The Washington times., 1908-02-11
MUSIC AND COMEDY
AT THE THEATERS
LILLIAN RUSSELL IN sWILDFIRE"
GIVEN WARM RECEPTION
The Cast.

The Cast.
Johh GarrisOn............... Howard Gould
~. "OodhuTst. ...............Ow owen Westford
Jonh Duify. ---.-..................H Hugo Toland
halph WoOdhuTst...............N Norman Tharp
1dtt donovan. .......-...... Herbert COrthell
go 9ahuefson. .......... Morgan Wallace
| LseTLe aims WORTH. Gilbert Douglas
maple Raster .......,..... Harry q. Stafford
i9uI', VIII Archie
5eter Johnson .-.......- 70. Frank Andrews
3IytIe wentworth. $500. Genevieve Cliff
'aHSt STEERING ...-............. Resale DeNaux
ttortense Green Annie Buckley
ans henrietta harrington. Lillian Russell
There is no gainsaying that a good
proportion of the large audience which
gathered at the New National Theater
last evening to see Lillian Russell in
"Wilddre." went there with more or
less skepticism as TO the actress ability
70 play straight, legitimate comedy. She
has been associated for so many years
IN the public mind with musical coue-
dies and burlesQues that one would al
most as willingly SIT down 10 a banquet
where there was the dessert without
'he rest Of the dinner. as to see her
without the accompaniment Of the gayIy
dressed chorus, character comedians,
and catchy songs.
consequently there was much curios-
lty TO see if she could readily break
away from the burlesque atmosphere
that has enveloped her almost contiau-
ally since she became prominent. Taken
as whole her work az the widow own
| ing racing stable iucognito was an
tlrely acceptable. In other words. the
skepuctsm was removed, tie curiosity
Sadsiled. and in the parlance of the
street. Miss Russell made good"
me star was accorded g. warm vel
come-TOr Washington-on her first an
pearance, and she bore the searching
| scrutiny OF an hundred opera glasses
Wen She IS still the handsome woman
| that made her famous on two CONT
Hents. She is the same airy. although
not quite so fahy-like Lillian Of old.
der gowns and hats are creations. and
| her couture is a marvel of hairdressing
art the whole making a pleasing pic
| ture.
| AS Mrs. Henrietta Darlington. Miss
russell is called upor. to do q bit Of
comedy melOdrama. and love making.
more versatility than appears on tho
surface Barring a rapidly Of sDee-b
! SO characteristic Of burlesdues and
musical comedies, the star gives a
pleasing Interpretation Of the role.
| The comedy, which is the Joint uory
| Of George Broadhurst and George "
! Hobart, savors much of the Istta-,,
MRS. Black Is Back" in so far as rhe
-eadlhB character is concerned. Mrs
| Black deceived her second busban5
! about her age and the existence ng J
/ son, Mrs. harrington deceIves all ba,
max Ins4e~r inc H.
racing and the fact that She owns the
Duffy stables.
| another similarity of characters +,
mat OF Matt Donovan. the trainer Il
/ hld burns in COhan's "Forty-fvt
Minutes From Broadway" The Other
! characters IN "Wildfre" are fairly az
| cuTate dramatic pictures OF charscte-.
70 De encountered almost any dav Dr.
any locality where racing is c0nducfad
/ Bleuy outlined, the plCt revoIye.
SIogIa the running OF the Ocear
| stakes IN which Wlldhre, Mrs. Bar
FlngU0ns fleet mare, is the fay0rIte II
| order 70 conceal her connection with h
MIS- harrington has the stable con
| Quoted under the name Of John Duqfy,
An INSCRIPTIONS bOOkmaker by that
name takes advantage OF the eftuatfor
| 70 instruct the jockey at the last min.
use TO lose the race unless he sees :
hah9keI chleI waved from a certain
! Mrs. Harrington learns all this from
/ Bud. the stable boy. a picturesque char
acter, and illustrates Il BY aIIoWiDl
DunE. when she has repea tedIv re
| pulsed. to embrace her AT the window
while she seizes his handkerchief anC
/ gives the signal TO go on and win. u
the meantime Duffy has wreaked Venge
anCe on Mrs Barrington's sutton b.
| saying that he was a partner IN fht
crooked deal GarrisOn-s 1.-THE suitor
/ rival, an automobile enthusiast aDpar
/ emily wins out. but resigns In favor o
| Garrison at the eleventh hour when III
/ learns all the particulars 4 juveniE
and ingeuue love affair and an EngIisl
| "chappie, together with the trainer
jockey, and stable boy furnish the com
edy in liberal doses.
| "Wldfre" is clever and entertaining
but Messrs. Broadhurst and Hc.bar
have written better plays. One o. tn
prettiest scenes Is that in the seconi
act where Miss Russell is in the train
ing quarters and graphically tells Il.
jockey how to ride the race. Her seen
with Duffy in the handkerchief eDisod
IS quite melOdramatic and was r0Undl'
pplauded-eSpeCially by the gallery.
Throughout the second and third act
the character of Bud. the stable boy
| with his quaint vernacUiar, typiCa
dress and chubby appearance. is a re
freshing bit Of Comedy-. The part 1
ably handled by VIII Archie HOwar
Gould IS a convincing John Garrison
/ and Herbert COrthell is delightful a
the SlanEy trainer Matt Donovan
The other characters are handled &C
| cent 9t1ly