The Kendall Combination Delivers a Moving Performance of 'M'liss'
Seattle theatergoers are captivated by Mrs. Julia Kendall’s portrayal of the waif M'liss at Yesler's Hall.
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Few persons who have read Bret Harte's fanciful and touching sketch, 'M'liss,' have ever been able to entirely dispossess their minds of the effect which it produced. It is one of those creations which are bound to exist and influence the minds of men as long as the English language endures. The drama founded upon this sketch, when rightly presented, has the same effect as the first reading of the original—it lingers in the mind forever, and the memory of its scenes and characters can never be entirely forgotten. And 'M'liss' was presented last evening by the Kendall Combination only as genuine artists can present a genuine creation of art. To say that the piece was well rendered would be entirely too mild; it was by far the finest presentation of a play that Seattle has seen for a long time. The company is strong throughout. Mrs. Julia Kendall, as M'liss the Waif, utterly captured her audience and won round after round of applause. Mr. H. A. Kendall, as Yuba Bill, was also especially fine. Yesler's Hall should be crowded during the remaining evenings of the stay in the city of this combination.
“To say that the piece was well rendered would be entirely too mild; it was by far the finest presentation of a play that Seattle has seen for a long time.”
Yesler's Hall was a central gathering spot in 1880s Seattle, a time when live performance was the primary community entertainment. Today, the site of this entertainment hub is near the core of a modern downtown that has traded wooden halls for steel towers, though the hunger for cultural shared experiences remains a constant in the city's identity.
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