The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-05-10

Of much more interest to the au- dieEce than the actual plot of the piece which may be found in outline in last Saturdays Courier, were the numerous songs and ensemble numbers in ren. dering which the Grays company de. veloped its real strength In this con. nection Miss May c. Bradleys work ir the part of o Mimosa San entities hel to rank as the star of the play. Miss Bradley was entrusted with many ot the most difficult of the musical mum. bers. all of which she rendered unfal. teringly and with rare purity of tone Playing in tho production of ''Tht
 Geisha" as 70 Mimosa San.
 Miss Lillian Benoit as Juliette Diam. ant made the daintiest of French girls to whom Miss Rebecca Harris, who cleverly played the heavy English Dow. ager. Lady Constance Wynne, was Q complete counterpart.
 Mrs. Esther Nelson in the ingenut role of Molly seamore provided a re, freshing comedy element, and hel sprightly, vivacious acting was much appreciated.
 Sergeant Joseph F. Southerton,a as Wur Hi, the Chinese proprietor of the tea horse, provided abundance of fun, and was always the center of unusual at. tnetion as long as he was on the stege. Mrs. Nelson and MT, Souther- ton have developed a greater fluency ir the reading of their lines than any one else !n the cast
 Private stephen c. Crabb in entirely competent in the somewhat difficult heavy" part of Marquis Imari, while Private Joseph A. Weibel, who was leading juvenile in the role of Captain Katana, looked every inch his charac- ter.
 One of the most effective musical numbers of the evening was Sweet heart Mine, as written expressly for this production by George Chadwick Stock and dedicated to the New Haven Grays, which Sergeant Adams sang in conjunction with Miss Bradley.
 Private Innis G Osborn, as Reginald Fairfax, an English officer in love with o Mimosa San, had the leading serious part, in which his remarkable stage presence stood him in good stead. The many songs which fell to his share were handled in almost professional style, and with excellent voice.
 All in all, "The Gelsha,' as produced by the Grays, is distinct success, The chorus in particular is, if anything, rather better than most professional choruses, which 1t also surpasses in numbers and discipline. The ensemble numbers would have been a credit to any company. If any criticism at all is to be passed, it would relate to a detail which, while unimportant in it. self, is still a defect in an ambitious production that has otherwise been elaborated with the greatest care Many in the audience remarked upon the un- successful attempt to initiate the pe- culiar Japanese slanting eyebrows and expressed the opinion that if 1t were abandoned altogether, at least in the chorus, it would not only add much to the appearance of the girls, but would do away with a positive disagreement. The matter is of no consequence of course, except as an irritating distrac- ton from the real merits of the piece.
 The Grays will repeat this perform ance of ''The Geisha" at the New Ha- ven theatre this evening and to-mor- row night.
 The list of patronesses follow:
 Mrs. Arnon A. filling, Mrs. Edward B. Bradley, Mrs. Frank G. P. Barnes, Mrs. Edward C. Beecher, Mrs. Arthur s. Bradley, Mrs. James Kingsley Blake, Mrs. George M. Beers, Mrs Freder- ick c. Crabb, Mrs. Clarence B. Damn, Mrs. Joseph T, Fitch, Mrs. George Hare Ford Mrs Samuel H. Fisher, Mrs. AL fred c. Gruener, Mrs. Emil A. Gessner, Mrs Edward o. Gruener, Mrs. Leonard F. Hotchkiss, Mrs. Ernest l.. Isbell, Mrs. Samuel H. Kirby, Mrs. A. McC. Mathewson, Mrs, Harvey s. Munson, Mrs Theodore H. Macdonald, Mrs Charles F. McCabe, Mrs. Edward s. Mculton, Mrs. Charles D. Nicoll, Mrs George w Osborn, Mrs. Cyrus Berry Peets, Mrs. George G. PoWning, Mrs Charles E. Rounds, Mrs. Wallace S. Ritter, Mrs. J. Edward somers, Mrs Jchn c. Schwab, Mrs. s. Fred Strong, Mrs. Charles Smith, Mrs. William D. Scranton. Mrs. Frederick N. Sperry Mrs. Charles H. Townshend Mrs. Ed ward Taylor, Mrs. Joseph H. Town send, Mrs. Frank B. Walker, Mrs James E. Wheeler, Mrs. Eliot Watrous, Mrs. Smith Weed, Mrs. Clarence P. Will son, Mrs. Nathan s. White, Mrs. James H. Webb.
 The affair was in the hands of an associate general committee consisting of General E. E. Bradley, General George H. Ford, Colonel A. c. Hem drick, Captain E. o. Gruener, Lieuten- ant Edward c. Beecher, Orderly Ser geant B. R. English, Julius Twiss, E. G. Stoddard, Samuel Lloyd, James A. Howarth, F. B. Walker, Jerome B. Lucl1e, Hon. Hobart L. Hotchkiss, Ma jor Smith Weed, Colonel N. G. Osborn, Colonel Charles ". Pickett, Captain E.