Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1906-01-16
HAWAIIAN Play A HIT.
SPLENDID DOUBLE EVENT
NOW on At 0RPHEUM
WILKES SUCCESSFUL SKETCH
AND A ROARING FARCE BY
BuHLER'S CLEVER FOLKS.
IMMENSE INTEREST.

| The music Of the orchestra is stilled
| and an expectant hush settles upon the
crowded house. The curtain rises, dis
closing a scene dearly familiar to Ha.
waiian folks. A lei.crowned maiden,
lightly lingering a softly eloquent
guitar. gracefully seated on the ver-
Il anda rail OF her Honolulu home, while
near her, enraptured by the gently
winning melody, stands her haole low
err, drinking in her beauty with the
romance of the music.
And so the play begins. Ernest
Wilkes artistic Hawaiian love story In
one act, staged under the personal di
rectlon of Richard Butler at the Or
pheum theater for the first time last
evening-which has been talked of 50
much ever since 1t was known that Mr..
Wilkes had written sketch especially
for local production by the National
Stock Company-proved o decided sue.
cess, was received with the utmost ap
probation and reused subtly sweet emo
tons In the hearts Of all.
Wilkes calls his play THE Half.
White" The author plays Charles
Scott, young American in Hawaii
who sees In Letaloha. q beautiful part.
Hawaiian girl, the embodiment OF all
the love and beauty. poetry and ro-
nance, grace and fascination that
seems to him to be natural to these
lovely islands. There is pretty love
scene in which they try to tell each
ether how much they love. Vain taskl
Handsome Brenda Fowler plays Lei.
aloha and she gives to the character
all that witching winsomeness, all that
natural, unaffected womanliness for
which Il calls.
Enter Colonel John winsor, a Chica.
go millionaire. Here we have BUTLER
in the part II Is twenty years since
Col. Winsor was In Hawaii. He en-.
deavors to advise the lover not to wed
Leialoha. declaring that this passion
Is a mere passing fancy that he Will
some day regret. The lover. OF course
is all the more in love with his sweet
heart because he is opposed. The Col
onel then tells his own story. how that
a score OF years ago he married part
Hawaiian and after they had lived hap
PLY for a year, he was called back Il
the States and left her under the pro
lection OF a friend. He received let
ter after q while from this FRIEND, con
Tossing that he had always loved Lei
aloha The Colonel believes his Wifi
false and later hears that she Is dead
He warns Scott not to be led to endure
similar suffering. Leialoha hears thu
speech and confronts the Colonel
Something OF old speaks to his hear
from her eyes. Dalton. the classifying
friend, appears to admit that he lieC
when he wrote the Colonel that hii
wife was other than faithful. Ieialoha
, against whom the Colonel has attempt
- cd TO advise the lover, is the Coloneri
own daughter.
= Short and pretty, well written anC
q well staged. well acted and well re
! ceived. What more does one want!
z Although there was the hush OF ex
! pectancy on the house when the curtain
. rose, when the pretty Hawaiian pic
& ture had been fairly observed, a wav,
D OF appreciation swept over the audi
Z snce and then broke In satisfied az
= plause. Then quiet reigned again tina
2 the Hawaiian singing might be heard
q its conclusion was followed by grea
= enthusiasm. There were lines tha
{ brought forth tumultuous responses
j from the house and there were PASSAGE
2 that brought out suspicious sounds &C
8 Companied by the pulling OF handker
Z chiefs. At the fall OF the curtain tn
i applause was heartily assuring. IN
first Hawaiian play TO be presented b,
& professional players had made grea
hit-had scored big success.
The most manifest feeling OF tn
4 house was that there was not enoug
z Of the play. The people liked II an
q wanted more.
Because some haole husbands nav
& deserted partHawaiian wives, becaus
> unfaithfulness Is not unknown her'
z and because some folks back In H'