The Washington times., 1911-01-17
SIRE" WORTHY PLAY
FOR OTIS SKINNER
Provides Actor With a Pecu-
liarly Suitable Roman
tic Role.
PRODUCTION WELL
CAST AND MOUNTED
Minor Roles Uniformly Well Taken
Miss Bert and Miss
Jewell Score.

4ldl CNeIlSntu nope mat lne son OIL
Louis XVI Of France may have grown
TO manhood, which has been such a
fruitful source for speculation and pure
romance, was made to do dramatic ser
vice by Henri Lavedan some years ago,
and was adapted for the worthy talents
of Otis Skinner by Louis n. Parker.
The play, called Sire" opened at the
National Theater last night in the sec
ond week of its American existence, and
from there will 80 directly to a New
York playhouse.
The author has shown the true ro-
mancer's aptitude for making improb-
able events seem very plausible. The
most remarkable feature about the
. piece is its adaptation to the require
ments Of Mr.. Skinner, who is given. full
play for his genial personality and un-
usual elOcutiOnary powers.
Though this seasoned actors prestige
does not depend on these phases of his
art alone his return from a brief essay
In more modern and matter-of-fact
drama in the form of Your Humble
Servant" to a romantic and half-heroic
role of an imperSOnatUr of the Dauphn
was apparently welcome to his admirers
in the first night audience He has so
closely identified himself with parts of
just the character of that provided by
Playwright Lavedan and Adapter Par
ker that he has never seemed more
suitably or more happily cast.
Merits Appreciation.
An evening with Otis Skinner al
ways seems to demand an apprecia-
tion for his melli1uOus voice, perfectly
modulated and as carefully used as
that of the trained singer. and for
those other qualities of his acting
which suggest more adequately than
spoken word or set gesture the ex-
act impression the actor wishes to
convey.
By a curious coincidence Mr.. Skin
ner is again cast, as he was in his
last play, as a member of his own
profession, though the Iowa bic vaga-
bond and mountebank Denis Roulette
was something Of a clock mender, a
musician, chimney sweep, a vender,
and jack of half a dozen other trades
besides.
The story hinges on his engagement
by two well-meaning friends of Mile |
De Saint-Salbi to impersonate the i'll
fated Bourbon heir 1t is explained by /
one of the friends, DR.. Cabat, that this /.
lady is possessed OF fixed idea, a more
modern physician might call it by a
longer and more scientific term, that
the dauphin still lived, and that she
might some day see him. Fear for her
mental condition was the ground for
the imposition.
The second act portrays a delicious
comedy situation, in which the genial .
Roulette, unaware of the crown about
- hefall him, is forced to join the Red
Hand cOnSpirators who caused trouble
Tor Louis Philippe The imperSonators
of the five fingers" though they were
on the scere probably not more than
zen minutes; gave such excellent char
acter hits that their names deserve to
he recorded. They were Charles B. |
Wells, Edward Fielding, Arthur Row. |
Walter Scott, and Arthur Lyman.
Comedy Scene.
An additional satire was attached to
this scene because Roulette's sweet
heart, I.eonie Bouquet, mademoiselIe's |
companion, was concealed in secret |
passage way and heard the dire plots to |
overthrow the existing regime Incl |
dentally the maiden learned that her !
Roulette had not been in the war Of .
Algiers, which had been one Of his
chief claims as a raCOnteur. 1t is prob ,
able that the conspiracy of the Red .
Hand" was meant to be taken more
seriously by the French author. but II !
has taken on gentle irony, at times .
almost approaching buleSque at the
hands of the adapter and American |
players.
Roulette assumed the garb of royalty
temporarily eCltpsed in the second act.
The change afforded a splendid oppOr- |
tunity for contrast by Mr.. Skinner with
the impersOnatiOn of the ne'er-dO-Ueli
and he painted the picture with con-
summate art. He was so much Of a king
that the audience was not bit in
rredu1Or1e a roa6puNpfCplla'c
acceptance of him as Louis XVII. Her
faith was not shaken by the discovery
Of him making love with Leoine. and |
when the discovery did come during
one of the street battles that marked
the revolution of 1915, she sees in ROu-
Iette some of the qualities with which
she had invested her imagined sovereign
and sends the impOster on the streets
TO uphold the cause of the hated Louis
Philippe.
Production Well Mounted
The production was well staged, and
the cast was uniformly excellent. The
play is pure fantasy and must be ac-
cepted as such if it is to be appreciated
at all. The first act is rather handi-
cap for the remainder of the piece, on
account of its voluble explanations,
which might be shortened considerably.
Next to Mr.. SINNERS acting the most
notable work was that done by Mabel
Bert in the part Of the deluded woman
She maintained a consistent dignity and
pOise. Izetta Jewell did not have such
an important part as that assigned her
in Your Humble Servant" but appear
ed to marked advantage when she was
on the stage. The kindly-intentioned
doctor and the abbe were played by John
Clulow and A. G. Andrews, respectively
Both gave satisfying impersonations.
This play should furnish Mr.. Skinner
a satisfactory vehicle for some months,
not because of the play itself so much
as of the peculiarly suitable role it
provides for him
J. R. HILDEBRAND.
LYCEUM-"Gaiety Girls"
with a new aggregation of funmakers