Life — February 21, 1901 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Reminiscences from the Very Recent Past. “PERSONS of middle age who like to indulge in reminiscence will find in the two plays just now tmost talked about dramatic ma terial very well within their recollection, In the days when “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines was a popular cir, Ouida's “Under Two Mags,” was moving every American young woman (whose parents would let her read the wicked Ouida) to adoration for the heroic Bertie Cecit and to tears for the premature demise of the plucky Cigarette... Mr. Clyde Fitch has chosen this period for his play, “Cuptain Jinks of the Horse Marines,” so present-day matrons who cherish Bertie Cecil among their earliest: manly ideals ean £0 tosce “Jinks” and git themselves back to the atmosphere of their youth, and then see * Under Two Flags” in the proper frame of mind, To see these two plays in that order and on successiy ne some notion of the feeling Faust might have had when Mephistopheles arranged for him the lightning change from age to youth, novel, pings gives . . . R. FITCIUS "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines” makes no pretence to being anything but The only serious thing about it is the eminently successful effort to reproduce the atmosphere of the time when New York was feeling the effect of the flush times that followed the War. New York was not then no close to Europe, we had not felt the in- fiuence of the wave of Anglomania that swept over us later, and we were a very American city indeed. In the buoyancy of that era the Wall Street broker floated very high on top and set the standard for popular music, fashionable clothes and the proper way to have a good time. ‘The jeunesse dorée of the period, for whom Colonel James isk, Jr., in his gorgeous uniform as colonel of the Ninth Regiment, and with the big military band of that organization at his beck and call, typificd the best that was to be had in life, was tied down h nonsense. y none of the conventional laws that make the existence "+ LIFE - of the present young New Yorker by con trast rather grey and uneventful. The spirit of the ti Mr. Fitch has caught and reproduced admirably. Horace Lingard was singing “ Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines” in a uniform similar to that w the three military heroes in the first act of the pl. an bend" was in vogue, and the tre ous bustles ignons shown on the stage are not ricatures, but faithful reproductions of the absurd fashions of t “Captain Jinks” prese Ethel re as a star, She is successful because the most has becn made of her personal attractiveness, and the strain is not too great for her immature powers. a very dainty and sympathetic part and does what she | jo so prettily that her audience is with her, and we miss our guess if many stern parents do not have to drag their youthful sons away from the stag door of the Garrick daring the peri fher engagement. Mr. R Smith, to whom is assigned the fanciful patt of Captain Jinks, shows strong qualifications for more portant work. Mr. Edwin Stevens gives a really artistic stage portrayal as Professor and ¢ Barry She has 4 te MISG BLANCHE DATES AS CIGARETTE. Belliarti, the ballet master and foster-father of Mme. Trentoni. The oldsters should see “Captain Jinks" because it will make them feel young again, and the youngsters because it is amusing and will show them foolish their parents were, ‘The very much reduced photograph of Ethel Barrymore shown above is from an excellent original taken at the studio of Burr Melntosh, and is fully protected by copyright. how , EROES of the Ouida novels ure not easy to transfer to the stage. They are such ideal creatures that the real man, or actor, rarely fits the case. When the dramatist narkable and impossible hero like the Bertie Cecil of * Under Two Flags” for a stage character, he should preserve all the halos possible. Mr. Potter makes Bertie in the present instance a sort of cad. Bertie was really a fine fellow—better than one meets ut most clubs. Therefore, it is not strange that Mr. Carlisle gains little sym- pathy from his audiences. All the kudos of the piece goes to Blanche Bates as Cigarette, Lar her stature and coloring. she is Cigarette in fact. The temperament is hers, but she is not exactly the wasp-like young French woman of the book ‘The play itself is a pretty fair melodrama, with very good scenic accessories. The horse scene brings back Adah Isaacs Menken, Fannie Louise Buckingham and Kate Fisher, who, in fleshings, as Mazeppa, were bound ‘to the backs of fiery, untamed steeds and went over the hills and far away. The hills in this presentation are very realistic, the horse is real, and Miss Hates gets over the ground in very good shape. “Under Two Flags one wishes to be amused ler for the probabilities. is worth seei nd is not a stick- Metcaife. LIFE'S CONFIDENTIAL GUIDE TO THE THEATRES. Broadway.—" Vienna Life.’ A tiresome 200k fet to good music by Strauss. Handsomely mounted, aud the coruses well sung. Keyublic —Dramatization of Marion Crawford's ‘Ia the Palace of the King." Well presented, but not expecially Interesting Wailack’.—Dretty and clever Mary Mannertnj as Janice Meredith. Not # great play but wei uone. Garden.—" Under Two Fla, * See above. Lyceum.—lenry Miller in Richard Savage. An unluteresting play about an unattractive character, Daly's,—The always amusing * Lady Hunt- worth's Experiment. Very well done. Empire.—* Mra. Dane's Defence." tnterest- Ing. but not suitable for school-girts. Garrick. —" Captala Jinks of the Horse Marines." § above. Bijou.— ie Climbers,” with Amelia Bing- ham and a competent casi, Worth seeing. Knickerbocker.—Mr, Goodwin and Miss Eltlott in" When We Were Twenty-one.” An interest- lug play very weil acted. Weber and Fields's.—Burlesque at prices. Victorta.—Extravagauza, * My Lad: next week. Crutcrion — With dalla Marlowe as Mary Tudor In“ When Kutghthood Was in Flower.” Worth seeing, cspectally by people who liked the wok. Academy of Music.—* Barbara Frietchie” on @ large acale. Worth seeing. Herald Square.—*The Girt From Up There. To enjoy this plece argues inexperience on the part of the spectator. robber "Notice comicbooks.com