Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-23
ADJUSTMENTS


Two bits Of character acting flashed
with pleasing color throughout the per-
Torrance OF "Rafles.' presented by the
Columbia Players last evening. One was
the delineation of Capt. Bedford. played
by Everett Butterfield. and the other was
that Of Crawshay, the burglar, played py
Frank Shannon.
Everett Butterfeld sustained throughout
the performance the nonchalant ease anu
the appearance OF absolute indifference
which in characters of Englishmen. whose
minds are more active than their physicai
movements. seem to please nightly. MI.
Butterfield's poise throughout the Wno,e
performance was not marred by snsI
instant of forgetfulness. His role is tnat
of an Englishman OF fortune VINO en-
cages in the search OF thigh art" crimi-
nails as a matter Of sport.
Crawshay. the burglar, an Enghsh thus,
a brute without brains-brave "hen .Io
tide of fortune is with him. and a wnlln-
pering cur when every chance OF ESCAPE
seems to have been lost to nlm-makes
an excellent foil against which the aris.o-
cratic crimnality of Rames is ue
picted in the moments OF the play wren
professional burglary Is contrasted Win
the fascinating style of safe cracking
that Rallies follows. Frank Shannon.
playing his part, received the applause
of the audience for the mastery manner
IN winch ne COlOreO MS HIcS Win eiAS
essence of professional crime
The story of "Raffles." made into q
play by Eugene Presbrey. who based II
on incidents and suggestions from Hor-
nung's series OF short stories OF the same
name deals with the theft OF a diamond
necklace at an English country seat. Raj
fies took IT. But suspicion falls on the
professional burglar. who was seemingly
caught i'm the act OF snatching IT from
an accomplice. Rallies thereupon enters
l~,,w
Bedford by sheer force Of mentality
places the crime at the feet OF Rames
but by the exercise OF brilliant Wit Raf-
nes wins.
There is a suggestion OF powerful love
story running through the play. ana two
women played upon opposite sides OF this
theme well enough to bring applause UNI
stinted last night. They are Miss Blanche
Hall as Gwendoline Conron and Miss
Florence Huntington as Mrs. Vidal Miss
Emelie Melville pleased the audience as
Lady Melrose.
The acting Of Paul McAllister as Raj
hes was a finished bit of stage work.
With no effort to initiate the mannerisms
Of Kyrle Bellew, who played the part for
several seasons originally. Mr.. McAllister
charmed the audience with the presenta-
ton Of man OF rare ability. OF excel
lent birth and training but with that odd
to leave other folks diamonds alone.
But one feature of his performance
went askew. and that was the costume
he affected in the second act. AS a sar-
toriai production IL stands alone for color
and design. As Mr.. McAllister burst
upon the view with these clothes, the
audience gasped-audibly, but found it
self quite used to it within a few min
utes.
The other roles of the play were car
ried through pleasingly. These were
Lord Amersteth. by Stanley James; Lord
Crowley. by Robert McGoarty; Lady
Ethel. by Miss Phyllis Sherwood; Merton.
by Joseph Hazelton: Marie, by Miss Nina
Melville: Barraclough. by Arthur Richie,
and Bunny" by Frederick Forester.