The Washington herald., 1907-12-17
The BeIasco-The Yiddish Players

last hlgnt LOT tle opening engagement
OF the Lipzin Yiddish Company in
''Mirele Enros." the Jewish Queen Lear,
! presented by Nine. Kenny Lipzin. sup
ported by Mr.. Bernard Bernstein. Mr.
Leon Blank, and an excellent company.
In spite OF all that has been said about
the marvellous acting of these YJddish
( players-it consists cf as much gesticula-
4 ticn as speech-the play presented last
night would be quite unintelligible to an
audience having no knowledge of Yiddish.
And this Is true. not only Of the Ian
guage. but Of the customs Of the people;
/ betrothal ceremonies and other observ-
anees which. either by the laughter or
the applause they created. We're evidently
/ fun Of significance to the major part of
the audience. and yet were-owing to
/ ignnrance-meaningies to the few in the
( audience not Yiddish, who had come 90
the theater from curiosity.
/ Thet play was written for Nine Lipzin
/ by Jacob Gordin. the most noted among
the modern Yiddish playwrights, a man
whose dramas have proved TO have vital
! ity enough TO stand well the test OF trans
lation for the English-speaking stage.
'Mirele Enros'' has all the elements OF a
powerful drama. Whether it was well or
/ i'll acted. it Is beyond the power of the
present writer 10 say. There was so much
/ that was foreign. so much that was
| strange in custom, in enunciatiOn. in ges-
ture, that. although the story was known,
/ it was haT for one having none OF the
| language to follow.
/ Mirele Effros is q widow. living In the
! Russian Ghetto Stiu in the prime Of life,
/ she has upon her the burden OF educat-
/ ing her children. managing her affairs.
ruling her household. She is supreme in
/ her own house and her rule is one of iron.
/ She has two sons. The elder. Yosele. falls
/ IN love with Schendele. the daughter OF
/ Reb NucnemtZ. and although Mirele is
suspicious of the character of the girl. she
/ arranges the match. Yosele his bride.
and her greedy parents enter the Mirele
household. and at once The note Of dis
/ cord is heard and Schendele instigates
/ her husband and his brother Daniel 20
make a stand against their mother and
demand a division of the property left by
their father
In most dramatic scene. when Mirele
can stand their opportunities anG inn
prudence no longer, she tells them just
what II is TO which they have fallen heir
she shows them that their father died a
bankrupt and left nothing but debts. She
shows how she has carried on the busl-
ness and has paid off all the obligations
In spite of this. the ungrateful sons ac-
cuse Reb Shalman. Mirele's business
agent. with theft and Mirele AnalIy
leaves the house. taking her business man
with her. and she starts life anew
Soon the household Of her son and his
bride falls 70 pieces and ruin stares Yosele
in the face. But the elimination OF ;he
play finds a celebration in honor Of the
religious confirmation Of a grandchild
and here Mirele is recOnciIed 10 her sons
and all ends happily.
That the play was heartily enjoyed was
testified TO by the loud applause and the
frequent laughter. for the tense dramatic
incidents of the drama are well relieved
10y moments OF comedy. Nine. Kenny
Lipzin displays IN various of the scenes
great emotional power and was al al
times a dominating figure OF the play II
must be added that the prompter was
much in evidence during the evening. as
II many Of the players we're not CUP"
IN their parts: but this evidently did not
mar the enjoyment OF those that under
stood. Tonight "Medea" VIII be given.
The NstIonaI-The Rogers Brothers.
The Rogers Brothers in Panama. at
the New National Theater last night. was
marked By the outpouring customary
upon the arrival IN town OF the jOvial
Teutonic brothers. the size and briniancy
OF the audience being further Insured by
the fact that the performance was
benefit for the House Of Mercy, with a
brilliant list Of patronesses.
The sojourn Of the boys In Panama was
burdened with very little plot. but ac-
companied with plenty of lively doings. 10
the tune OF great collection of enjoy
able music In fact. the action is so
lively that there is not moment when
something Of interest is not doing. either
in the way of Wit, repartee, or song.
The principal comedy ingredient Of the
mixture-and the flow Of merriment is
high and continuous is ,..e presence of
the two famous exDonents Of misplaced
language and topical verses. the Rogers
brothers. The first opportunity arrives
when they are called upon 10 assume the
places of two important members Of the
Canal Commission, Admiral Day and Ad-
miral Night and when. upon exposure.
they are condemned TO prison. they ap-
pear as jailbirds. and finally come 70
climax as toreadors in a fake bull-fght
scene which is ridiculous in the extreme.
The chief and most enjoyable character
istic Of the work Of these comedians IS
the apparent freshness OF the material
There is no continuous working over Of
the same old stuff and. although the
success comes from nearly the same cause
in al instances, that being incongruity
Of language and appearance, the jokes
are new, and the whole performance is !
irresistibly amusing, and carries no sug-
gestion of rehashing.
II the principal characters had not
been present. however, the supporting
company would have been able to dis
pense a notable list Of amusement Miss
Marion Stanley, as Rose Gay, the fair
American, gives a highly edifying enter
tainment OF charming presence and
with fine voice. she not only renders her
allotted songs with telling effect but en-
tered into the spirit of the comedy with
charming abandon. and danced with ex-
ceeCing grace Under the Jungle Moon.
In conjunction with Mr. Hickman, was
repeatedly encored, and her song Of imi-
tatiOns. Each One Has a Way OF His
own" was accorded a big demonstration.
She also scored with the Rogers brothers
in "BUrlesque Opera" and Colon Town '
A remarkable song was "CuDid's GAY
Bouquet" rendered by Mr. Ware. accom- |
panied by a novel scenic concert, depict /
ing the face of a clock, and upon each
stroke Of the hour a pretty girl emerged
from hidden door, until the singer was /
surrounded by group Of gayly costumed I
women. Miss Anita Sanchez also contrib /
uted Ny Cigarette" and the Hengler /
sisters assisted at frequent intervals in I