42
THE FORTNIGHT.
live in hope that this will gradually wear away, like other barbarisms.
The large audience that greeted the Tourists on the 27th inst. does not speak very highly of the culture and refinement of the citizens of the "historic city." The play contains neither plot, movement, nor character; in fact, is not a play at all in the real sense of the word, but merely a frame work to contain a variety show. Some of it was very funny, and we laughed with the rest, as for instance, in the scene where the maiden aunt suddenly confronts her neices and their cavaliers just as they are going in to dinner. But the greater part of the fun is found in the highly humorous feats of jerking boquets by strings, squirting seltzer water over every one within reach, making other people drunk and getting fuddled yourself, and this, with a farrago of old jokes, songs and dances and ventriloquism, fills up the larger portion of this classic entertainment. The company has hardly good voices enough for a play containing so much singing. Mr. Kennedy is a pretty good low comedian, and the rest of the company showed off their several specialties in due form. On the whole it was not a very satisfactory performance, and the large audience does not go to show that Lawrence is the "most intellectual town in the state."
The Planter's Wife is a pretty good play. While the main plot is somewhat disfigured with unnecessary incidents and characters, yet it moves along freely enough from the first scene until the curtain falls. The weakest point is in the part of Angie Gordon, who is not only wholly unnecessary to the development of the plot, but is very unnaturally and indelicately conceived. A young girl, supposed to be well-bred and fairly educated, may be sentimental enough, but the part given her should stop short of
immodesty. We find no fault with Miss Glenn's acting, for we believe that she follows the author's conception. The conception, however, is not good, but very indelicate and almost indecent.
The company, as a whole, is the best we have ever seen here. Miss Emily Rigl is a very talented actress of the emotional type. She enters fully into the spirit of her part, and the grace and naturalness of her movements and her utter apparent forgetfulness of the audience show excellent training. Mr. Lacy plays to the life the Southern gentleman of the best type. Mr. Delmore takes the villain in a somewhat melodramatic style, but is otherwise good. Mr. Burbeck is the personification of a keen witted lawyer. In fact, there are no "sticks'' in the company. What is especially commendable is that the actors played to support each other and not personally to the audience; there is no "star"" part, subordinating all others to itself.
It is to be regretted that so good a company did not obtain a better and more appreciative audience. But we suppose the cultivated citizens of Lawrence were waiting for the classic entertainment of Happy Cal and his brother hamfatters.
The last Critic publishes a very interesting article by H. H. Boyesen, on Ivan Tourguenef, the great Russian novelist, whose death occurred last month. In the same issue is a review of a series of papers with the general title of "Western Influence on Russian Literature," that appeared in the Viestrick Evropii last year.
We hope that the management of the opera house will hereafter endeavor to keep the gallery gods level. Mr. Lacy showed a very proper spirit in refusing to proceed with the play until the noise ceased. Such proceedings are a disgrace to the city and to the University.