New Britain herald., 1916-03-21
THE TWO 0RPHANS'
 A SPECTACULAR HIT
Producer, CoStumer, Electrician, and Scenic Artist Score
 Triumph

After witnessing some of the pres cnt day pays with their unGc ol sa- laciousEess and suggestivcness 1t Is tiful drama Of a bygonc 1&N. just as it is good to listen to ar old heart song afrer hearing a pell-mcI. ot rag time. It is tIc transition f,oEl th" ridiculous to the sublime. Such is the impression created by ''Th2 Two Cr' phans,' tho wonderful old drtln;t Ero- sented at the Lyceum last night by the Alfred Cross Players. It !; safe tO assert that this is the Ono supreme attempt of these players, that "Ihc Two Orphans is the biggest @nu grandest production ever offered on the local stage by a stock rnlpHnN. Kate ClaXtOn, who first brought fame and popularity to the "1WO DrDEun.i' would be pleased with the rendition i her version as seen at the Lyccum last night.
 As presented by lne Alfred Cross players '"Thc Two Orphans is 9 granI spectacle made up of seven wonderful scenes and chara ctcrs of the old school. The light effects in some of the :>@'s are superb. In all it is a triumph of
 
 tor. costum"r and players. There ; =: so many parts worthy oI lDte tliui scarcely anyone has time 70 mOnupol- ize the spotlight, unless it Go Alfred Cross who this week plays two roles and thus has a dual cha lco al sue cess. Aside from the faot that inc play is the thing, Maurice Tltlie, the scenic artist, has painted some scenes that will long live in the memoric" of those fortunate enough to sec Jncm. in the second act, showing the garden of "!;el Airc' at midnight, MT. Tuttie has assembled one of tho pre3tiest scenes ever presented in this imlne- diate vicinity. In fact each of the scv- en acts was a triumph in scene paint ing. They are ali works of art and yet of entirely different atm Osphera. ken- dall Weston, the producer, is |" be congratulated for the brilliant Ilanner in W hich he staged the whole proluc- ton. With an augm ented cast bring ing the total number of players up to fifty Mir. Weston succeeds il, setting forth a perfect play. The costumes arc elaborate the settings gorgeous.
 As Pierre Frochard. the cripple, Alfred Cross presents one of tue best bits of character work of his career. His "Chevalier" too was SOol, ana the novelty of seeing the leading man in two distinct roles appealed to the audi. ence Florence Hart made Der re- appearance at the lyceum in this play and was given a great re&cp ton At the end of the third act $nc was presented with many beautiful flow CTS and called upon for q curthin speech She gave a beautiful pe1Gur mancc of the Countess D Iiniere&, and with her husband Alfred Cross, enjoyed the distinction of playing two important roles. She also played the sylnpathetic Sister GenevieTo. Eugene Weber made a picturesque ''Jac ,lue:'', the big. bullying brother of Pierre. Mss lul!e 'icrnc, as lAou!s the blind girl. o.:;c a wonderful perfo tniance If this pathetic character. Playing the D~?I f ii:H blind girls foster sister. Henriette. Dora, Booth also found a part greatly suited to her.
 It was young Philip Sheffield who furnished all the laughter at last nights performance. As Picard" the sprightly and jumping jack valet of the Chevalier, MT. Sheffield was inn mensc. His every move called for T laugh. He handled his lines well and put them over in great shape. J. lrv- ing White who has played so many varied roles since coming to New Britain makes very convincing Count dc Linieres. Mrs. Adalaide Hib- bard returned to the cast as La Fro chard and was warmly received in {; cleverly conceived interpretation Will l liam Ennis is seen in q portrayal of the 1 Marquis and has one big scene in a 1 dual with the Chcvalier which he does 1 we'll. The Two Orphans is the big l gest thing ever accomplished by a To- | cal stock company and furnishes a new { avenue of outlet for the talent of it's i members. The entire production is ! entirely different from the many seen | here this season.
 \ Medicine of Merit