THE COURIER-
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FRANK C. ZEHKUNG Manager.
THEATRICAL NOTES
One Night Only.
"And Eugene Aram iralkcd between
with yyves upon his wrist."
"Eugene Aram," which was presented
at the Funko last week is a poor med
ium for the expression of talent like Mr.
Whiteside's. The play shows no con
structive skill. The plot is unfolded by
a series of monologues delivered by the
hero from the middle of the stage with
his eyes set and an agonized face. Such
plays demonstrate the difference be
tween novel-writing and the play
wright's trado. A play must be alive,
able to move itself. Even a successful
novel may oe a series of descriptions or
character analy63 in which case it is
entirely subjective. There is the differ
ence between them that there is between
the animal and the vegetable world.
Sometimes in the case of a dramatized
version of a novel the playwright,
in transferring the book to the stage
leaves out the dramatic spirit and the
play falls flat. Sometimes when it is
not there he puts it in and sometimes it
k neither in the book nor the play.
The character of "Eugene Aram" in it
self is dramatic The play "Eugene
Aram" is prosaic and literary in a
Dickens way.
Mr. Whiteside had the stage to him
self most of the evening. He had about
the same chance to thrill the audience
that an elocutionist has. It is a tribute
to his ability that he succeeded in doing
so once or twice. Notably when he
talked over with himself the advantage
of killing his guest and accomplice, and
when be relates the story of his crime.
His support was automatic and perfunc
tory but perhaps the play was to blame
for that. They had not the ability to
overcome the conditions which bind
genius that the star had.
The costumes were charming, being
those of the first half of the eighteenth
century panniers and a Watteau pleat
and all that, a Bheperdess style endeared
and familiar to all lovers of Dresdea
figures and French fans. The ladies of
the company wore their gowns with an
old time grace that is almoet lost since
the bicycle victory. Alack-a-day! those
lovely draperies blown into the sweet dis
order that flerrick sung, must we give
them up because of microbes, the to
bacco habit and locomotion?
"The Prisoner of Zenda" played at
the Lansing theatre on Wednesday
sight to a good house. The audiencn was
composed of people who read books. It
had the critical expression of one who
sees his own ideas worked out or antag
onized by another. Manager Dowden
ays the tickets were bought by a new
set of peopie, teachers, professional men
and whole families.
The play is a powerful piece of dramatic
composition except in one respect, and
that is the denocment. If Flavia does
not marry the English Kudolph what is
all this pother about? Why have the
play at all? True love's bark is toeeed
about on rough waters, but never, ex
cept in this case, are the true lovers
divided. Borneo and Juliet, Othello
and Desdemona, died together, but
Flavia says she will marry another man.
And when she said it the prim and con
scientious audience reeled and writhed
with horror. It is an artistic necessity
in the book, it is a dramatic impossibil
ity on the stage. And it would be so
easy to marry them on the stage. Let
Black Michael live, a perpetual menace
to a reigning red Elphberg. Let the
real king die in bis dungeon nobody'd
care. Tbee is order to keep a red Elph
berg on the throne even if he
did get his red hair by mistake,
Sapt, that magnificent old bluffer, would
have transferred his incorruptible, un"
reasoning hereditary feality to Rudolph
the Red the mun he had put on the
throne to foil a villain and would keep
there if it took the whole army to do it.
When the author lets old Sapt kill Black
Michael there is no hope for Rudolph
Rassendyl. For Michael is the only men
ace to a peaceful reign by the Prisoner
of Zonda. When Michael is shot the
audienco knows that Rassendyl will
have to go back to England and never
bo reunited to his sweetheart. The sub
sequent dawdling in the dungeon to the
music of Black Michael's funeral mass
is only tantalizing an audience whose
confidence has been abused and cheated.
Neither the music, nor the dawdling
nor the chaste kisses can allay the irri
tation which this unnecessary denou
ment has caused.
Howard Gould, who is Prince Ru
dolph III, King Rudolph V and Ru
dolph Rassendyl is versatile and mag
netic. He has departed from Sothern's
more artistic conception in introducing
jokes into the coronation scene.
The vain old mayor causes a laugh
with his strutting but it is out of place
though John Findlay is a serious
comedian and the discord he makes is
a low-toned one.
Isabel Irving has a cameo face cut in
pink and white, delicate and old-fashioned
as a miniature painting of the
king's grandmother at sixteen. She
does not disappoint the ideal of Anthony
Hope's Flavia, and that is the limit of
praise.
Charles Walcot as Colonel Sapt was
the very spirit and imago of Bismarck,
gigantic, monarchical, a man of re
sources as well as of blood and iron.
When he knelt and kissed the hand of
the false king it was a tribute to the
honour and manliness of the pretender
that brought the bouse down on him.
The scenery was very fine. The
leather hung room of the castle of Tar
lenheim, hung with family portraits, the
dungeon at Zenda and the winter palace
at Strelsau were especially effective.
The company is the original New York
company with the exception of Sothern,
and, I presume, Maude Odell, who
played Antoinette de Mauban. The be
trayed woman is apparently as necessary
as the villain and the hero, but unless
she does it well, and I have never seen
anybody do the part who was
not an unmitigated bore, her
Bufferings, bo far as the audi
ence is concerned, are deserved. It
may be that the part can not be played
in any other way. In which case apolo
gie3 are due the betray eds I have hated
murderously ever since the act first be
came popular.
The following notice, regarding the
opening of the New Fourteenth Street
theatre at St Louis, by Mr. E. J. Hen
ley, in "Deacon Brodie," will be of
interest from the fact that Mr. Henley
will present this play at the Funke on
Tuesday evening, December 1. Mr.
Henley was last here with Booth and
Barrett. This is Mr. Henley's second
year as a star, and his success is already
assured. This engagement will be of
interest to the travelling men of the
United States, for the following reasons:
"In order to raise $150,000 to complete
the National Commercial Travellers'
Home, at Binghamton, N. Y. The Com
mercial Travellers' Fair will be held
December 15-28, 1896, in Madison
Square Garden, New York city. It is
proposed to celebrate Tuesday, Decem
ber 1, by aiding this benevolent work,
and we ask all theatres to help in a way
that will be profitable to all concerned.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30.
VlttYftteN 0PER& COUPON
In -tlae Great Success
ROB ROY
IMae only Covpa.iray
flusic by JReairvald DeKover Book by Jtarry B Smith
Gast
Brilliant
AUGMENTED ORCHESTRA.
ORIGINAL STAGE SETTINGS.
Seats on Sal Friday, November 27.
One Night Only,
Tuesday s December 1.
The Distinguished Character Actor,
Supported. y Strong Company o
Metropolitan AxTtistc
Presenting the Celebrated Drama by Robert Louis Steven
son and William Ernest Henley.
Seats on Sale Saturday, November 28.
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