastic aP-
pIauder, for he applauded both actresses
literally in the test scene, where Sir
Lionel Cattaret. by his adroit cross-eues-
tions breaks down the woman's elaborate
defense Of her past, and brings her 10
his feet in penitsntial submission.
Guy Standing was Sir Lionel, and Fuller
MeIlish the canon, and both made hit
in the roles which they played in Wash
ington when Charlotte Walker was Mrs.
Dane In the first Of the Two competitive
performances Miss Anglin played Lady
Eastney to Miss Ashwelrs Mrs. Dane.
The next day they reversed roles. AS
usual, the opinions of the professional
.
some contending that Miss Ashwel had
outstripped Miss AngIin. and just as
many others that Miss Anglin had fairly
ecIipsed Miss Ashwell.
The plain truth about il is that both
gave an admirable test of their ability
in the role. and divided honors evenly
The difference lay in their difference Of
. temperament and method. Miss Ashwen
gave you the impression Of a woman who
has sinned unconscioUsly, while Miss An
glin. in a more or less patent way. Sug-
gested the conscious sinner. The latter
was colorfuI. more of an assertive figure
I'm the role, where her rival suggested a
sorruwful woman depressed and subdued
by carking grief Miss AShWeus work
was delicate and subtle. where Miss An
glin was obvious and brilliant. Miss Ash
we'll in the test scene. touched your
heart to the last degree Of pathos by her
seriousness, and brought tears to every
eve by her appeal to universal sympathy.
while Miss Anglin accomplished the same
ends by a powerful appeal to the imagi-
nation Of her audience The marked dis
tinction between the two occurred in the
difference which distinguished their re-
spectiye Interpretation of Lady Eastney.
in which Miss Anglin decidedly had the
better Of the English woman by reason
of her greater versatility and animation
With The New York Idea" presented
here for the first time by Mrs. Fiske
and the Manhattan company. on Monday
evening, the American dramatist takes
an advanced position It IS the first sa-
tirical comedy of American life since
Bronson Howard's palmy days. and as a
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