THE PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

Evening Star, Issue 8565, 11 July 1891, Page 2

THE PRINCESS'S THEATRE.

The engagement of Mr Cbas. I. S. Fanner enable* the management to provide a revival of plays of the class of whioh the late Mr Emmet was so successful an exponent, and, as the phrase about changes being lightsome is peculiarly applicable so theatre-freer!, it may be presumed, apart from th* merits of the new entertainment, that awakened interest will be taken in the performances which Mr Kirby is tarnishing. Tangible evidence in favor of this presumption may be found in the fact that last night them wasa really good attendance in all parts of the house. We hope that this state of affairs will continue. The Standard Company deserve patronage, and with Mr Palmer's assistance they ought to bt able to oommand it 'My Sweetheart* Is a musical comedy after the ordinary type of Anglo-Swiss produotienn, as they are called. From a literary point of view it is neither above nor below the ordiuary level, being, in fast, a slenderlybuilt, simple kind of story, introducing well-denned heroes and shady characters, whose excuse for being introduced is mainly to revolve around the playful, lazy, improvident, and ultimately lucky fellow, always an agreeable tenor, who plays with the *' kiddies," tickles the maids, sings lodelllng songs on the least provocation, and talks in a patois pppulatly supposed to be broken Dutch. Needless to say, Mr Palmer is the virtuous youth in this cue. He appears as Tony Faust, a part that apparently suits him to a T. As might be guessed from the synopsis of the play which has already appeared in these columns, some effective " business " falls to his lot. In the flist act we see him skylarking with a doaen or more youngsters, see-sawing with them, singing with them, conspiring with them to thwart and dodge the on lady who is the undisguised boss of the house; and there are also some pretty love-making scenes between him and the oherublo Tina Hatsell. In the succeeding acts Tony Faust has more serious work to do, and in this he also appears to advantage; in fact, throughout the whole of the play Mr Palmer proved himself to be a capable, versatile, and pleasing actor, worthy of taking higher rank in the partioulaf line of dramatic art of whioh he makes a specialty.. He has an agreeable presence, a capital talking voice. he is a very decent singer, and, in tact, we Jon with last night's audience in voting him a success. The support accorded by the company must not be overlooked either. Miss Vivian soores heavily as the shrewish dame, after the pattern of Bip Tan Winkle's better three-quarters; Miss Delorme gets through the part of Mrs Fleeter, the adventuress, in a fairly effective manner; and Miss Clitherow render* invaluable aid as the school-girl Tina, her make-up being charming, and her nnsinnse original and clever; besides whioh, thla promising young actress helps with tbe ringing. Mr Oarey, cast as Dr Oliver, has a most responsible part, and goes through it with tbe ease and confidence of the veteran actor; Mr Soott Inglis does the best he can In the uncongenial part of an adventurer, Harold Bartlett; Mr Steele makes a hit as the loving and. unlovable husband, who turns up just in time to prevent his wife marrying again ;Mr Grenfell is quite at home as tbe Dutch farmer, Tina's father; ana, e» for Mr Gribben, we can only say that hi* low oomedy business as tbe American dude is funnier than anything that has been seen on this stage for——well, we will not say howlong, lest the critics should accuse us of under-rating; departed celebrities; but this we will affirm, that Mr Grlbben's harlequinade is alone worth the money. The play is well mounted, and in all respects deserving of patronage. 'My Sweetheart' win be repeated this evening.