The Washington herald., 1909-04-25
Approval of Columbia Critics
Given the Production.
DELIGHTED LARGE AUDIENCE
All of the Roles Exceptionally Well
Taken Interesting Plot UnfOIded
by Splendid Acting-An Array Of
Beauty and Grace GreetS Perform
ers, and They Were at Their Best.

Town last night II appeared al the Co
lumbia Theater and offered for the crit
ical inspection of the people of Washing
ton a two-act musical comedy. The
Duchess OF Blufshire. and the people
placed upon the clubs efforts the seal
OF their emphatic approval.
The Duchess OF Biuffshire'' is a mu-
steal comedy in the true sense OF the
term, a production Of unusual merit.
staged and presented with rore excellence
and judgment.
It was essentially ladies' night at the
Columbia; OF. rather. essentially young
ladies' night
A few old graduates were granted ad-
found q seat, but mostly they were girls
the cream Of Washington girlhood-
debutsntes Of this year and last year
and the year before. girls who have
not been brides long enough TO cease 20
be affected by the glamour Of college
life and college men. and last. but by no
means least, small army of school
girls, representing about all the schools
for young ladies in the city.
Beauty and Grace.
It was an array Of beauty anG grace
calculated TO inspire the men OF Prince
ton TO their very best efforts. They rose
nobly Ia The occasion, and gave per-
.formance worthy Of the audience that had
come to applaud them
The scene Of The Duchess of lufT-
Bshire" is Lake Como. Italy. and in
particular the aBrret villa. The Barrets
are Americans. Mr. Barret. played by J.
r. Thompson. being an artist: mis- wife.
a slsngy and domineering spouse. delic-
iousiy impersonated by J. X. Howe Como
is little slow for Mrs. Barrett To iiven
things up she decides on a house party.
and invites thereto the Duchess OF Bluff
shire. 70 the great CONSERVATION OF the
Duke &C. A Armstrong;, who is already
a guest OF the Barrets. So the Duke
hires a band Of real Italian bsnditti led
by a chief with an engaging dialect. 10
Waylay the Duchess
The duchess is taken prisoner. but her
maid Jane is allowed to escape Com
Ing 10 the Barretts' home with the ward
robs and jewels Of her mistress, she i'm
persOnates the duchess. and the duke
decides TO submit 70 the deception and
assist in t. Jacob Wilhelm Weinlsnder,
OF Chicago, a German. whose dialect IS
exaggerated (E. NJ BarnhardD. and
James de Magny Hardy. another AmeTi-
can OF the blatant sort. with a nimblA
pair Of heels N. F. CarroD. being also
guests Of the Barretts, fall into a dis
pUte as 10 the genuineness OF the sup
posed duchess necklace. and to decide
a wager Weinlander takes the necklace
from her room. Before he can return it
the loss IS discovered, and the act closes
II general CONSERVATION.
Between the acts ths members Of the
cast ard chorus hold a reception in the
lobby. their guests being some 40 girls
IN the second act. after a charming
opening chorus by the villagers. Wei.-
lander endesvors 10 restore the necklace
10 James room. but is discovered and
imprisoned Then the real duchess ar
rives on the scene, prociaiu1s her identity.
and the necklace, having been recovered
from the leader Of the bsaditti. into
whose possession it had come by some IN
explicable comic opera means, the anxiety
Of the duke and Jane are relieved by the
duchess declaring that the jewels are
only paste. after ali.
An Important Recovery.
The recovery OF the necklace is i'm
po-tant, for that Is where Jack Lewis and
Dorothy Darling come in They are like
wise guests. Jack. played by S. c. Pot
ter. is z clean-cUt, slim. good-looking
young fellow. with a tenor voice or
course, ne is in love with Dolly. who is
just as charming an American girl as any
man OF Jacks kind would desire
Dolly is played by 3. Rolston. She is
csprici0us and flirtstiOus. and makes eyes
in a perfect adorable fashion; also she
sings a couple Of songs with Jack and
dances with him like an accomplished
soubrette. One Of these songs, III Love
You All Life Long" has the lit and mel
ody Of q Victor Herbert waltz Well,
Jack was the man who wrested the neck
lace from the leader Of the banditti, after
a terrific struggle. thereby proving the
innocence Of his Dorothy. whom someone
had meanly suspected Of the theft That.
Of course. is why he was there, not By
any means to look handsome and sing
love ditties TO his sweetheart.
The burden Of the comedy is borne by
T. L Cunningham. as the pseudo duch-
ess. Mr. Cunningham. in the part Of a
cockney maid aping the fine manners OF
her mistress. was splendid. He never
Overplayed his part. but acted always
with discretion and reserve. and kept the
audience laughing all the time he was on
the stage For his songs, 7 Was Never
50 Put Out and I'm in the Wrong" he
was repeatedly applauded. an almost per-
feet enunciation and the excellence of his
cockney dialect serving well 10 help pro-
duce the desired effect.
The mast frequently encored song Of
the eveRng was 'Puns." by Barnhart
and Carol The song Is good in itself.
Il has a catchy air and clever lyrics. and
the two made the most OF il But il was
their dancing that caught the audience.
Mr.. Carol, in particular, dances with
the freedom, and reckless abandon of the
most accomplished terpdichorean artists
on the stage. without descending to the
grotesque contortions OF many Of them
He is always graceful and pleasing. In
the song -.FairyIaDd," an infectious
melody. Mr.. y. R. Cass displayed a barry
tone voice singularly rich and pure in
quality.
From what has been told Of ghe plot
il viii be seen that The Duchess OF
Bluffshire' tells a story and tells it all
the way through the play. The lines
throughout are laden with humor and
satire, and the songs are written for the
story, fitting in with II and helping In
the development Of it. All the singers
were distinguished for the clesrness Of
their enunciation. so that the audience
got the full benefit Of the excellent lyrics.
Messrs. Cunningham, Birkenhauer. SAM
uels. and Carroll. the authors Of The
Duchess Of Blunshire. are 10 be con-
graduated for demonstrating as they
have done the artistic possibilities OF our
modern musical comedy.
The Triangle Club chorus girls are ia
nous. and justl so. and little need be
said Of them. Il is sufficient TO be noted
that they looked as prettv ss aver LAST