Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1906-02-22
AUBREY STOCK COMPANY.
''Driven From Home" The Bill For
Last Nights Performance
at The Colonial.

The Aubrey Stock Company and An
napolis theatTegoeTs are getting TO be
very good friends. AS the fayorites
appeared in the opening scene last
night, they were greeted with hearty
applause from a good house. When
Mr.. Harris made his entrance in a
sllk hat, IL was clear that he was cast
again as heavy villain, so his reward
came in the form of prolonged Kisses.
The main criticism to be made on
tise evenings performance is that the
play was not up to what the cast
could do. Driven From Nome has
nothing but the most threadbare
melodramatic situations; il is not
even thriller. The leading parts
did not have half a chance, aud the
best straight acting was done bv Mr..
Harvey and Miss Espey, as Mr.. and
Mrs. John Maynard. Miss Daily, also,
made the best of her thankless part
as lady villain. Harry Cowan, as
usual, staggered under a load Of yir-
tues that fully accounted for the
hump on his back. The sympathies of
the audience, however, rested with
Mr.. Harris.
To be slapped, whaeked. thrown
down and tErottled every eVening-to
say nothing of rehearsals-is an un-
enyiable lot, and we hope the manage.
ment makes it up TO him What took
best of all was the very clear comedy
work of Miss Beebe ana Mr.. Bewley.
The latter is versatile fun maker
the first night German; the second,
an Irishman; last night he was
country lout with a hare lip, which.
if it interfered with the clearness of
his lines, more than made up by-~its
conicalness. In several places the
play was frightened mp by the intro
duction of local hits, which were also
very successful
The story of the drama runs as fol-
lows: In act one the heroine repulses
her lover, then wishes she hadn't.
When the city chap comes to woo,
she repulses him, also, saying, for
SOME unknown reason, that he has
ruined her. Father arrives Just in
time to hear the fatal words, and, be-
lieving the worst, casts her out. Out
she goes with her angel brother into
the wide world, not stopping to take
even hat or brush and comb. The
second act finds the entire cast in a
hotel, following each other so fast that
it is clear that they all came on the
same train. 1t appears that mother
has run away, too, to find her chill
dren, and Father is on her trail with
gun.
At this point the lady villain con-
triyes to make the heroine's guilt a
certainty. This nearly results in a
shooting. In the third act we find the
usual snow scene with the variations
of the Flat-iron building in the back
ground. Mother is crazy, heroine and
little. brother starving. Hero comes
along to help, but is spurned. Act
four shows brother and sister starving
in garrett. Little brother, without
any training, has suddenly become a
painter, and he is working on a
"ideal portrait for a commission of
s.. 600 For this portrait he poses his
sister, who, in spite of starvation, has
been able to buy herself stunning,
spangly gown adorned with fresh,
not house roses.
While brother is gone with the pic.
ture villain enters: threatens the i'm
perturbable heroine, is foiled and
driven ont. Mother --recovers her rea.
son, hero and S., coo come in together,
all is peace and kisses. 1t can be
said for the play. anyway, that it had
high moral tone. This, il is hoped,
shed its influence on certain distin-
guished statesmen, who occupied a
box to tie left, that they may ever
turn their eyes from beholding graft.