The Washington herald., 1911-02-10

| "aSnlnStOnS ultra-faSn1OnaDle SET
laughed at and applauded it's own last
night at the formal opening of the Play
| house, society's private theater, in N
| street.
One of the most cosmopolitan audiences
| that has ever gathered in a local play
house familiarly greeted relatives and
| friends as they ''trod the boards or
| called by their first names those who
| answered the calls Of author" Hun
dreds who sought admittance at the
| eleventh hour were turned away for lack
of seating capacity.
The programme was no less cosmO-
politan than the audience. Three play
lets were presented, the first portraying
| an English hospital camp in Egypt, the
second lampoonishly Yankee in setting
and dialect, and the third all in French.
abounding in witty epigrams, and the
hit of the performance. The dramatis
personae Tor the three pieces:
Cast of Characters.
THE Field Hospital: An Incident of
War" BY James F. ]. Archibald.
Sister Agnes. Miss Dorothy Williams:
the Hon. George Ryder. Jesse Delhay
Browne: William Maitand-Turney, Capt.
Frank f. Evans: Sergt- John Hull and
a friendly Dervish, Burrell r. Hun; SOL
der, John Cotton Smith.
Going South farcelet By Capt
Granville Fortescue: John j. Gallager.
Capt. Fortescue; Hiram Cobb. Russell
Train; Dave, William Merriam; Abe
Goodridge. Morvecn Thompson: Jefferson
Peter. Archibald Hopkins: Col Silas
disher boys, Mason Gulick and John
Merriam; small boy. Maddox Abraham;
Susan Whitley, Miss Hicks; Dorothy
Dot, Miss Sands: Squashvile citizens,
&C, Messrs. Evans and Clyde, and Misses
Buchanan, Hunt, and Sheridan.
'Patatras," a comedy in one act. By
Count Conrad de Buisseret, Ambassador
from Belgium: lie Baron de kergohen.
NJ. Constantin Nabokofr: LIE Visiteur
Comte de Chambrun: Jean. Comte de
Pourtales: lie Merecn. Jonkheer de Beau
fort: YvOnne de kergohen. Miss Miriam
Crosby: Diane d'Auray. Vicomtesse Ben
DIST d Azy.
Amateurs Do Well.
The vehicles were entertainingly SIM
pie and well within the range of the ex-
ceptional amateur talent employed in
their exploitation.
The authors of the three playlets were
their own stage directors. assisted by
Preston Gibson. chairman of the dra-
matte committee. There was every evil
dence of painstaking attention to detail
in the settings. and the scenery was
neither too elaborate nor too simple.
Diplomat Wins Applause.
The performance began at 9:45 o'clock.
AS prologue. NJ. Constantin Nabokoff,
first secretary of the Russian Embassy.
sang selections from Il Pagliacci.'' He
was enthusiastically applauded.
Mr.. Archibald'S piece was the first on
the programme. the curtain rising on a
magnificent sunset scene outside an Eng
lish field hospital in Egypt
Miss Williams. as Sister Agnes. gave
a pleasing interpretation. but was unable
to give sufficient force to the emotional
parts.
Capt. Fortescues "farcelet' was worthy
of the name. George O'Connor. as Col.
Silas Cummins, leading citizen and
Grand Army veteran. and Miss Hicks,
as Susan Whitley. WED with each other
for first honOrs.
Miss Hicks as the demure daughter of
a small town magnate proved delight
fully convincing ingenue. and Mr.. OCon-
nor led chorus in Raymond Hitch
cocks "Wa'al, 1 Swan" in a manner that
would have rung sincere applause and
laughter from the comedian himself.
..Does" Cannon BETTER.
AS Dave, who has never liked Gala
ger. William Merriam did" Uncle Joe
Cannon better than the !Danville sage
could have done it himself The cast was
excellent throughout.
Astounding in epigrams and punctuated
by sally after sally from the audience.
"Patatras," which can be translated to
mean trouble, and lots of it," scored
the decided success of the evening. AS
Diane d.Auray, friend who takes it
upon herself to patch up an unhappy
love affair. Vicomtesse d'Azy was above
criticism. Miss Miriam Crosby. as
Yvonne, the unhappy daughter. carried
off her difficult part with a finish and
detail seldom seen even on the profess
sional stage. NJ. COnstantin Nabokon,
as the father; Comte de Chambrun. as
the lover, who arrives from the skies in
an aeroplane that wrecked itself just
above Yvonne's window; Comte de Pour
tales, as Jean, an aged servant, and
Jonkheer de Beaufort. as the physician,
were excellent.
The entire programme will be repeated
tonight to accommodate the hundreds
for whom room could not be found at
one performance.