The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-31
Cbe Cbeatres
.srhe Marriage of William A.h..,


 Let it be recorded here that Grace George Is more than the wife of wealthy manager. As the central fig- ure, the heart-reaching heroine, of a
 rsmairkably mar mgI'ta1 maPgIp'tealing drama, The | actress appeared before a large and refined audience of strangers at the
 Montgomery Theatre last night, sway ed them by her superb portrayal of
 Lady Kitty and scored a personal tri- | uu ph the like of which has not been | achieved by any woman of her youth at the Theatre this season.
 It was Miss Georges first visit to Montgomery, and Mcntgomery's verdict | Is that Miss George Is one of the great actor-women of the American stage. a | woman of whom the American stage reckoning from her youth, we may one day rise up and point to as the great exponent of human passion and human sorrow. Not yet out of her twenties,
 she showed last night such marvellous 1 definition of human misery, human caprice, girlish coquetry, hate. scorn, love, pathos, the entire gamut of hu- man emotion, and did 1t so vividly as
 to leave the impression that with add" she has unlimited possibilities in her | chosen field of artistic cndeavor. Margaret Mayo has taken the chief
 motive of Mrs: Whrd's intensely inter esting story of Kitty Bristol and Will | liam Ashe--and has woven a powerful drama. The play begins with the ad- vent of Kitty to the homo of her aunt, Lady Grossville, and ends with the death of Kitty in the arms of her hus-
 band in the little inn high up in the 1 Alps.
 1t is a highly actable play. albeit | there Is tri6e too much of conversa- ton in the first act. Some of the fine lines of Mrs. Ward have been saved, | however, and they relieve the dull mo- | ments.
 The action begins in the second act. with the denuncfation of Lord and Lady Parham by Kitty and it continues with occasional emotional scenes and well graduated clImaxes until that intensely dramatic finale, at the close, the death of Kitty, scene that impressed itseif | indelib1y on the hearts of the audi ence. At its close they sat stupefied for a full half minute, scarcely real | izing that the play was over and that | rain was falling outside the Theatre. At the beginning 1t appeared that Miss George pitched her voice some | what too high, as if unused to the
 acoustics of the theatre. but this slight
 unpleasantness soon wore off The | first glimpse into her real ability came | with the confession to her husband of her indiscretion when he had sat awaiting her return home. This scene, too, gave MT. Smith, playing Ashe, inc opportunity. It was extremely tense. The nervousness of the injured hus-
 pricious girl wife, were depicted with genuine sympathy and artistic delinea-
 tion. Then she came in' quietly quietly pro1d aa thrown aside, and falling at his feet
 she poured out her devotion in true Wo-
 manly fashion. burst q love you" spoken by woman to man on a stage in truer, tenderer'
 more natural tones than those given
 the phrase by Miss. George. ,,, I'll nF KfffW from VVil-
 liam Ashe, the expression of her rack
 ing heart, and her hatred for his con
 ventionalities and the conventlonal-
 ties of his people, was another fine
 scene in which Miss George rose to
 heights almost sublime Here she was
 perhaps at her best, although she Will
 be longest remembered for her toncn-
 ing expression of the end of all things
 when she died in the arms of her hus-
 band loving him to the last.
 Throughout each of these scenes the
 actress had the most artistic help
 fine actor could give her in the person
 of MT Smith. He showed versatility,
 extraordinary conception of the re- qufrements and perfect repose: con wife, respect for his naughty mother and political ambition were carefully portrayed. There are times in the book when one finds himself wondering whether William Ashe was not cad, but MT. Smith does not think so: He showed a perfectly human William ASne ana there was nut a AAa" 4ii sAS It is impossible at late hour of the night to do credit to the individual merits of members of Miss Georges blooded and unsympathetle portrayal or the Byronic Godfrey Cliffe by Ben Webster, the company was well bal- anced throughout. MT Webster Is too good an actor to impart so little spright illness, so little fire into the part he essayed. Again his voice IS haIsn ana his enuneiation was at times not ciear'
 The other parts were gems of char In fact the players were so capital that we wish to refer to their names. Here is the cast; ,.,. Geoffrey Cline " T Sen Snns WeDtiLee stsDtins Lord Grosyille. Fred ". Sidney sidney Eddie Helston Mortimer n. Weldon The Little Dean,. Walter Pleugh Ludwig .. ...... George Franklin Richard .... .....'.. Frank Wlison Parktn.. '.Secll hins sIVie IV Lorenzo .... .. Richard Davis Lady Kitty Bristol ... Grace George Lady Parham Katherine stewart Lady Tranmore May WnlItty lIys Ladyx aadsx erSSsvilie rSif Mrs Reginald Darlington Blanche . .. .. ..Justine Cutting Frau Ludwig Angela Ogden AlnS The LSdMtiig setting of the play was of ex- beauty The five acts were staged with exquisite care and re- gard for artistic nicety There was 1othing garish or tawdry. Mir Brady has shown excellent judgment and ap- parent disregard for expense Tn proVlu, and atmosphere to the |
 1t i''iis Is doubtful if The Marriage of Ashe," played by an inferior vironment would appeal so keenly, | but as presented by Miss George and |