THE FRANK THORNTON COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 47

THE FRANK THORNTON COMPANY.

"MAMMA 1 " AND "AN OLD MASTER. A doubls bill was presented at the Princess Theatre on Thursday night, Mr Frank Thornton's company producing the faicical comedy " Mamma," which was played here some , years ago, and "An Old Master" — a one- J act play by the author of " The Silver ' Kiiig.'" The curtiin was rung up ia the ' first instance on "An Old Master" — a simple little play, the interest of which depends mainly upon the fact that a young baronet falls in love with a village maiden, whose father is a schoolmaster, and he is somewhat doubtful at first as to whether hi*; mother will approve of his marriage, ! and also as to whether he cm introduce the old ; schoolmaster into th« society in which he himself i moves, Hin doubts are, however, eventually dis- i solved by receiving a letter from his mother consenting to his marriage, and aiburing him that she trusts to hi 3 good sense that he will not many ignobly. The interest of the audience in j tbe fortunes of the lovers is to some extent also | enhanced by the fact that they quarrel, and the | village maiden resolves to.give the youug man up, but as he' in the end satisfdctoiiiy explains why he wars another woman's portrait in the locket , which albo contains ber own, she practically re- • scinds her previous resolution, and tilings wind up . happily all round. Miss Flo-.ence Poole gave a very pleasing lepresentatioa of Sophie Penrose, the village maiden ; and Mr A. Cochraue did all that vas icquired of him as Sir ttuperfc Vanstone, the baronet, who-53 heart was made captive by .Sophie. Mr George Carey was cast as Matthew Penrose, the old village schoolmapter, and hemade the most of the part. As Miss Penelope Gamble, a very st-lf-assortivc old maid who keeps bouse for tho schnoluiaqtcr, Miss Elsie 1 Carew created not a littlo anmp.ement ; and Mr JS. H-iyuaith •"»"! o.ldo divcHinSf as Simkin, th" l-aionel'si -ivant. The pkc-3 which followed—" Al.uuni>i"— is an exceedingly amusing comedy,, ia v/hich the aui/ho* bas created {

a mother-in-law who possesses in a preeminent degree all the objectionable tiMi's of character which mothers-in-law in Btageland are generally credited with possessing. This remaikable female marries her daughter to a man she dois not love, and then makes it s > lively for the husband that she drives him di-tractdl. and Le is eventually driven to consent to a divorc<\ The husband again marries — this time a woman who^e father is a widower— and for a (imo he enjoys such felicity as he bad never experienc;d before. But unfortunately his father in-lajr, who had not known his previous wife, marries the woman from whom he had beeu riivorced, and brings her and her mother to reside with. him. The poor man then discovers to his horror that his former wife is now his mother-in-law, and, what is far worse, that he has to face the problem of living with two mothers-in-law instead of one. The thought of this alniist drh es him crazy, but he eventuallj r con',rive? to "find a way out of the difficulty by sugprebting to his nrss mither-in-law to again get hes- daughter divorced and marry her to a man who was formetiy iv love with her As the man in question is lich, and the old la-iy does r>oc care much for the seeped husband, shp readily falls in with tbe ■-iiggestiiD, and the difficulty v solved As Jack Pontifex, the man whos« married life is made mueiable by the tyrannical interference of M.nmn.i, Mr Frank Taoi-nton was decidedly mirth-provoking, and k^pt the audience in :i state of uproarious meriiment throughout the play. Miss M«ti Pt)lham also caused a considerable amount of amusement as Mrs Jannawav, the mother-in-law ; while the other parts weic filled satisfactorily by the other members of the company. T'l-ni^ht the company bring their season to a conclus'on by the production of " Ihe B ipkmaker," which will be staged hera for the first time.