THEATER ROYAL.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2538, 23 February 1877, Page 2

THEATER ROYAL.

There! was a change of programme last night, when "Fritz" was replaced by "Jan, the New German," which is described as a " romantic speciality drama." It is both romantic and special, in that the plot and incidents certainly partake of the fanciful and its speciality consists in assigning to the-character of Jan the burden of supporting the piece—not so much perhaps as in " Fritz," but still to such a degree as to warrant the description assigned so it. Jan, who has been left as a" sort of nobody's child at a village in Germany, becomes a protege* of an inn, and naturally falls in love, with the landlady's daughter, who reciprocates his passion. The landlady mother, who is a bit of a schemer, encourages the feeling between the young people, because she possesses the secret of Jan's birth, and lias the custody* of certain papers which, will prove it. Things are going on smoothly .until" the. arch villain of the piece, one Chevalier Kockleigh (Mr Glover) gets an inkling of the true state of affairs, and plots to dispose of Jan. This he does by employing one Bruno (Mr Hollo way) to steal the papers from Madame Klein, the landlady (Miss Polly Leake), and accusing Jan of the theft, * thus sending him from. the 1 village ,in disgrace. There are other characters staying in the village, namely General Glanville (Mr Hoyie) and his neice (Miss Rose Willis), and the Chevalier has discovered that Jan is the son and 1 heir of General Glanville; hence his motive in disposing of Jan so that he may'marry the niece aad heiress; An English 1 prize fighter, Mike Abrams (Mr Power) also happens, to be on the scene, and having had a" set to " with Jan hi which he got the worst-of it, he conceives an affection for Jan, and disguised as an Italian organ grinder sets out to discover his retreat. He succeeds, finds him in great distress mentally and physically, and returns, with him to the old village, where Bruno, in a fit of delirium tremens -reveals the true state of affairs regarding tbe robbery of the papers. The Chevalier is defeated just as he was congratulating himself on' his success. General Glanville discloses himself to his son, and the scene closes with the death of the scheming Chevalier, the reunion of Jan and Carline, the landlady's daughter (Miss Kaymond),and the general satisfaction of all concerned. The piece is not very skillfully worked out, but sufficiently; so to preserve a sort of connection. Jan is a good character, and serves to bring out the varied traits of the simple unsophisticated German, and, with • rather more than ordinary dramatic license, gives an opportunity to Jan to display his vocal accomplishments. The acting of Mr Emmet, however, would carry the piece through withomfc the vocal assessories, and the subordinate parts are capable of being made much of. Mr Emmet appeared in several character _ songs, which had no particular connection with the play, but they were none the less appreciated, and his acting during the progress of the piece was conspicuous for its naturalness and correctness of detail. As Carline, Miss Eaymond earned the applause which she gained. Mr Glover played carefully as the Chevalier, as did also Mr Holloway as Bruno. The latter, in a scene which happily is seldom introduced on the stage, was most realistic, carrying out the part in a manner that gained for him a call. Mr Power, as a professor of the noble art of selfdefence, achieved a success, and was frequently encouraged by unmistakeable marks of approval. Miss Polly Leake acquitted herself well as the landlady, Madame Klein, showing some of the old spirit which at one time made her such a favorite on the Thames. Miss Amy Thornton and Miss .Rose Willis had but small j partSj which they made the most of. The latter lady has not had much scope for showing what she is capable of, but sufficient . to warrant the belief that she is capable of better things, Mr Hoyle also deserves a word of commenda* tion, although his make-up was of _ a nondescript character that certainly did not give a clue to his rank as a General. Mr Thornton and Mr Williams had not very important roles to fill, but they did what they had to do well. The play as a whole seemed to give more satisfaction to the audience than did "Fritz," and as the house was a fair one, this may be accepted as a good index to its merits. To-night Mr Emmet will take a benefit, when two dramas are announced, with the additional attraction of a presentation of songs.