Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 May 1908 — “COUSINS” DREW LARGE CROWD [ARTICLE]

“COUSINS” DREW LARGE CROWD

Big Audience Witnesses the First Performance By the Rensselaer Dramatic Club. A large crowd filling every seat in the opera house, witnessed the first performance of the Rensselaer Dramatic Club Monday night, and received the appearance of the local performers with enthusiastic approvaL The play was “Cousins,’’ and the club had rehearsed for several weeks in order to creditably present the play, which required in addition to committing the lines, a vast amount of acting, and the performance went off without a hitch. The play consisted of four acts, the first being a law of-< fice in New York, the second a hotel exterior in Nice, Italy, on confetti day during the flower carnival, the third act was in a drawing room in a hotel In Nice, and the last act was pictured in a suite of poorly furnished lodging rooms in London. The performers all seemed to grasp the import of their characters and to portray them in a manner that caught the audience and there was a ripple of mirth from the rise of the curtain in the first act until it was rung down for the last time. There were occasional moments of seriousness and even touching pathos, and during these intervals between laughs the large crowd was as quiet as an audience of the size could be.

To Orlan who had charge of the staging of the performance and. the training of the performers, the main credit of its success are due, and he so ably handled the difficult part in which he was cast that he won one round of applause after another. He is easy, graceful, clear spoken, and he puts just enough feeling tn each part of the varying phases of his character to do it without effort or strain. His well known and long established ability in this line had made his friends expect considerable of him and he surpassed their greatest expectations. Miss Nellie Drake, who had the leading roll of the female cast also had a most difficult part and played it most excellently. Her expression and the ease of her movements added to her natural beauty admirably fitted her for the part. Her costumes very beautiful and in the difficult acting of the part she was at her best. Mrs. Orlan Grant also won much applause in the part she took, and the experience she had previously had in amateur dramatics, was proven by the grace with which she performed. Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler Irwin,both of whom have previously been cast in amateur plays, shared in the applause of the auditors and did the parts in a manner that could not have been improved upon. Allen Huxford also won much applause in his comic character, and took to the stage with the ease of an old timer. Herman Tuteur had the heavy role and mastered it thoroughly. The part was devoid of the villainy usually portrayed in the heavy parts and Herman adopted a sytle of audacious nerve and ease that made of* the part all that could be procured from it. Miss Grace Warren also performed her part splendidly, as did Frank Hardman, Myrtle York, Lottie O’Connor, Perry Horton and James E. Brenner.