The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-06 00:00:00

EVENING, APRIL 6, 1858

EASTER AMUSEMENTS. t her artistic accomplishments as apparent to the general
i public as they were to the initiated in such maven t.
--eto----
Miss Rodea has a remarkably good "shake ;" she sings
PRINCESS'S. i florid passages clearly and evenly, produces her voice
The performances commenced last night with a properly, phrases well, and sings in tune in every regis-
new farce, called " The Stock Exfhanee ; or, the tar. As an actress Ails is a 'levee, and has of ou? se
Grt en Business," by Mr. Cearlee Dae,:e, and much
no
so
,suegEhs to 'tarn ; but btOli the fair debuttit acconifilts'ned
ra nencto°f4g eton us ihnoew htihs tarti os e
ehie
written with all that neatness of dialogue and vaencoonn.idheis btrle lagnaoU
t
knowledge of stage requirements for which this P
gentleman is renowned. The incidents are not ees
talent.
(From the Morning Advertiser.)
particularly new, but they were very mirth-provok-
The greatest anxiety was displayed by the numerous
ing ; and if the laughter which had rolled inces-
and fashionable audience by which the theatre was
santly through two...thirds of the piece rather flagged I
to ascertain how far the vocal powers of Miss
towards the end, a very slight curtailment will thronged,Roden would be equal to the musical attributes of the
bring the little piece to a sparkling termination, and part which she had to sustain ; and it is only a mere
remove the anti-climax which appeared to us to act of ju,tice to her to say, that they quite surpassed
exist. The plot is laid in London, at the present the most sanguine expectations of her friends. Although
day. Mr. Theophilus Grasshopper (Mr. Walter . she appeared for the first time on any stage last evening,
Lacy), a young stockbroker, with a very charming her very first song, " The Bulbul's lament to the Rose,"
wife, who believes him to be a pattern husband, has was a triumph of chaste, elegant, and finished voealisa-
become smitten with a Mrs. Early Free (Miss Mur- i tion, which brought down the rapturous applause of the
ray), a widow, as he imagines) wh orahe had met in the audience. She was equally successful in her recitative
street, followed, accosted, and finally asked to din- and air, " Ah,
cbaallyinpeace ; oh, what h
rapture," which
tier. His absence from home during the pursuit he
she
erourgehndout rendered hdisplayed tglheyq;ua a dlitie indeed,s
of a most rexquisitelyslnging
explains to his wife by saying that he is engaged in a
attuned soprano voice, not certainly of an ex• remely
great speculation, which occupies all his time and
powerful range, but one which possessed great flexibilitythoughts, and which is known on 'Change as "the and sweetness, the whole being set off by undoubted
Green Business." The widow—who is in reality no artistic excellence. A shower of bouquets greeted Miss
widow, being married again to a Mr. Thomas Roden at the close of the piece, when she was recalled
Gresham (Mr. Meadows), another stockbroker—de- to receive the compliment which she so well deserved.
termines to teach her admirer a lesson, so invites (From the Morning Herald )
him to dinner, and to meet him asks her old school- In this opera a young lady, quite new to the stage
fellow Mrs. Grasshooper (Miss Heath), being en- Miss Roden, made her debut, and, we are bound to add,
tirely ignorant that Grassaopper, whom she has with success completely merited.
never seen, is her impudent persecutor. Then be-
gins the imbroglio. Detected in a few shortcom-
ings, such as smoking and betting, Grasihopper
fathers all his faults on old Gresham, who is intro-
duced to Mrs. Grasshopper as the veritable Green,
the Great head of the Green Business, and who is
regarded as a perfect monster of iniquity by the con-
fiding wife. Her suspicions are first aroused by
the defence which Mrs. Gresham—supposed to be
Mrs. Early Free—makes of her husband Mr.
Gresham, supposed to be Mr. Green • and they are
confirmed by the dark hints dropped by a fourth
stockbroker, a Mr. Derby Oaks (Mr. D. Fisher), of
loose morals and sporting tastes, who himself
nourishes ulterior designs on Mrs. Grasshopper.
Placed at last in a ridiculous position and a serious
dilemma by his knowledge of Oaks's intentions, and
his inability to take proper notice of them for fear
of the disclosures that might ensue, Grasshopper
sees his folly, repents, and all ends happily.
This little piece, which was so admirably acted by
all concerned that it would be invidious to select
one character for particular approbation, was fol-
lowed by the revival of the magical drama of
"Faust and Marguerite," in which Mr. Charles
Kean appeared as Mephistopheles, and delighted the
audience by his admirable make op (looking the
very embodiment of Retsch's outlines), his quaint
sardonic brusquerie, and his picturesque plies.
The final scene, too, the apotheosis of Marguerite,
created the usual enthusiasm.
The entertainments concluded with a farce, en-
titled " Samuel in Search of Himself," which pro-
bably is founded on " L'Flomme qui se cherche,"
produced at the Vaudeville in 1848, but which, in
its English dress is full of the broadest situations,
is excellently acted by Messrs. Harley, Fisher, and
Saker, and was received with the greatest applause
and laughter throughout.

STRAND.

This theatre re-opened its doors last night with an
entirely new management and company, Miss Swan-
borough having become the lessee and manageress, a
circumstance which must be pleasing to playgoers, as it
assures to them another theatre where taste and talent

will provide agreeable fare for them. Everything
betokens that the most will be made of the
theatre, both before and behind the curtain. The
opening piece was a neat little comedy by Mr. Stir-
ling Coyne, founded on a French anecdote, and entitled
" Nothing Venture, Nothing Win," Tue imbroglio on
which it rests ie a variation of the never-ending Claude
Melnotte deception. Two young offices take on them-
selves to deceive a handsome and rich young countess,
by one of them assuming the name of the Duke de Ven-
dome, whose glory has enchanted her. Seeking her
treacherous lover in the camp, she falls in with the real
Duke, and the oung captain is condemned to death for
his temerity and desertion of duty, but the lady saves
him, and betrays that she even loves, by marrying him.
The piece is cleverly constructed, and took firm ho d of
the audience, especially in the second act, although it
laboured under the extraordinary disadvantage of Mr.
Swanborough having to read the principal part at an
hour's notice, owing to Mr. Leigh Murray's disability to
appear. Miss M. Oliver played the part of the Countess
very charmingly, and Mr. Be;fort gave full effect to his
*port but characteristic pact of the Duke ; whilst Mr.
Rae threw as much comedy as was possible into the
part of an old mercenary servant. The Rene, even under
its extraordinary disadvantages, was perfectly success-
ful, and was much applauded, and the author being vehe-
mently called for, appeared and made his acknowle, g-
ments to the audience.
A burlesque followed, founded on Fra Diavolo, by
Mr. Byrne-, which was successful, and it contains some
pretty scenery, dresses, and dances. The old favourite
farce of the " Lottery Ticket" closed the performance,
though we must not forget to record that Miss Swan-
borough recited a smart address, written by Mr. Albert
South ; and also that " God save the Queen" was sus g
by the whole company. There seems every prospect of
success attending this spirited attempt to restore this
heatre to a high position amongst its compeers and
neighbours, and every one interested in theatrical affairs
must wish the honourable endeavour may prove success-

HAYMARKET.

We always anticipate a delightful evening's entertain
went when we visit this theatre, and last evening our
anticipations were realised to the full. Everything that
could delight the understanding and please the eye was
combined in the bill of fare placed before his Easter
audiences by Mr. Bucketone. The performances com-
menced with Mr. Tom Taylor's highly successful comedy,
" An Unequal Match," followed by an entirely new and
original mythological extravaganza, from the pen of
Frank Talfourd, Esq., entitled "Pluto and Proserpine.''
The tale is the simplest outline of the old legend of the
abduction of the daughter o f Ceres from the midst of
her flowers by the Monarch of Tartarus. Pluto, a soli-
tary and battonless bachelor, stung by the rejection of
his addresses by all the goddesses, ascends to earth in a
costume of hat, coat, and peg-top trousers such as have
been immortalised by Leech, but which are here made
to eclipse their earthly prototypes by their diabolic
hues of black, gold, and flame colour ; and they
lose none of their effect by the manner in
which they are worn by Mr. Compton, the impersonator
of the ruler of Hades. Proserpine, a pupil in a semi-
nary of young goddesses and demi-goddesses, kept by
Minerva, is ogled out of the ranks of her playmates by
the Mephistophelean glances of the enamoured Pluto,
and conveyed away in the usual stage mode. The grief
and rage of Ceres at the loss cf her daughter causes her
to curse and wither the fertile plains of Sicily, until the
election of Proserpine to remain with her husband, when
she finds he is ready to give her up to her sorrowing
parent, produces a philosophical resignation on the part
of Ceres, who revokes her curse, and re-awakens nature
to fertility and gladness. Slight as this medium is, it
affords opportunity for some exquisite scenery, of which
" The Plains of Enna" and the "Cornfields of Sicily"
are particularly worthy of notice. The closing tableau
representing " the awakening to fertility and gladness,"
was a masterpiece of sonic beauty, and called forth the
most enthusiastic applause. Mrs. Buckingham White
was a magnificent Cares ; Miss Lonise Leclercq, as Pro
serpine, looked very bewitching ; Mr. Compton was
the Pluto, and the character admirably fitted him. The
piece was eminently successful, and will run through the
rummer.