The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-27 00:00:00

TIIE ADELPIII- "SO THOROUGHFARE."

NEW QUEEN'S THEATRE.

Here Mr. Alfred Wigan dispensed with panto-
mime, eschewed burlesque, would have nothing to
do with extravaganza, put aside spectaculai fairy
groupings, and produced no transformation scene.
There was nothing for which holiday folk look at
Christmas time. Still, as there must be a large
section of the theatre-loving public who, like Gallio
of old, " care for none of these things," it is not
improbable that Mr. Wigan may find that
he has math no mistake in preserving at least
one house from the histrionic superstition
of the season. Au old and esteemed Adelphi favou-
rite, Mr. J. L. Toole, the popular comedian, has
been provincialising with immense success for seve-
ral months. London audiences missed from among
them this man of mark, and the simple announce-
ment that be would commence an engagement
with Mr. Wigan's excellent company brought
about him, on the occasion of his re-appear-
ance, troops of friends. Seldom has a heartier
reception been accorded on any occasion at a place
of public amusement. It must have been pleasant
for Mr. Toole to find that he was so well and so
genially remembered, and it was equally satisfac•
tory, no doubt, for those who bestowed such wel-
come to observe that time has rather improved than
deteriorated the calibre of this clever low comedy
representative. After Shakspere's "Katherine and
I'etruchio "—Mr. IL Irving and Miss E. Terry
sustaining the leading characters very creditably—
Mr. Toole presented himself as Dick Stubbs
in the two-act comic drama from the pen of Mr.
R. Lacy, " Doing for the Best," about which,
not very long since, there was considerable liti-
gation between the author and the actor in the
Court of Queen's Bench, at Westminster, Mr.
Toole proving more than a match for his antagonist
on no less than two occasions, and receiving legal
decisions in his favour. " Doing for the Best" was
first performed at the Theatre Royal Sadler's
Wells in November, 1861, Mr. Phelps taking the
part which Mr. Toole now assumes. It is not a
brilliant or by any means a carefully-written drama.
In the provinces, especially where the maritime
element prevails, we can well understand that it
has met with approval, butler Londoners many of
the features are rather far-fetched and improbable.
There are, however, incidents well worked out; and
the character of Dick Stubbs is one at least which
serves to develop Mr. Poole's peculiar low comedy
conceptive power. He played with admirable
judgment, throwing out the lights and shades
quite as effectively as in parts for which he has
already secured well-deserved reputation. Those
who think that actors who excel in the particular
rule in which Mr. Toole has acquired so deserved a
celebrity cannot give adequate expression to the
finer and more pathetic feelings, as well as the
purer dramatic emotions, would do well to visit this
theatre and witness Mr. 'Poole in his present repre-
sentations. They will there learn that the finest
portraiture of the most tender passions can so exist

The Christmas novelty at this theatre, which may
be regarded as the temple, par excellence, for the
presentation of pieces having a burlesque character,
is an operatic extravaganza, entitled " The Caliph
of Bagdad," from the practised pen of Mr. William
Brough, and was produced last evening with com-
plete success.
As its name implies, the idea of the piece is
founded upon Boieldieu's once popular opera, " La
Calife de Bagdad," au English version of which,
by Torn Dibden, was brought out at Covent-
garden at the very beginning of the present cen-
tury. Mr. Brough, however, as is customary with
Christmas pieces, has modernised the characters
and incidents until they are rendered types of
the present day. In the first scene we are in-
troduced to the Caliph's Palace. Here, amid
dancing-girls, tinkling cymbals, gongs, drums,
and other accessories to Eastern pomp, we make
the acquaintance of the renowned Caliph
Haroun Alraschid (Miss Ada Swanborough) who,
by the way, made her first appearance in the cha-
racter since her severe indisposition, and met with a
most cordial reception at the hands of the audisnce.
He, we find, in addition to his fondness for roam-
ing about his capital in disguise to seek out wrongs
and to redress them, as recorded in the vivacious
and time-honoured pages of the " Arabian Nights,"
has recently imbibed notions of Reform. In fact,
he goes in boldly for Western manners and customs,
much to the disgust of his chief military officer,
Mahoud (Mr. T. Thorne), a disappointed grumbling
personage, who believes in the super-excellence of
all ancient modes of government, and cannot see
without repining the reforms and innovations in-
troduced by the present Caliph. In one of his dis-
guised wanderings he meets with the lovely Darina
(Miss Newton),daughter of the poor bankrupt Chibib
(Mr. Turner). A case of mutuallove is the immediate
result of the meeting. Al-Bondocan, the name the
disguised Caliph has assumed, offers marriage, and
is accepted by the bard-up parent, not without mis-
givings as to the real character of his future son-
in-law, but with anything but dissatisfaction at
finding that Al-Bondocan is rich enough to pay off
his own pressing creditors and duns, however the
wealth may have been obtained. The loving couple
and the pleased father have scarcely left when the
Cadi (Mr. D. James), a bribe-taking, time-serving
magistrate, enters to make proclamation of the
fact that an intruder of the masculine gender has
dared to trespass within the sacred walls of the
harem, there to visit the lady Camira (Miss Har-
land), a slave purchased by the Caliph only three
days before. Camira, it seems, had been stolen
from her home by a tribe of marauding Arabs, and
sold to the Caliph without any of her family or
friends knowing of her destination. Her father,
Hazib, however, discovered her whereabouts, and
he it was who had secretly visited his daughter.
But Hazib (Mr. C. Fenton) happens unfortunately
to be a proscribed outlaw, and dares not declare
himself, so has to seek safety in flight ; and rewards
are offered for the discovery of the still unknown
intruder. Meanwhile Abdallah (Miss E. John-
stone), the betrothed lover of Camira, has in vain
been seeking her. 'Returning home in danger at the
loss of his love, whom he believes gone from him
for ever, he hears at one and the same moment the
proclamation of the offered reward, and the sad
tidings that his own father, the ruined Chibib, and
his sister Darina, are about to be sold by auction
in satisfaction of a debt to a vindictive creditor
named Hassan (Miss E. Holt), a rejected suitor of
Darina's. Reckless of his own fate, Abdallah, in
order to save those so near to him, claims the re-
ward, denouncing himself as the offender ; and
with the money thus obtained discharges his
father's debt. Hassan, however, does not choose
to he foiled in his spite, so bribing the Cadi to con-
ceal the fact of the cash having been paid (there
being no witnesses to the transaction), he receives
from that worthy magistrate a warrant to sell up
his debtor's family as though the debt were still
owing. Hassan departs triumphantly to execute his
warrant, when old Chibib himself enters in search
of the Cadi. He wants him immediately to prepare
a marriage contract for his daughter Darina. The
Cadi sneers at the idea of a girl iu her position
dreaming of marriage, and insultingly refuses to
attend to Chibib's request until the latter names
as the bridegroom " Al-Bondocan," when the
Cadi is immediately all abject submission. This
name, " Al-Bondocan," the one assumed by the
Caliph Haroun when wandering in disguise, is
known to his own officers, and to them only.
Chibib, however, who is not in the Caliph's secret,
attributes the influence of that name to super-
natural powers possessed by its owner. Throughout
the piece all tends to strength this idea. His son
Abdullah, whom he has lost, is restored to him, and
made happy with the love of Camira. It is the
work of Al-Bondocan. His old friend Hazib, the
proscribed outlaw, receives the Caliph's pardon ;
while his foes, Hassan and the Cadi, are basti-
nadoed. Al-Bondocan has brought it all about.
The secret is kept both from Darina and her father
up to the very last, when, amidst public pomp and
rejoicings, Chibib finds his daughter made the
bride--not of a wizard, but of the Caliph Haroun
Alraschid himself.

Such, then, is a narrative of the story of the
piece. It gives, however, but a faint idea of the
subject itself, which is admirably and ably worked
out by the author by means of clever and happily-
conceived jokes and puns, songs, choruses, and
dances, all of which combine to effect an ensemble
that was highly appreciated by the audience. Miss
Swanborough sustained the character of the Caliph
with ability, and sang the songs assigned to her
with taste and judgment. She was well supported
by Miss Newton, Miss Ada Harland, Miss E.
Johnstone, and Miss E. [Jolt ; while Mr. Thorne
and Mr. James, as the commanders of the Caliph's
forces and the Cadi, were as grotesque and as

amusing as usual.
The scenery, by Mr. Fenton, is of the most
characteristic and splendid description ; and the
music, composed and arranged by Mr. Frank Mus-
grave, was most appropriate and telling through-
out. The dresses are costly and magnificent, and
the whole burlesque is placed upon the stage in that
unrivalled manner which has gained for this theatre
so much celebrity.
At the close of the piece the author, who was
loudly called for, appeared upon the stage, and
bowed his acknowledgments.
The comedy of " Kind to a Fault" preceded the
extravaganza, and the entertainments were brought
to a close with the performance of the laughatile
farce of " Nothing to Nurse."