Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-05

who were discovered-when the conductor
had been bounded back to his stool and
the bemussed electrician replaced by a
man of more enduring fiber-contemplat-
ing their own charms in THE Mirror OF
Venus" was utterly wrecked-yea, trans
formed into helpless gfggles-by a totally
unexpected ejaculation Of Good old
Gertie!" proceeding from a young man In
ly remarkable for a made-up tie and a
red silk handkerchief. and directed. ap-
parently Gf one may judge by conse-
quences), at a massively built young WON.
an kneeling third from the end on the
prompt side. During another tableau. as
of Flora Macdonald. the audience sat
spellbound for thirty breathless seconds
what time the unhappy princes tartan
stockings slipped inch by inch from the
neighborhood Of his knees, past the bound;
airy line where artificial brown left on and
natural white began, right down to his
ankles-a contretemps which, as Mr..
Darcy remarked to Mrs. Leroy. added a
touch Of animation to what would other
wise have been a somewhat lifeless rep
resentation.
The comedietta was not an unqualified
success. 1t was one of those character
istic products of what may be called the
back-drawing room school, in which COM
plications begin shortly after the rise of
the curtain with the delivery and perusal
of certain letter, and are automatically
adjusted at the end of about thirty-five
minutes by the Introduction of another.
which explains everything. settles differ
ences, precipitates engagements. and
brings the curtain down upon all the
characters standing in q row in carefully
assorted couples.
This somewhat trite and conventional
plot was agreeably varied by the vagar-
les of the talented gentleman who played
the footman responsible for the delivery
of the letters. He brought on the second
letter first, with the result that the
heroine found herself exclaiming: How
foolish 1 have been! Gerald has been
true to me through all! / must go to him
at once! We can be married tomorrow!
after the drama had been In progress
some three minutes-a catastrophe only
tfded over by some perfectly Napoleonic
.gagging'' by the comic man and an en-
tirely unrehearsed entrance with obvious
assistance from the rear OF the footman,
with the right letter.
Fortunately these divergences from the
dramas normal course were lost upon the
majority of the audience: for the actors.
whether from nervousness or frank bore
dom. were inaudible beyond the first three
rows Of seats. Even here the feat OF fol-
lowing the drift of the dialogue was rem
dered almost impossible by the persistent
and frantic applause Of two obvious
''deadheads' in the front row-poor rela-
tions Of the gentleman who played the
footman-who, since they occupied free
seats, evidently considered II tnelr
bounden duty to applaud every entrance
and exit Of their munificent relative. even
when he came on with the wrong letter or
was elbowed OF to fetch the right one.
The only member OF the company VINO
performed his duties with anything like
thoroughness was the prompter, retired
major with lungs Of brass. He had evil
IDENTIFY de cided, with the true instinct OF a
strong man. that II you want a thing we'll
done you must do it yourself. Conse-
quently his voice. re-echoed through the
hall in an unceasing monologue. which.
while 1t lacked the variety inseparable
from the deliverances OF whole COM
pany. did much to keep the occupants OF
the back benches au fait with the In
tricacies of the plot. The best laugh OF
the evening. however. was aroused by the
denly interrupted the prompter to remark.
mildly but distinctly: "All right. old
man. I know this bit!''
Then came Mrs. Jarley's Waxworks.
The curtain rose upon the usual group OF
historical and topical characters, seated
round the stage In a semi-circle, most OF
them twitching with incipient hysteria.
audience. Presently Mrs. farley (Binks).
by Master farley (Cherub,
in sailor suit and white socks), made
her appearance. and plunged into q slight
ly labored monologue. what time her OFF,
spring walked round the stage. and, by
dint of busting. oiling and other opera
tons, stimulated any of the figures which
into fitting display OF life and
activity.
One MRS. farley" is very like another.
and the audience, who were beginning to
suffer from Q slight attack Of theatrical
were . little slow in respond