PN 2277 B6 M5 Copy 1 mm&;S-'-''' STORY OF TOE STAGE THE- PAST YEAR, II '^^^il Betefice to I- i.. JL. v.iNr;v Narrative of the ^ . ; all x. -. n s - " C pera histories of each .- ..., analyses C ' che acting-, comments ' many auth.^ , .ud .. .,. oa the.'--owr. piece< /ull casts ot c; 'actes of the principal performances, complete reccr )*" wie . iieatrit-al yanr iu Boston, list of thei^fc j officials, biographical sketches, ard PORTRAllS OFjtCTORS/NDjlCTi^SSES, || WITH ILLUSTRATIONS )I PLAYS. ' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. il^ajt. iop^g]^ :f n.. Shelf.ri.12-21 7 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. / ' THE THEATRE. " This is the night that either makes me or fordoes me quite."— Act V. / THE ;^LAYGOERS' YeAR-RoOK FOR 1888. STOIjY OF THE STAGE THE PAST YE/R, WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO BOSTON. BY CHARLES E. L. WINGATE, OF THE BOSTON JOURNAL. Narrative of the plots of all the new Plays and Operas, histories of each work, analyses of the plays and the acting, comments of many authors and actors on their own pieces, full casts of characters of the principal performances, complete I record of the theatrical year in Boston^ lists y) ^"^l of theatre officials, biographical sketches, and PORTRAITS OF ACTORS | ACTRESSES, With Illustrations of Plays. JAN 16 1888 ^'^ THE STAGE PUBLISHING COMPANY. BOSTON, MASS. .AA ^ 6 ^^.^ ^ U Entered according to Act of Congress in the yeaf 1887, by Charles E. L. Wingate, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Introduction. It is hoped by means of The Playgoers' Year-Book to preserve in convenient form the records of the stage, and though written essentially for Boston, yet, as every leading -ttraction visits this city and as the history of each play is faven, the book is practically a record of the American ctage for the time covered within the dates. It is the first dramatic year-book to be published in this country, although corresponding publications exist in London and in Paris. Most of the pictures are from The Theatre, a maga- zine whose general excellence guarantees their fidelity to life. For the sake of ccomparison in future, it may be well to state that there have been given during the year, besides the famil'ar works, forty-nine plays, five operas and two ballets new to Boston. Iedic/itoky f refacd TO MR. R. M. FIELD Nearly a quarter of a century ago a young man left his desk in the office of a Boston newspaper to accept the management of one of the leading theatrical institutions of the country, assuming upon the shortest notice responsible duties that required both energy, tact and executive ability to carry through successfully. That he did succeed completely is made evident by the fact that now his name stands among the highest in the roll of able and brilhant theatre directors. It was on the 15th. of February, 1864, that Mr. Richard M. Field became manager of the Boston Museum. Mr. E. F. Keach, who for three and a half years had carried on the work mapped out by the first stage manager of the Museum, Mr. W. H. Smith, died on the last day of January, and before twenty-four hours had elapsed the proprietor of the theatre, Hon. Moses Kimball, had offered the vacant position to his journalist friend. Mr. Field delayed a few ays for deliberation, and then accepted the proffer, taking charge of vi. Dedicatory Preface. the theatre at once and continuing at his post without intermission to the present time, thus making himself the senior in official service of all theatre managers in Boston. He was a Boston boy, the son of a well-known Boston teacher. After graduating from the Latin School and finding, upon the death of his father, that his plans for a collegiate course must be aban- doned, the young man had taken up the following of a sailor until near his twentieth year. Then returning from a cruise around the world he accepted an appointment on the staff ol the Boston Post and there remained several years, at the same time having a con- nection with the Saturday Gazette. During this period he not only obtained an insight into dramatic affairs, through the connection brought about by his newspaper work, but also won the friendship of Mr. Keach and of Mr. Kimball. It was, therefore, not unnatural that the proprietor of the Museum should turn to Mr. Field when there came the necessity for a new business chief. From the day when Rosedale ushered m his management at the Museum, with its first performance in Boston, up to the present time there has been manifested that sincerity and uprightness, co- operating with administrative ability and keenness of foresight which have resulted in giving to the Boston Museum continued suc- cess and lasting fame, and in establishing fixedly the high reputa- tion of Mr. Field as a theatre manager. IlAYGOERS Y^/IR-iOOK. -#"| January. ^ Miss Fortescue in Gretchen and King Rene's Daughter. — Gala- tea AND Bal Costume Ballet. — Mme. Modjeska in Daniela. — CoppELiA Ballet. — The Main Line. — Lawrence Barrett in Rienzi. — The Humming Bird. — Louis James in Virginius, — Caught in a Corner. fHE playgoer who at the opening of the new year, 1887, glanced at the prospectus of the theatrical events with the expectation of seeing many novelties proffered for his selection at the out- set could not have been disappointed, for January was brimming with musical and dramatic first performances. Taking opera, drama and ballet, there were eight works given their initial Boston production, besides three important revivals of old pieces. Running at the various theatres as the year came in were Princess Ida at the Globe, The Black Crook at the Boston, The Chouans at the Hollis Street, Sol Smith Russell in Pa at the Park, and Held by the Enemy at the Museum. The latter play was destined for a long run, its successful picturing of domestic and military life during the Rebellion serving as a great attraction, while the story, narrating the love of a Union officer for a Southern maiden and his honorable but 10 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [January, trying action when the spy, whom he suspects as his rival, is cap- tured, proved very interesting. Among the most striking scenes were those where Col. Prescott, the hero, is obliged to search the — . home of the heroine to capture her cousin, the spy ; where Rachel at the court martial, in a moment of passion, accuses the Union of- ficer of desiring to con- vict the Rebel youth because they are ri vals ; and where the escape of the spy is The Court Martial is Held by the Enemy at the Museum, ^j^tempted under plca that he has died, the result showing that such really was the case though his friends supposed the stretcher bore a living man. The theatre patron, eagerly attending the first new piece of the year, went on the evening of January t, to the Park Theatre there to see Miss May Fortescue, the English actress, in the play which W. S. Gilbert, the well known satirist, had written expressly for her, and called Gi^etchen. Founded upon the noble drama of the great German poet, the piece attempts to picture, in modernized form, the mythical tale of the rejuvenated Faust, not in the shape of a bur- lesque, but rather of a serious parody. It was first given in America at the New York Lyceum, Oct. i8, 1886, and was first heard in Bos- ton on this January 3. There is little to justify the parody of Goethe's work, and it merits but scanty commendation. To be sure there are bright lines and witty phrases, — such must be the case when Mr. Gilbert tries his hand at any style of writing, — but beyond that not much is to be said. The general question of the utility or propriety of parodying a dramatic poem of the exalted character of Faust is also open to consideration. Miss Fortescue, made her first appearance in Boston and as an actress was found wanting. She had personal qualifications, prettiness of features, exquisite form and an attractive voice that adapt her for public appearance, but her action was limited and weak. THE SEARCH IN "HELD BY THE ENEMY," AT THE MUSEUM. THE ESCAPE IN "HELD BY THE ENEMY," AT THE MUSEUM. 1887]. Galatea — Bal Costume. ii Miss Fortescue revived for one night, January 15, Hon. Edmund Phipps's version of King Rene's Daughter, adopted from the Danish of Henrik Herz some thirty-five years ago and originally produced by Charles Kean with Mrs. Charles Kean in the part of lolanthe. In 1854 it was played in Boston by Mrs A. C. Mowatt. Some years ago Mrs. Scott-Siddons appeared in a different version. The plot relates to the recovery of the sight ot a blind girl who has been kept in total ijnorance that she was afflicted different from other people. On the 5 th of January three novelties were presented at two theatres. The National Opera Company, that most ambitious but fiucLuating organization, appearing at the Boston, brought out for the first time in this city Victor Masse's comic opera of Galatea and the Bal Costume ballet, music by Rubinstein. Galatea had been condensed by Frederick A. Schwab into one act, yet the cutting had been done so skillfully that no break was discernible. In the opera the well-known story made familiar by legend and by play, of the beautiful statue imbued with Hfe in answer to the prayer of its sculptor, is repeated in practically the same form as that to which everyone is accustomed. The jealous wife and estranged lovers are not portrayed, but the action of the opera sees the mortalized Galatea playing pranks with her lover's affection, coquetting with the studio attendant, taking the presents with good grace from the wealthy Midas and absorbing more of the drink of Bacchus than was good for a flesh and blood statue, so that finally Pygmalion grows weary of his creation and prays her back again to her stone pedestal. The music is pretty throughout with a number of par- ticularly bright melodies interspersed to win popular favor. Miss Laura Moore, who made her first appearance in Boston, proved to be a little lady with a handsome face and graceful form, possessing every attribute for good stage presence as Galatea, and a voice of the pure, sweet type, melodious but not powerful. Mrs. Jessie Bartlett Davis made a pleasing Pygmalion. The Bal Costume ballet was simply a series of national dances set to the orchestral arrangement of Rubinstein's four-hand piano- music called by the title given the ballet. The stage pictures were admirable in their artistic arrangement, and the solos were grace- fully danced by Gilbert, Giuri, Carozzi and Cammarano. 12 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [January, At the Hollis Street Theatre on the 5th, — a busy week, this, for the attendant at every novelty, — Mme. Mojeska gave the first per- formance in Boston of the German play Daniela, which had had its initial production by her in America at the Union Square Theatre, New York, December 13, 1886. She had presented the drama, in the original, in Berlin and other foreign cities. Daniela was written by Felix Phillipi and translated into English by W. Von Sachs and E. Hamilton Bell. The argument runs as follows : Daniela is the second wife of Count Von Lexon and though she loves him devotedly, she finds that his affection is buried in the grave with his first wife. But he does not know, and she does, that this former wife was unfaithful to him. Upon the attempt of the self-sacrificing Daniela to conceal this unpleasant truth from the Count, hangs the plot of the play. She seeks Ferdinand Von Amdt, the lover of the first wife, in order to have destroyed certain documentary evidence, damaging to her predecessor, but this visit is misconstrued by her husband whose suspicions have been aroused by Karl Von Bergen, the brother of his first wife and the man whose suit for the hand of the Count's neice is opposed by Daniela. Re- turning home one evening unannounced. Von Lexon surprises Von Arndt and Daniela together, they being on the very point of des- troying the compromising letters. The man escapes, but Daniela remains to receive the unjust accusation of her liege. For his sake she will not tell the truth, and so he remains still in the dark. Seek- ing a noted lawyer in order to take action for divorce. Von Amdt and the Count are thus inadvertently brought together, for the former is the lawyer in question, but as it happens that neither of the two is known to the other, it is only when the circumstances are revealed that the lawyer understands the case. This lawyer has a conscience. He confesses the actual facts to the astonished husband and then, of course, follows a challenge. The Count, full of remorse, goes back to his wife, but she will not return to him until, hearing of the pro- jected duel, she agrees to be his again if he will show his regard for her by abandoning the vengeance he has undertaken for his first wife's sake. He consents, and reconciliation and happiness follow. There is much originality in the main idea of the play, the shield- ing of a first wife's guilt by a second wife whose husband's affection 188;]. Daniela — Coppelia. 13 still lingers with the dead, and there are many strong points about the drama. But, on the other hand, there is sombreness and monotony, combined with impossibilities of action, that make the play drag and seem unrealistic at times. In Boston Daniela was received with favor while Mme. Modjeska's other novelty, The Choiians (brought out in t886) received less praise, exactly revers- ing the judgment of New York audiences. This difference of opinion between the two cities has been noticeable in many cases. Mme. Modjeska in the title role had an angelic character that well suited the natural tenderness and grace of her acting ; her delicate art, too, was well adapted to these characteristics though it was not fully capable of meeting the passionate parts of the story. Coppelia was the first work of the year that had its original American production in Boston. This ballet, (music by Delibes)^ was presented at the Boston by the National Opera Company on the last night of its engagement, January 15, and won an unmistakable success. For a number of years past, it has been upon the European boards and its story was otherwise familiar through various works which may have suggested its plot. E. T. A, Hoffman's story, Sandman^ has the main idea of Coppelia prevailing in it, and the Sandman has been utilized by Offenbach for his comic opera Conies d^ Hoffmann, The same may be said of the prior work of Adolph Adam, Pourpee de Nuj-emberg. A late comic opera made familiar in America during 1886, Edward Solomon's Pepita, was evidently a direct plagiarism of Coppelia. The story of the ballet runs in this wise : Coppelia is a beautiful automaton made by old Coppelius, and is so life-like in appearance that Frantz, a village youth, forgets his love for Swanilda and becomes enamored of the image." While the old mechanician is away Swanilda and her girl friends get into his house and there set all his automatons in motion, (giving chance for a humorous stage picture in the precise and regulated movements of the images of the Chinaman, the Indian, 'etc.) Suddenly Coppelius is heard returning and the frolicsome maids quickly escape, excepting Swanilda who hides away in the recess where the lovely image is set. Then enters Frantz. CoppeUus sees a chance to accomplish his greatest work of all. He gives the youth drugged wine, and by the use of his magi- The Playgoers' Year-Book. [January, cal art endeavors to endow the favorite automaton with the soul of the sleeping man. Success crowTis his efforts, though the real cause of the success he does not recognize. As a fact Swanilda has taken the place of Coppelia on the pedestal and she counterfeits cleverly a gradual coming to Hfe. Finally she is all life, much to the con- sternation of the old man, for her rushes across the stage and her banging over of the other automatons threaten a rather embarrassing charge for him to look after. Meanwhile, Frantz awakes, recog- nizes his true love and with her runs away. The remainder of the pantomime shows merely the union of the lovers and the comforting of old Coppelius, who has been much unstrung by the discovery that his art was not as powerful as he supposed. The touches of real humor in the pantomime are genuinely good while the music is bright, sparkling and melodious. M'lle. Giuri's impersonation of Swanilda was of exceeding merit ; she had danced the part often abroad and therefore was at home in the character. Her natural grace and elegance was made even more apparent by contrast with the comically stiff, mechanical movements she assumed when pictur- ing the automaton coming to hfe. ''Realism, realism, realism " is the cry of the day, and a real tank of water on the stage, a real steam engine, a real horse or a real dog attract more attention, it would seem, than an ideal actor. One of the latest realistic plays is The Main Line, a '' railroad drama " first heard in Boston, January 17, at the Globe Theatre. Its initial appearance was at the New York Lyceum Theatre, September 18, 1886. Charles Barnard, of The Century Magazine, and Henry C. De ]Mille, formerly the reader of plays at the Madison Square Theatre, were collaborators in the authorship, and under their super- vision the play was produced. It is the old story of the lowly but winning maiden gaining the affections of one above her station and culture, and gradually lifting herself, by high puq)ose and training, to the plane where their lives may be wedded without disparity. Possy, the telegraph operator at a Colorado railroad Station, falls in love with Lawrence Hatton, a romantic and generous artist, who is equally smitten with her charms. The scene predestined to be the striking one of the piece is that wherein a rear car, in which Possy's lover rides, becomes detached from the train just after it has left the 188/]. The Main Line — Rienzi. 15 station on the up-grade, and slides swiftly back. Possy sees the danger and like a flash, turns the switch so that the stray car will glide upon the main track instead of upon the siding into the gully. Then she thinks of the incoming express on the main track, and the danger of collision, and sacrificing love for duty, turns back the switch to let the single car smash, rather than risk the sacrifice of a hundred lives. Of course the hero escapes, however, and all ends merrily with the expectation of the marriage chime. The features of the play are the novel mechanical arrangement with the railroad track, depot and telegraph office, and the interior of the station master's apartments with a snow-storm raging without and the wires singing under the blasts of the wind, furnishing a solemn obligato to the plighting of the vows of Possy and the artist. The story itself is a simple one, simply told, and, as the action calls for considerable briskness, the life of the piece combined with its mechanical stage display make the tale acceptable in presentation. The company included Mr. De Mille, one of the authors, and J. B. Mason, formerly of the Boston Museum. On the 1 7th, of January an interesting revival was witnessed at the Boston Theatre. Lawrence Barrett brought out Rienzi, having presented the play only in Washington, Brooklyn and a few small places. It was the first production in Boston of Mary Russell Mit- ford's famous tragedy for very many years. In 1829 the elder James Wallack, after playing the piece in New York, brought it out at the Tremont Theatre, Boston. The cast then included William PI. Smith as Angelo Colona, and Mrs. George Barrett, Mrs. W. H. Smith, John Gilbert, J. M. Field and W. F. Johnson. As a literary work Miss Mitford's tragedy is not unknown, more especially because of the single great speech, " Friends, I come not here to talk," etc., that for years has been among the standard orations for school-boy declaiming. Nor is the story of Rienzi, the last of the Tribunes, un- familiar, since historians have made the record of that patriotic but over-vain man known to students, while Bulwer has told the story to the general reader in his well-known novel named for the hero. But Miss Mitford's tragedy preceded the novel, although, indeed, Bulwer took none of his narrative from the drama and uses the only point of resemblance in the presence of a love intrigue between a relative 1 6 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [January, of Rienzi and a member of the party antagonistic to the Tribune. Buhver's book appeared in 1835. Miss Mitford's play was written in 1824. In its first form it does not seem to have been satisfactory to the author, as she herself writes in a letter to a friend, quaintly dated '* Friday, I don't know the day of the month, but the last Friday in November," 1824, "I have been hard at work altering a play which I hope to get out within a month at Drury Lane. It is on the subject of Rienzi. Macready is with me heart and soul." Her first idea of dramatizing this romantic career came the year previous, but she was afraid of the attempt afraid lest she should get nervous and fail. When finished, Mr. Macready was in favor of bringing out the play as written by a man " to avoid the great annoyance of newspapers, etc., so un- pleasant to a female writer," says Miss Mitford. October 9, 1828, Rienzi was given its first production on any stage, at the Drury Lane, the original cast being as follows : Rienzi, Mr. Young; Angelo Colonna, Mr. Cooper ; Stephen Colonna, Mr. Younge ; Ursini, Mr. Mude ; Claudia, Miss Phillips ; Lady Colonna, Mrs. Faucet. The play had 34 performances. It was brought out very carefully. Clarkson Stanfield, afterwards the celebrated artist, who began as a scene painter painted the scenery, giving in one place an accurate representation of Rienzi's house, which at that time still existed in Rome and was shown as a curious relic of the domestic architecture of the Middle Ages. In 1826 a manuscript copy of Rienzi was brought to America by Macready, but it was not until January, 1829, that the play received its first presentation in this country. It was at the old Park Theatre in New York, the original American cast being as follows : Rienzi, James Wallack the elder ; Stephen Colonna, Mr. Phillips ; Angelo Colonna, Mr. Barry ; Savelli, Mr. Woodhall ; Ursini, Mr. Richings ; Claudia, Mrs. Hilson ; Lady Colonna, Mrs. Sharp ; Teresa, Mrs. Durie. Mr. Wallack is said to have '' personated the hero with great spirit and effect." The last production of the play in New York, and probably in America, before the revival by Mr. Barrett, was in May, 1857, when at Wallack's old theatre the elder Wallack again interpreted Rienzi, with Mrs. Buckland (expressly engaged for the part) as b/y Colonna, Southern as Angelo, and Mrs. Hoey THE THEATRE. M <^^&'Ay^'>^ ^f\(kQL iyerjiar). OF AUGUSTIN DALY'S COMPANY. 188;]. RiENZi. 17 as Claudia. Mr. Wallack provided the version of the tragedy then used. Three other plays have been worked out over the life of the Roman Tribune. In 1825 a successful French tragedy called Rienzi was brought out in Paris, thus antedating Miss Mitford's first rep- resentation, although not her composition, of the play. On the 1 2th of April, 1836, Jonas B. Phillip's version of Bulwer's Rienzi was produced at the old Franklin Theatre, New York, with John R. Scott as Rienzi. May 23, 1836, another Rienzi, by Miss Medina, the actress, based on Bulwer's novel, was brought out at the old Bowery Theatre, New York, with Mr. Hamblin in the title role, to be revived again in 1839. The version used by Mr. Barrett is Miss Mitford's original one, rewritten, however, and reconstructed by Mr. Steele Mackaye under the direction of Mr. Barrett himself. It was produced for the first time at Washington on the 13th of December, 1886, with the same cast that appeared in Boston. The story of the tragedy follows out very closely the actual history of the later days of the Roman whom it commemorates. It is founded directly on the account in Gibbon's Roman Empire. When the play opens the spectator is transported to Rome in the middle of the fourteenth century. The Pope is then residing at Avignon, while in the Eternal City are the two factions of the nobles, the Ursini and the Colonna. Rienzi will become the saviour of the people ; he will give back liberty to the Romans ; and lighting the beacon of liberty upon the ancient ruined altar he proclaims the coming of freedom from the oppression of the nobles, receiving at once the honor from the citizens of being appointed their Tribune. Meanwhile a comphcation is arising, as shown by the love passages between young Angelo Colonna and Claudia, the daughter of Rienzi. In his devotion to the beautiful girl the scion of the ancient house of Colonna becomes a follower of the people's Tribune. A member of the Ursini family has been condemned to death, but through the intercession of Claudia is pardoned by Rienzi. Then the nobles combine and choose as the time for action that hour which marks the marriage feast of Angelo and Claudia. During the banquet they intend to assassinate the Tribune. But their plot is discovered and frustrated by Rienzi, who pardons their condemnatory act only on condition that they take the oath of allegiance to the State. The 1 8 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [January, nobles swear allegiance, yet soon break their pledge and again rise in revolt against the man of the people. They are defeated and sentenced to death. Meanwhile young Angelo has quarreled with Rienzi and becomes a prisoner with the rest of the nobility. Rienzi would forgive the youth, but the latter will make no submission for the pardon. The pleading of Claudia leads Rienzi, in spite of all, to follow out his natural inclinations, and he resolves to spare his daughter's husband. The elder Colonna, the head of that family, has been killed, and lady Colonna, taking his place, urges on the nobles, who once more rise against the Tribune, and this time with success, for the people, wearied with the demands that have come upon them of late from Rienzi, desert their leader and leave him to stand alone. Rienzi is stabbed to death, and with this tragic picture the play ends. The tragedy is essentially a one-part play. The hero of the stor)' is the all-in-all and scarcely any interest is felt in the other char- acters. One cares very little what they do or what becomes of them, except so far as their distribution may affect the single figure pre- dominating over all. Even the love-passage between Angelo and Claudia is but a point of advantage offered to Rienzi for the display of parental affections and solicitude. The Tribune is the absorbing portrayal of the life picture and each scene resolves itself into a series of great oratorical efforts by Rienzi. The play as a whole must be pronounced dramatically dull though well written from a literary point of view. Its attraction, as presented by Mr. Barrett, lay in its mounting, for under his guidance the various opportunities for scenic display were so elaborated as to make the production a grand pageant. The leading character, with its many speeches, well suited Mr. Barrett's declamatory style of acting and was sustained by him with strength and consistency. Mr. Barrett, in speaking of Rie7izi to the writer, said, " I saw that just at the present time the people would like a play of this spec- tacular order, with grand scenic effects and good music, and so I l)rought out Rienzi. The chief character is a stilted one, no doubt of that, but it gives a chance for some excellent surroundings. Another writer than Miss Mitford would have made the play stronger for the stage. I have altered it considerably so as better to 188;]. The Humming Bird — Virginius. 19 meet the wants of our audiences. The feature of Rienzi's great love for his child has been interpolated, and the church scene has also been put in. The character of Rienzi is certainly a good one for oratorical effect. That indeed, was what the people wanted in those days when Miss Mitford wrote." The Salsbury Troubadours presented at the Park Theatre, January 24, for the first time in Boston Fred. Williams and George Stout's farcical comedy The Humming Bird which had been originally acted in St. Louis Nov. 26, 1886. The meagre plot relates to com- plications occasioned by Augustus Honeymoon advertising, under the name of •' Humming Bird," for an actress and Joseph Brass also ad- vertising for a stage artiste, and by Mrs. Honeymoon and other ladies answering one or the other advertisement. The piece is of varying character, in some parts good in others bad, opening rather dull but ending brightly. It was carried through with sparkling humor by the Troubadours. The first appearance as " stars " in Boston, of Louis James and Marie Wainwright was signallized January 24, by the revival of Sheridan Knowles's Virginius at the Globe. Mr. James possesses a fine appearance for the stage as well as a grand voice, deep and sonorous, two natural characteristics that are eminently fitting for the noble Roman father of history. At times he was too heavy in his acting but he was always sincere, earnest and strong. Miss Wainwright, barring her inclination now and then to rant and gesture out of place, was an adequate Virginia. At the matinees Mr. James and Miss Wainwright appeared in Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing, plays given mainly for the sake of pre- senting Miss Wainwright in roles more prominent than that she had in Virginius. On the last day of January, a new play was presented at the Globe, Caught in a Corner, which M. B. Curtis had originally brought out in Williamsburg, N. Y., Oct, 4, 1886. As the title indicates, a risky operator is " caught in a corner " of wheat. The sleek good natured Jewish hero, a hero of middle age this time, breaks up the comer in order to save his old friend. The piece is a noisy farce tinctured with tame melodrama, and was but fairly well acted. ^t^ February . ^^ Boucicault's Fin Mac Cool. — Elixir of Love by the Ideat,s. — Joseph Haworth in Hoodman Blind. — Lorraine. — Marga- ret Mather IN London Assurance. — Rosina Yokes in The Schoolmistress. — Mrs. Langtry in Lady Clancarty. HEN Mr. Boucicault with a flourish of trumpets announced his intention of favoring Boston with the first hearing of a new play on which he had been at work, keen interest was awakened, for the comedies of this veteran author are " standard " on the American stage. But as the story of the new piece leaked out, old theatre-goers began to probe their memory for the originals of various incidents, and finally when the play was brought out at the HoUis Street Theatre, they had no difficulty in discovering that it was a revised version of Boucicault's Be//e Lamar, v/hich was a drama first heard in this city at the Boston Theatre, Oct. 12, 1874. Be//e Lamar was written for John McCuUough, but in Boston L, R. Shewell played the role designed for Mr. McCullough, while xMexander Fitzgerald, C. Leslie Allen, Gustavus Levick, George W. Wilson, Dan. Maguinnis (who played also in the revival at the Hollis Street), Mrs. Thomas Barry and Miss Olivia Rand were in the cast. Fin Mac Cool, as the new version was called, was given on the evening of Thursday, P'ebruary 3. The first and last acts occur in 188;]. Fin Mac Cool. 21 Newport, the second and third being laid in the Shenandoah Valley during the war of the rebellion. Isabel Bligh, the wife of Philip Bligh, an officer in the United States army, possesses all that passionate devotion for her native State that characterized the woman of the South during the war, and when the first guns are fired she seeks to lead her husband to throw up his commission and join the Confederacy. But he remains firm to his duty. Isabel, however, with her warmth of temperament will not stay at the North but, leaving her husband, flies to the South, hoping also that he, in his love, will follow. Along with her goes Katie, her Irish servant, the sweetheart of Fin, and the departure of this Celtic lass is the incident that induces the immigrant boy, arriving in America just before Katie has started South, to follow, as a soldier, his colleen. The flight of Isabel is dramatic in character, since she goes upon a United States vessel, which has been seized by Chauncey Lamar, a Southern gentleman, and his associates, and which, as it sails out of the harbor, comes under the guns of the fort, only to be saved from destruction by Fin's learning that his Katie is on board and his refusal, in consequence, to give the signal to fire. PhiHp leads his troops to the Shenandoah and there unexpectedly meets his wife, who is taken as a female spy. Lamar, too, is captured and con- demned to death, but is saved by Fin lending him his military coat. The ultimate action of the play proves to Philip the innocence of his wife and the couple are reunited. Meanwhile Fin has been tumbled about this way and that blundering ahead in search of his sweetheart and giving to the play the element of comedy that the Irish characters of Mr. Boucicault can so well create. The play is practically a series of incidents rather than a closely knit story while the character of Fin has so little genuine connection with the central idea that if he had been cut out entirely the fact would not have been noticed. The piece is not the equal in construction of Mr. Boucicault's well known popular plays and lacks the constant flow of bright wit that marks his Irish comedies. It was, however, admirably acted by a strong company, Mr. Boucicault himself find- ing in the good natured, simple hearted Irish immigrant-boy one of those characters that he can so cleverly delineate. On February 4, Donizetti's Adina or the Elixir of Love was 22 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [February, revived at the Boston Theatre by the Ideal Opera Company ; this organization first giving the work March 15, 1886, in Chicago. The bright, melodious opera proved one of the chief successes of the engagement, M'lle De Lussan and Messrs.^ Bamabee, Karl and Clark carrying very well the leading roles. There were two points of interest about the performance at the Park Theatre on the night of February 7th. One was the return, as a " feature" if not as an entire " star ", of Joseph Haworth, formerly of the Museum Company and afterward leading man of John McCullough, to this city, where he has always been regarded with something akin to " home " interest, and the other was the pro- duction, for the first time in Boston, of Hoodman Blind^ the play written by Henry Arthur Jones and Wilson Barrett for the latter joint author and actor. The drama was originally brought out August, 1885 at Mr. Barrett's theatre. The Princess's in London. It was given its first American production at Wallack's Theatre, New York, during the season of 1885 -'86, but then failed to win success. The story deals with the separation of the hero, Jack Yeulett, from his wife, Nance, through the machinations of an enemy, Mark Lezi'.ard, a man whom Jack had beaten in the contest of love. Mark shows the husband what appears to be his wife in the arms of a gipsy lover, and when Jack afterwards takes Nance to task for this and she persistently denies the calumny, the deluded husband., angered at the supposed guilt and hardihood of his wife, leaves the village and becomes a Avanderer in London. There one day upon the banks of the River Thames he sees a poor, degraded creature throwing herself into the water to end her miserable existence. He saves the woman, called Jess, from this self-destruc- tion, and then, to his astonishment, learns that she is the sister of the wronged wife, and that she impersonated Nance at the time of the meeting with the gipsy. Her resemblance to her sister made it easy to play the part, especially as the gipsy was her lover. Jess dies, but Jack and Nance are reunited, and that everything may come out well in the good old-fashioned style, the villains are meted out their proper punishment, so that while virtue is rewarded, vice sufTers. 188/]. HoobMAN Blind — Lorraine. 23 Hoodman Blind is a melodrama of the truly heroic class. There is no sham about its construction. No startling point is strained to bring in realism ; no situation cast away to allow natural results. It is a melodrama pure and simple, out and out. The strength of the play lies in its climaxes ; its weakness lies in the monotonous level of its ordinary scenes. The tale deals with the lower middle classes of England, compressing within its compas-i: enough events to fill out the lives of a dozen village populations, beginning with a murder and a conspiracy and keeping up the flow of crime, with corres- ponding touches of misery, until very near the end, introducing only a few attempts at lightness and those very weak. The climaxes, though, are remarkably strong and effective, and as they are not infrequent, the play has attractions for the lovers of sensationalism. Mr. Haworth's impersonation of the hero was brimming with fire and enthusiasm and in keeping with the melodramatic story. He relied, however, more upon his finely modulated voice and impas- sioned action than upon delicacy of facial expression. Mr. Haworth had changed the part in a number of respects from the original, especially by cutting down the long speeches. Lorraine, Rudolph Bellinger's latest opera, was presented for the first time in Boston at the Globe Theatre on the 14th, of February. The work was first given to the public in October, 1886, at the theatre in Hamburg, where young Bellinger presides as musical director. It was the second opera of the composer, his first one, Don Ccesar, having been successfully brought out some time before. Lorraiiie had its initial production in America at Chicago about six weeks previous to its Boston production. The story of the opera is as follows : Louis XIV. of France while at his hunting castle becomes much interested in a young man named Lorraine, who visits the court in order to find out the mystery of his parentage. He had been told by his mother that his father, whom he never knew, was of noble birth, and so he goes with his foster father, Pierre, (who had seen the real father once) to Louis's court to find out what he can. At the same time Gaspard, a nobleman of high position but of limited mental capacities, visits the castle with his wife, Oudarde, and his niece Madeleine. Everybody becomes fascinated with the lovely niece, and Lorraine, too, yields 24 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [February, to her charms. But Gaspard, anxious to be friends with all, promises the girl's hand to every man who asks, and thereby gets into endless trouble. Meanwhile Lorraine steps forward and wins Madeleine's love, and to make things end well it is discovered that the hero is really the son of Louis XIIL, and the King, while he conceals the father's name, yet announces that Lorraine is of high birth and places him where he belongs, in the peerage. The opera is of the serio-comic order, and in its text dull, heavy and uninteresting. The music, however is bright and graceful enough to win acceptance and on this feature its merit depends. Miss Gertrude Griswold, the prima donna, taking the part of Mad- eleine made her first appearance in Boston and though her voice was light and inflexible, yet she proved an agreeable singer so far as quality of tone was concerned. J^liss Emily Soldene returned to Boston to impersonate in Lorraine an " old woman " character. The role of Lady Gay Spanker in Lo7idon Assurance was assumed by Margaret Mather for the first time in Boston on the evening of the 2ist of February, at the Boston Theatre. Miss Mather brought beauty, vivacity, high spirits and intelligence to the impersonation, elements that can readily make Lady Gay acceptable at all times. A. W. Pinero's farce TJie Schoolmistress^ a new piece for Boston, opened the engagement of Rosina Yokes and her company of semi- amateurs at the Park Theatre on February 28. Its first American production was at Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 11, 1886. A farce in every respect is this work, and all things about it are of the dashing, rollicking order. The story is very simple. The heroine is Peggy Hesslerigge, an articled pupil in a fashionable young ladies' boarding school. The Principal, Miss Dyott, has succeeded in marrying a real, genuine member of a noble family, Hon. Yere Queckett, who, however, though a "gentleman," is decidedly attached to himself above all others and is ready to make his way pleasant through life by drawing on his wife's money. She, in order to increase her diminishing store, determines to use her voice in opera, and that the proud relatives on the husband's side may not be shocked at such a proceeding, the venturesome amateur does not even tell her spouse what her purpose is when she leaves the seminary, but pre- tends she is going to visit a friend in the country. Peggy is left in 188;]. The Schoolmistress — Lady Clancarty. 25 charge of the household, and that froHcsome young lady, having learned that Hon Mr. Queckett is going to celebrate, on the evening after his wife's departure, by a little supper to which some naval officers are invited, compels the Hon. Vere to invite the pupils including, of course, Peggy herself, to the banquet. This brings on a comphcation, for the house catches fire, Mr. Quickett's wife returns unexpectedly, and there is a general consternation and complication of situations. Some of the funny business of the play depends on another complication. Dinah Rankling has been so long a pupil at the school that her father. Admiral Rankling, doesn't recog- nize her when he sees her at the little banquet, and as she has secretly married a young fellow, Reginald Paulover, some mixed-up incidents are brought about thereby. The whole piece resolves itself into this confusion of fun, making a lively entertainment of just that kind to tickle the risibles of in- dividuals who delight in complications and care nothing for sense. If the auditor looks for anything deep or delicate in construction he will fail to find it in The Schoolmistress. As Miss Vokes herself said of the piece ; " It is nothing but a piece of nonsense, of course, but thoroughly clever, and what is better still, pure nonsense." Miss Vokes impersonated the part of Peggy with just that " bounce " and superabundance of animal spirits that befit the character, and even if at times she seemed excessively exuberant, yet there was so much of natural drollery to her acting in the most of the play that she made the part a taking one both to the thinking and the unthinking. Mrs. Langtry appeared in the title role of Tom Taylor's Lady Clancarty for the first time in Boston at the Boston Theatre on the 28th of February. Her initial appearance in the part had been at Chicago a short time previous. The play was not new to Boston though a number of years had elapsed since its last hearing. Then George Rignold appeared in the drama. Miss Ada Cavendish and Thomas W. Keene, as well as Miss Annie Clarke and Charles Barron at the Museum, had also played the leading characters here. Tom Taylor's Lady Clancarty was originally produced at the Olympic Theatre, London, March 9, 1874, by Miss Ada Cavendish as Lady Clancarty, Henry Neville as Lord Clancarty, W. H. Vernon as Lord Spencer and Charles Sugden as King William. The story briefly 26 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [February. told runs in this way : Lord Clancarty and the daughter of the Earl of Sunderland were married in youth, and having immediately parted do not know each other when next they meet, ten years afterwards. On this later occasion they fall in love with each other and are finally happily reunited, the wife having testified her devo- tion by pleading before King William for the pardon of Clancarty who has been arrested as a traitor because of political complication and the husband displaying commendatory bravery and love for his lady. Mrs. Langtry appeared to good advantage in this play by reason of her beauty and dignity, so eminently befitting the romance of the chief character. With much of the amateur in her performance she yet brought out with effect the dramatic scenes of the play, notably in the bed-chamber scene when Lord Clancarty seeks shelter there and then first discloses that he is her husband, and in the scene before the King where she pleads for her husband's safety. MRS. J. R. VINCENT, Born in Portsmouth, England, Sept. i8, 1818; died in Boston, Sept. 4, 1S87. /SJ , ^> ^■ g March. g -^ Antoinette Rigaud at the Museum. — A Double Lesson and A Game of Cards. — Genevieve Ward in The Queen's Fav- orite. — The Gypsy Baron. TT was remarkable, indeed, for the chronicle of the third play of T the season at the Boston Museum to be dated March 7, yet the ' phenomenal runs of the first two attractions of the year. Harbor Lights with its 137 performance and Held by the Enemy with its eighty-one performances, had postponed Antoinette Rigaud until the Spring date. Raymond Deslandes's Antoinette Rigaud had never been heard in America previous to the Museum production. It was originally brought out at the Comedie Francaise, Paris, Sept. 30, 1885, and there ran for forty nights, a remarkable run at that theatre, where frequent changes are the rule. The text was translated into English by Ernest Warren and given by Mr. and Mrs. Kendall at the St. James' Theatre, London, Feb. 13, 1886. Its story goes as follows : The heroine, who bears the name of the title, is the sister of Capt. Henri De Tourvel and is the wife of the wealthy M. Rigaud. She undertakes the task of obtaining from Gen. De Prefond his consent to the marriage of his daughter Marie with the gallant Captain. De Tourvel is the orderly of the general, and much liked by the old officer, but the latter, having seen his own wife, unable to bear the trials of war, pass away, had vowed at her death-bed never to allow 28 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [March, his daughter to become a soldier's bride. Henri cannot give up his commission ; he is too poor. And thus the case stands when Antoi- nette takes hold. But she, too, has a delicate love affair to manage. An artist, Paul Sannoy, has painted her picture, and with his impul- sive, romantic mind has fallen in love with the young wife, but the affair had gone no farther than an exchange of letters. Meeting Paul afterwards by chance at the General's house, she requests of him her letters, and he out of honest regard for her as well as friend- ship for her brother who had saved his life, promises to return the notes. But he is unfortunate in his efforts to remove all suspicious evidence against the lady, and nearly compromises her badly, for just as he is leaving Antoinette's apartments, after having received from her a medallion as a token of friendship that can go no farther, who should knock at the door but M. Rigaud himself. A situation is imminent. Then the quickwitted Antoinette hides her lover, and after getting her husband into another room opens the door, while Paul hastens to escape. The hall doors are locked, and his only way lies through the room of Marie De Prefond. Quickly he opens the window, slips out and is away. The servants, however, have seen him scaling the wall and arouse the house with the alarm of burglars. M. Rigaud declares he saw a man coming from the window of Marie's room. Then Gen. De Prefond thinks he sees through the millstone. Henri, he declares, has been trying to com- promise Marie in order to compel her father to allow the marriage. A proof of this, as he thinks, lies in the medallion of Henri's sister, which had been dropped in the room. The noble-hearted brother comprehends the plight that his sister is in and accepts the guilt. But Antoinette will not suffer this. She lets Marie's father understand the true import of Henri's act, and then when the Captain shows his resignation from military life the old veteran can no longer hold out but gives the young man his daughter and makes the two happy, while Antoinette returns to her dutiful, if not the happiest, Hfe with- out a shade upon her character, M. Rigaud having no inkhng of the true state of affairs. Antoinette Rigaud is prettily written though it has no especial salient witticism. The opening scene is inclined towards slowness but afterwards the story is told with stronger dramatic effect, and 188;]. A Double Lesson — A Game of Cards. 29 though the general idea of the plot is far from novel, yet the strength of the climax, the self-sacrifice of the noble brother, is a telling feature. The comedy on the whole is light and without "stay- ing" powers. Mr. Vanderfelt as Henri found little to do until the last scene, wherein he takes the guilt of his sister upon himself; then he was strong, manly and sincere. Miss Evesson, while lacking in voice and power of action, redeemed her Antoinette by earnestness and naturalness. Miss Crai^i^en portrayed Marie in a way that fully indicated the pure girl's character. Mr. Coulter's honest, open- hearted Mr. Rigaud was excellent even if rough. Mr. Burbeck, as the artist lover, failed to make the most of his part. Mr. Hudson especially succeeded in the bluffer portions of Gen. De Prefond's action. Rosina Vokes's second new piece for Boston, B. C. Stephenson's A Double Lesson, was brought out March 7, at the Park. The story of this one act comedy is that of an actress, Miss St. Almond, giving a double lesson to her husband and to her amateur pupil Lady Moncrieffe, who are becoming dangerously attached to one another. Miss Yokes as Miss St. Almond found opportunity for dancing and singing and droll burlesquing in her well known manner. On the 9th of March, A Game of Cards, a little one-act comedy, was brought out at the Park, for the first time in Boston, by members of Miss Vokes's company. Chevalier De Rocheferrier and M. Mercier become angry over a game of cards, refuse consent to their children's marriage, and then make up, the former gentleman having been convinced the quarrel was a dream. The Queen'' s Favot'ite, that Genevieve Ward gave for the first time in Boston during this month, may rightly be characterized as a duel of wits. There is little in the way of plot ; the entire interest centres upon the sarcasm on the tongues' tips of the two prominent characters, the brilliancy of their minds, and the results of the clashing of these forcible characteristics. The characters alluded to are historical personages, and many of their acts upon the stage are recorded in the histories of the past, but no attempt is made at sys- tematic accuracy or at complete recording. Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough, one of the great Churchill family, is the woman whose mind forms one foil in the subtle battle, while the 30 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [March, opposing weapon is possesssed by Henry St. John, Viscount Bohng- broke, the statesman, orator and writer of Queen Anne's day. There is flash after flash in the duel, sharp clashing and bright sparks scintillating between the two whenever there is collision, and this is the life of the play, in fact the play, the entire play itself. How witty, especially, are the remarks of Bjlingbroke. "The Churchills," he says, "never draw the sword — they only draw their salary." He is called upon for action and yet cannot very well take action at that moment. What will he do ? "I will do as other statesmen do," he says, " talk like the devil." So he declares with force, " A politician who loves anybody but himself is lost," and "Women are always suspicious of their own sex — they understand it better than we do." He is chided for crowing before he is out of the woods ; " It's never too soon to rejoice," he affirms in response. Each of the two opponents is seeking to control Queen Anne. The Duchess has the reins in her hand at the beginning, and St. John, striving to effect peace in Europe by bringing England's Queen and France's King into friendship, is restrained by the power of the woman. If he can but gain his point then he will become Prime Minister, and the virtual regents the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, will be dethroned. St. John succeeds in having x\bigail Hill appointed maid-of-honor to the Queen, by finding out that her cousin, the Duchess, had exerted herself so much in behalf of Abigail's lover, Lieut. Masham (who had slain in a duel St. John's cousin) as to place Her Grace in a position that by slight misinterpretation could be compromising. This is a point gained, since the young maid afterwards, as Lady Masham, even supplants the Duchess in favoritism with the Queen, being also an instrument in the hands of St. John and Harley, the leaders of the moderate Tories. St. John, or Bolingbroke as he became after the death of his cousin, obtains the much desired invitation to the reception for the French Ambassador by informing the Duchess of a signal (the asking for a glass of water) that is to delay Masham after other guests have gone and so bring together in conference the Queen and the two lovers. Who has not heard the story of the famous glass of water spilled on her Majesty's dress, the glass of water that brought about the great Peace of Utrecht? Then comes the illustration of 1887]. The Queen's Favorite. 31 the importance of little things upon which Bolingbroke so often dilates. A glass of water has brought success to Bolingbroke. The want of a drop of ink checks him, almost checkmates him, for, while he is searching for the ink with which the vacillating Queen may sign the paper that will set him at the head and force away his rival, the Duchess herself gains admittance to Anne's presence, and by explanations regarding her interest for Masham and by the beg- ging of pardon, delays the movement of her opponent. But Bolingbroke at last wins the game, playing upon the jealousies of the two women, and the entertainment of the hour is at an end. A clever but unscrupulous man is the Bolingbroke of history, and so he is in the play. If not his selfish outlook for personal welfare, at least the absence of sincerity and of honest statesmanship in the care of the nation is strongly pictured in the stage portrait. All the grace of person and brilliancy of intellect is shown, and other attributes are added to make the character more pleasing to the observer. The chief characteristic of the Duchess of Marlborough, as the record of other days transcribes it, was power of will and superiority of mental talents. This, too, is the prevailing trait in the stage heroine, and though she ultimately loses, as she did in fact, still throughout the action of the plot there is manifest that keenness and strength which denominates the woman destined to be a pre- vailing factor in shaping the course of events around her. Eugene Scribe's Le Verre tV Eau, originally brought out at the Theatre Francais in 1840, has served as the basis for several EngHsh adaptations ; for The Maid of Honor produced at the Adelphi, London, in Oct. 1841, for The Triple Alliance, produced at the Princess's, London, in Nov., 1862, and for The Queen^s Favorite, produced by Miss Genevieve Ward at the Olympic, London, June 2, 1883. This latter version, adapted by Sidney Grundy, was brought to America by Miss Ward and given its first production in the United States in San Francisco, March 18, 1886. Boston first heard it March 14, 1887, at the Park Theatre. Miss Ward's portrayal of the Duchess was chiefly a study of the mind. It was decisive and intellectually clear, with much artifice but with that artifice guided in so clever a way as never to be obtrusive. Mr. Vernon invested Bolingbroke with naturalness and consistency and painted the part in 32 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [March i such alluring colors as to make the easy, graceful, good-natured man of wits a captivating character. At the HolUs Street on the 14th of March the latest comic opera of Johann Strauss, The Gypsy Baron, was given its first Boston production. Its original performance was in Vienna in November, 1885. The 15 th of February, 1886, saw its first production in America at the New York Casino. The book of the opera is based upon a novelette of Moritz J okay, the Hungarian author, and was arranged by Julius Schnitzer. The story brings out a romantic picture of Hungarian gypsy life, with a homoeopathic mixture of pig-dealer's business. The hero, Barinkay, is poor ; that is, he inherits the pos- sessions of his father, who, having been sent away to exile, could not keep his property in what a New Englander would call " apple pie order," and so left a rather dilapidated old castle and fields of doubt- ful value to his heir. Barinkay sees Arsena — to be sure she is a pig- dealer's daughter, but the pig-dealer is a man of wealth and Arsena is a girl of beauty — so he falls in love with her. But the young maiden fears that her great-grandfathers would turn in their graves if she married beneath her, so she calls upon her lover to present the title of Baron before he claims her hand. Hero Barinkay becomes a Baron in this way : the gypsies make him their Wajwod. which, being translated, signifies Baron. But Arsena says that isn't just what she meant. Thereupon Wajwod Barinkay declares that what he means is that since he sued for the hand of the pig dealer's daughter he has met Saffi, the guileless gypsy maid, and that he has transferred his affection to the untutored lass of the nomads. So far so good, but better follows. Safii finds a long lost treasure, which turns out to have been hidden by Barinkay's parent, and then in the same act it is announced by an old gypsy woman that Saffi is really the daughter of the late Pasha in Hungary. Her Highness, of course, is then far above Hero Barinkay, so away he goes to the war for fame, gets it, and then returns at the head of the troops and is ac- cepted as the husband of the Princess Saffi. The opera is bright and charming in music and was acted and sung commendably well by the Conreid Opera Company. THE THEATRE. leciTj^s Jj(zwis QLTjd ItJps. i^ilbepf. OF AUGUSTIN DALY'S COMPANY. ^f APRIL. ZII^ Wilson Barrett in Lady of Lyons. — Ruddygore. — Sarah Bern- hardt IN Fedora and Theodora. — The Flirt. — George Riddle in The Earl. — Passing Shadows. — Fanny Davenport IN Much Ado About Nothing. — Mme. Janauschek in Meg Merrilies. fHE dramatic events of April opened on the ist with a presen- tation of the Lady of Lyons at the Globe by Wilson Barrett, the interest of the performance lying in the fact that this was the first time the English actor had played Claude Melnotte in America. His Claude is constructed in the same design that wrought out his Chatterton ; a display in almost precisely similar manner of a high strung, sensitive nature, a lofty spirit and an elevation of soul. He was superficial but personally magnetic. Miss Eastlake played Pauhne for the first time on any stage. In the later scenes, after the romantic girl's character has been strengthened by trial, she best met the requirements of the part. In the earlier scenes she lacked the show of innocent inexperience. The production of a new Gilbert and Sullivan opera has become an event now in theatrical circles but unfortunately the latest work of the two writers, Ruddygore, failed to reach the standard of popu- lar favor and its short run at the Globe Theatre, beginning April 4, was probably its last as well as its first hearing in Boston. 34 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [April, Ruddygore is intended as a burlesque on the old melodrama. Sir Rupert Murgatroyd, of Ruddygore Castle, by burning a witch at the stake has brought upon his family a terrible curse, to wit : Each lord of Ruddygore, This doom he can't defy Despite his host endeavour. However he may try, Shall do O' e crime, or nioi-e, For should lie stay Once, every day, for ever! His hand, that day In torture he shall die The present representative of the family, in order to escape the dreadful penalties of the curse, has fled his ancestral hall and taken refuge under the name of Robin Oakapple in a little village. There he falls in love with a guileless maiden, Rose Maybud, whose chief characteristic is an unceasing devotion to the rules of her etiquette book. For instance she receives an offer of marriage frcxn Dick Dauntless, in this way : Rose (aside) — Now, how should a maiden deal with such an one? (Consults book.) "Keep no one in unnecessary suspense." (Aloud.) Behold, I will not keep you in unnecessary suspense. (Refers to book.) ' In accepting an offjr of marriage, do so with apparent hesitation." (Aloud.) I take you, but with a certain show of reluctance. (Refers to book.) " Avoid any appearance of eager- ness." (Aloud.) Though you vvill bear in mind that I am far from anxious to do so. (Refers to book.) " A little show of emotion will not be misplaced." (Aloud.) Pardon these tears. (Wipes her eyes.) Meanwhile the younger brother of the Ruddygore heir discovers Sir Ruthven, ahas Robin, and compels him to return to the castle and accept the curse. The second act is set in the portrait gallery of the Murgatroyd mansion. Sir Ruthven commits an act of good- ness. Suddenly the ancestors step from their frames and stand around the luckless modern representative. They blame him for committing no crime that day and declare that he must abduct a maiden. Accordingly Sir Ruthven plans to seize Dame Hannah, the aunt of Rose Maybud. Meanwhile his brother, now changed from a wicked baronet to a good Methodist, enters with his lady who turns out to be Mad Margaret, a crazy girl whose burlesque of Ophe- ha in the opening act had displayed her madness. Dame Hannah is brought in but is saved from Sir Ruthven by her own pugnacious 1887]. RUDDYGORE. 35 valor and by the declaration of one of the ancestors who recognizes the spinster of uncertain age as his ovvn sweetheart. At last Ruth- ven shows that he does not merit the curse, since all the ancestors committed suicide out of dread of the curse and therefore they need not have died and consequently, to all practical purposes, are not dead, — and with this the opera ends. The first act of Ruddygore is in many respects a typical Gilbert- Sullivan construction. There are numerous bright melodies for the music and a number of sharp witticisms for the text. The general strain of dialogue is not so subtly humorous as the Gilbert text of former works, but every now and then will be heard one of those doubly turned sentences that so tickle the fancy, a kind of punning phrase corresponding to the punning word, but far more effective and not so monotonous. The second act, however, has little except some very broad burlesque on the traditional melodrama, so broad as at times to be farcical and it includes very few musical numbers. The first part of this act is excessively dreary. Of the characters, two are excellent burlesques, Robin, of the bashful young man, and Rose, of the demure devotee to rules of etiquette. The others are not so impressively defined. The intro- duction of Mad Margaret is out of harmony with the remainder of the work. The part was well sung by Miss Alice Carle in Boston. Miss Helen Lamont made an ideal modest village maiden in the char- acter of Rose, while Charles Reed held his burlesque of the emotional Robin in proper restraint and with considerable quiet humor. Mr. Phil Bronson danced extremely well as Richard Dauntless, the man- o'-war's man. Sig. Brocohni excelled in his methodical bad-man- made-good in the second act. Ruddygore was originally brought out at the Savoy Theatre, London, Jan. 22, 1887, and had its first American hearing at the Fifth Avenue, New York, February 21, (with Geraldine Ulmer, George Thorne, Courtice Pounds, Fred Bellington. Kate Forster and Elsie Cameron in the cast.) Mme. Sarah Bernhardt returning to Boston after a six years' absence appeared at the HoUis Street Theatre in five different plays but in three her impersonations were familiar. The other two plays, Fedo7'a and Theodora, both by Sardou, were known through the 36 The Playgoers' Year-Book. [April, productions in English by Miss Fannie Davenport and Miss Lillian Olcott respectively. Miss Davenport's Fedora was first heard in Boston, April 28, 1884; Bernhardt appeared in the play April 4, 1887. Miss Olcott's Theodora was first heard here Nov. 29, 1886 ; Mme. Bernhardt appeared in the play, April 8, 1887. In each of these plays the French actress displayed to highest advantage her strength of powerful action and intensity of emotional action and gave a keener perception of her genius than in any other roles of the season. Mme. Bernhardt regards Theodora as one of her favor- ite pieces, some of the characters, in her estimation, being almost Shakespearean yet the title role she considers the most difficult im- personation she ever essayed. The Flirt, a new play in the repertoire of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Florence, was first heard in Boston at the Park Theatre, April 8. The hero, Sylvester Sparks, is an athletic dude who is continually winning the hearts of the fairer sex. Mrs. Diana Lovington is a dashing widow with whom Mr. Sparks is inclined to flirt. Mixed up letters cause complications, which are funnily wrought out in the old, old way, making a laughable farce, and nothing more. Mr. and Mrs. Florence carried the roles of Sparks and Mrs. Lovington in their usual peculiar style. Edgar Fawcett's five act play in blank verse. The Earl, an exten- ded dramatization of one of his poems "Alan Eliot," received its first production on any stage at the Hollis Street Theatre, April 11, and the occasion marked the appearance of George Riddle, the reader, as a star actor. The story oi'The Earl is one of crime caused by love and of subsequent remorse. Edmund, Earl of Cleve- den, has met in the past for a few brief times a lovely maid, un- known to him by name as he also to her, and this fair girl has become his ideal. Living in a secluded castle with his books alone he yet cherishes the memory of this maiden. When bis brother. Lord Hubert, seeks the consent of the Earl to marriage with Lad} Marion, daughter of Lord Falkstane, Edmund frowns upon the al- liance because of suspicion that Marian's father is allied with Mon- mouth against the King. Marian is brought before the Earl that her sweet face may move him to relent and then it is found that she is really the heroine of Edmund's long devotion. The lady would i8