Evening star., 1915-03-14

has to be taken seriously. The
first few performances, how
ever amusing to the audiences,
are fraught with suspense for
the promoters. While this style of play
is regarded as the broadest of humor,
its effects often depend on the most
delicate contrasts, and the mechanism of
the story has to be adjusted with nicely
that makes the skill Of, the author akin
10 that Of the engineer. It's service to
thought and endeavor may be slight, but
the contrivance is elaborate and ingenious.
The Blue Envelope in its travels
X X
goes over a route that is made joyous
by several bubbling oases of fun. Be
tween them are arid places in the con-
versational journey. but the play has
in its favor the fact tslat some of the
comic episodes linger in recollection, and
tempt the auditor to try to describe them
10 a friend. There Is 40 surer way to
get a man to go to show than to try
to tell him about something that hap
pened in the way Of comic scene He
is compelled to go to satisfy his curiosity
as to whether anything you described
as YOU did could possibly be as enter
tanning as you said it was
* 4
The fine effects in THE Blue Envelope"
are dependent chiefly on the work of w
J. Ferguson. an actor with remarkable
career. Few men have had the compIi-
ments that Ferguson has enjoyed. 1t is
related that Richard Mansfield said of
him, Ferguson is the greatest actor in
America-next to myself" This was
yyh hA MIA oxyfn Gol
Beau Brummell" The occasions for
complaining of modesty in an actor are
not many: but the occasion seems to
arise in the case Of this eminent, though
unstarred, player, who for years has gone
on content to apply the utmost fnesse
to roles Of subordinate rank Yet his
performances have always been character
lied by a subtle JUNCTION and a tempera-
mental buoyancy that gave them distinc-
ton Tho Blue Envelope follows farce
precedent in presenting a story whose
moral is obscure. If the farce is the out
growth of any old morality play, the
hardships and embarrassnents of the
spouse who undertakes a surreptitious
turn on the primrose path of dalliance
are lost sight of in the appeal to the
sense of the ridiculous
1t is not often that a singer still
young in professional experience meets
more exacting test than that which
Gretchen Hood met when she sang
with the San Carlo Opera Company on
Wednesday afternoon. The singers in
the cast were gifted performers, sea
soned by experience and accomplished
to the last detail in histrionic as well
u
dence of confident judgment on the
part of the management to place her
thus in evidence, for the slightest inn
perfection could not fail to be en-
phasized by the high quality of her
surroundings. No Marguerite was ever
more gently beautiful in appearance or
more free from self-consciousness She
sang with security that matched the
ease of her stage presence, revealing a
voice whose sweetness and fexibility
made 1t seem the expression of nature
itself rather than of skill.
+ x
The San Carlo singers have made
place for themselves among the music
lovers of Washington, their perform
ances having created a sincere enthusi-
asm far beyond that which most or
tour have aroused. The assemblage of
so remarkable a list of singers is an
achievement which shows the keenest
discernment of quality on the part OF
he management. The San Carlo per-
formances represent grand opera for
grand operas sake, and not for the
commercial exploitation Of ready-made
regulations.
Z
The songbirds are recognized as the
while grand opera was paying the city
q Lenten visit, announcements were
made of more opera of all kinds and
caiiber. The Columbia Theater will
give musical comedies and the Nation
al will offer the standard productions
for which the Aborns have become
known and esteemed. The possibility
that the supplementary theatrical sea-
son will be quite as interesting as the
regular season is by no means remote
PHILANDEE JOHNSON.
An Intereatfng Company-There are
sor-- interesting young people of the
sta ;e in THE Poor Little Rich Girl"
Leonie Dana, who has the title role.
has acted since she was two years old
with the late Pete Daley, Thomas JET
ferson and was the original child with
Faversham in The SQuawman' and in
many New York productions, including
''Passers-By" and The Piper" Viola
Fortescue, the snake woman OF the
play, Is the daughter OF George X
Fortescue, famous female burlesQuer.
rather than impersonator, in Rtce's
E.vangeline" and kindred frivolities of a
quarter century ago. Helen Gurney.
the deceitful nurse, was trained In
Augustin Dalys company. and Is the
wife OF Branche O'Brien. a well known
advance agent Ella Rock. the society
bee ee-hunting mother, is Philadelphia
girl who began with Elsie Janis in
musical comedy.
E-ic Jewett is the son of Henry Jew
EFT. the only male survivor of Mans
fields original Arms and the Man"
cast, who has recently been making
Shakespearean revivals in Boston. ].
Palmer Collins. the sympathetic old
-rgan grinder, acted with Sir Henry
Irving and Beerbohm Tree in London.
Horace Mitchell. personator of the
kindly physician, was a pupil of the
famous elocutionist. James e. Muir
dock. and was stage director of the San
Charles Richman. Gladys Hanson,
Charles Cherry and Rose Coghlan last
summer. Joseph A. Bingham, the fat
headed policeman, has blown his whis-
tie at every performance of the Eleanor
Gates fantasy for the past three sea-
yith Digby Bell in vaudeville. Mons.
Alphonse, personating the Kings Eng
lish. and the talebearing little bird.
aas circled the globe as ventriloquist
and magician.
Al Grady. the puffy bear, has i'm