Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-09

was curiously real and saddening, too
as age without honor or self control
ever is. A superb piece of work, this
portrayal, a real picture, all but sub
merging the actor in his role, and
easily the best of a long line of dis
tinctive and discerning things which
Mr.. Yerance has to his credit.
Mr.. Gilbert was not at ease, it seemed
to me. as the commandant, and cer-
tainly was hurried and slovenly in his
articulation in the second act. lie held
us in the climax in the third act, as he
usually does in his climaXes. 1t was
in the preliminary stages of the play
that one seemed to feel a lack of reality
in his portrayal, and perhaps of interest
in a. rather ungrateful part. As usual
of late weeks, Mr.. Duffield personified
the conventions faultlessly and Mr..
Stockbridge visualized joyous, bibu-
lous Bonapartist at welcome intervals.
The latter's "ad-mee-r-r-r-abP was
about the Frenchiest thing in the pro-
duction.
Miss Royce covered an apparent lapse
of memory with presence of mind, and
emerged from that sort of feminine I'M
personation with which she has been
somewhat surfeited of late, with dis
tinction and not a little realism. Her
grande dame, surviving from a bygone
day, was excellent facially, and there
was genuine heart appeal in her few
lines in the first act. Miss Duffet has
a delightful French accent and manner
by birthright, and her small part cast
her more attractively than has any
other of her recent appearances. Ihe
work of Messrs Andrews, Ballard,
Ellsworth, Young and Marks was IN
tolerable character, as to nationality.
Mr.. Heap was a sad, sad Turk, but no
orderly is a hero to his colonel, and in
the absence of any but the musical
comedy tradition for the impersonation
of the subjects of the Sick Man, what
can one expect? Perhaps he was Il
Young Turk and revolutionary That
would be enlightening.
1.-THE Honor of the Family" is an IN
teresting play and well built as to
technique and denouement The ras-
calls are put to rout, and its title JUS
titled. 1t is the family honor, however,
and not M Rouget's which is saved.
The latter quantity, one fancies, was
largely atrophied and apocryphal.
A. Byron Beasley will make his first
appearance as Burbank leading man
next Sunday afternoon in the John
Drew role in Jack Straw" Another
casting of interest is that of Miss
Maude Beatty, recently of the Morosco
musical comedy company, as Mrs.
Parker Jennings, the rich London snob
whom the pseudo-waiter Furnishes. MISS
Beatty did just about the best comedy
impersonation in the Morosco's COM
pany's brief and melancholy life as the
English gypsy in "A Runaway Girl,
and her temperance in the "legltl-
mate" will be awaited with interest.
The International grand opera COM
pany will begin it's second week at the
Mason tonight in Fedora" the cast IN
cluding Mines. Therry, Donner ana
Williams and Nm. Colombini, Arcan-
geli Giuliani, Frascona, GraVlna' Otell'
Correnti and Marti.
Kisses were heard at the Grand last
night in more generous volume than IN
many weeks past, which is an intalll-
BILE proof that "a Man of Mystery,
Mark Swans big melodramatic sensa-
ton. has pleased it's clientele beyond
measure. A bona fide motive OF mys..
terry, developed in an interesting, IL
often grotesquely improbable plot Kept
everybody intent and alert-even the
actors. The result was a production
as far above the companys work last
week in "The Octoroon" as the acting
in that piece was inferior to the play
of the previous week.
Bright comedy and clever lines dis
tinguish the first act of "A Man OF
Mystery" but toward the end the plot
takes ali the time developing that sew
eral musical interpretations allow it,
These, popular as they are In the
hands of Frank Frayne and Alice
Lewis, undeniably are fatal to the ten
sion of the melodrama, especially
among the players themselves. In the
same way, the love scenes retard the
interest in the mystery, except of
course. that famous interview; in which
1.-THE Shadow" is prevented from pois-
oning his f1ancee. Which suggests the
traordinary household of discovering
poison plots, and then forgetting to
throw away the posion.
This idea of poison as handy weap-
on of Richard Glenwood so got on my
nerves last night that 1 was almost
afraid to eat the dime-in-the-s cho-
colates I had procured in my seat, for
fear Mr.. Webb's stage self had been
up to his tricks down in the parquet.
And then there was that terrible old
woman whom Miss Gertrude Claire i'm
personated, and Grace Rauworth as
her smiling daughter-both very real
and appalling in their iniquity. Miss
Fora Bates did good work also-the
most unaffected I have seen her do. and
Alice Lewis PLAYED simply and pleas
ingly. James Dillon was good. handy
detective, ana JACK MCDONALD SatlSIdC-
tory as the absent-minded old doctor.
Franklyn Hall had a good thieves
argot. or. at least, so I should imagine
Frank Franye's comedy was the hit of
the evening. and Mr.. Webb showed a
return to his earlier, more natural
manner in the "heavy" role
Altogether, it was an interesting
specimen of its kind Of stagecraft and
a fairly plausible story. quite whole
some in tone. The one glaring improb-
ability. of course, was the fact that
they let the villain die by poison in the
last act when p quick use of the stom-
ach pump by his doctor-uncle would
have saved his life But I question
very much If the gallery would have
permitted the rescue, for their thumbs
all seemed to be pointing down, from
where I sat.
Rehearsals for Jack Straw" will be-
gin at the Burbank this morning.
The gallery will answer Martin
B1ck's boast that he would make them
like grand opera this afternoon at the
Orpheum when "The Patriot" in
which Helena Frederick and company
will appear, will be staged as a genuine
tragic opera. Other new attractions
are Charlotte Parry, protean artist:
Selma Braatz, juggler, and the three
Leightons.