New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-01
WALIHCKS THEATER.
WHEAT AND CHAFF.

fc-m such brilliant spot- in HE theatrical yr,G aP
renoe-i Every socially, Mr. NaIe would certsnly uol
/ be entitled, receiving the card Of Mrs. Grafton
in tie comedy Of Saturday night to excasm, sVc,a
/ bly, hunibugl" We know OF gathering which
could better cleO that gay and cheerful Il e tL8n ;hs.
which pe,tles round Wallack's coy circle OF the
evening Of the production Of piece. o. such
4 arac,er VIE the audience which assembled on Ssdr
| day evening 10 witness the fir. performance Of
comedy in i've acts, By Dr. Wordsworth Wainwright,
puiportirg 70 picture the OF Newfork il IL
IN -cut brilliant and enlightened day Ii msle
up, doubtless IN measure Of the authors allies,
but -I~tlsy seasoned wlhal, fancy, With gooly
portion OF thoe gentlemen who ,0ice even
in The misfortune Of tEcir he., friends.
We a!e -edcln now.a- days treated 10 8 comedy AM
should - grateful for it, sbsie-ac,iDe or the
WE npothegm Of Slon We cahuot give people
the beet law, but the best they will bear Out
able4t dr.ma.ts give rot the best plays but pvrhsp'
tho ~ II their audeuces wil bear. Gs-, grouping,
AM gaeconade supply tie place Of genuine good writ
ing and good acting and red hre rules the roast
Tableaux which in military and certain nlel-rsmstc
pieces sre proper and natural, nov dragged mo
everything aud the place of wit sud viyae.y supplied
by fly supers on ole side OF the stage cszng with
prearrane-d vengeance fifty on the other -de with
-nister hoax snd csiaverous aspect. let ~ then,
in such days be grateful for effort. however hum
bic, which lays claim TO presolt fresh snd nnbor.
Toaed pctme 0! life.
TIE comedy Of Wheat and Chaf presented a!
Warack's IN saturday night reither belongs 70 the
ort fetal por sentimental scnoOl Of comedy. bat sns
nj that urt of sentiment and st,fce which modern
uanne.s exact from the stage. la the time OF Con-
greye, sentimental comedy wa entirely unkoo"a
" bile iudugn bis dramatic instinct IN exposing the
:alse pretensons of foc,ty he avoided giving ofense
by giving society preteuSions at all. We could
never find single character in any Of his comedie,
we have seen with preteu,e 10 goodness or fine
feeug. Tie sge which followed rSl into the opposite
extreme, though the conventional! dec ncies Of the
time were far les moral Macaulay shows than the
aeless prof. esoy Of Charles; AID Sir RclardS,ees
comedies weie good Psrson Adams declares, even
better IL an sermon. Ever since then, comedy ap-
pears wsvenrg between the two, and THAI tho best
.s Sheridan's in which sentiment was most
brilliantly interviewer with Wit and character.
Lat,erly. audiences are more il earnest AID
require to see fair play to the truth vel as TO the
faults Of the society of which they form portion and
ceruIly IN effort made to meet this requirement
in the comedy of Saturday night, though perhaps not
perfectly carried out The fret efforts OF ali the best
dram sic o our day have been faiufe and the AVOID
ance of Il fuurs in virgin attempt should be deemei
SUGGEST The golden appc Of success 10 the dramatic
III IL any other sphere not to BE reached in bound
Tie ro, may be briefly told. 1t opeus with Herbert
yapc Mr. Wheatleghj II fashionable Villain of Cprer
tendon plotting to restore broken torture by
rsee with wealthy gir Helen ;'Sstou alr. Hoeyl,
~bo Vas betrothed 10 trusting irieud Arthur Beau
fort (Mr. I>e-ter.) He relies chiefly on the inftu-
cncc Of Holen's mother, -elf-A slave OF soci-
ETY., who Willingly sacrifices her daughters alice
tons to her lust for the position and wealth
which she, ignorant the rest of the world OF MIR.
Vanes reai condition, believes him to possess. Helen
of course sacrifices love 20 duty. Herbert is made mis-
erabe but is consoed and restored to his old love by
god uncle job MIR. Brougham), VINO srrves at a
happy moment from the banks of tho Mohawk, or
sone other lovely rural abode and, wish the assistance
Of Blanche, of Ms. Grafton Miss Gannon and
her ain ,Mr. Caaudler, weaYes scheme by winch
yane i. exposed and all made well once more. The
scheme is tts: Blanche by accident picks up letter
from mi4tress Of Vnncs in which she threatens t'
proceed aesinf, him for theft 10 stealing her wat,h
AN incident said to be drawn from Newfork fashion,
able life. and Blanche, through the fundamentally of
her lover disguised as o policeman, obhge- him TO
.,aud confessed ard convicted before Helcus mo.her
who in medatey on the discovery relents aud doe the
suiatie on every side Supplementary to the leading
.
with tie direct action * The piece viz: newsboy
one of the best bits of the piece and admirably played
| by Mr. Parslce two styles Of servants, poorly por
| ,ra,cd by Mes,rs FLOYD and Chippendale and Fash
iopabe gambler Mr.. ID. uce. purpornS TO picture tho
mot popular and best-kuowi member OF the order IN
! New-Yok. Mr. Sloap, who personnt,d the part, on
his frrt crossing the stage received with sche'
ment burt Of recognition, bit in bis after pay 'Ad
entirely to ropro the graceful and rather saudy
toilette and gay and genial manner Of the original.
The beak If tie bird was there bu; neither s iun'y
! notes nor pumsge.
The play, While exhibiting much graceful writing,
and at times lively vein Of satire, has, might b.
expct.o the faults Oi fiT-t effort Too characters
are po. Sufficiently broadly and !orcibly marked, and
no. Gu shed indeed IL some Instances, scarcely begul
There are several hsppy touches, but they ro no.
where extended into compete shd ccngrnous pictures
Jcb-pla,ed with natural and lusty jo.ousne,s quite
eshlaralinQ, by Mr. Druushsm-was perhap' tho
beet conception Of the piece. Be sfort was most diuy
and rrcauary traced apd it required a Mr.. Lesters
ability exercised with mo.. admirable skill sGd con-
po~uie maintain the supremacy Of the hero. Moth
ing could bc more charming than the simple earnest
nese With which Ms. Hccy portrayed tie suppressed
grief snd a-sumed calmness Of the heroine, while her
toilette, refreshed by ber recent Parisian visit gave
even more III an usual charm TO the Mr.. Bris
tow contributed sweet and simple air, which sd
ulrsby -ups by Nr. LsSceles who no. only received
en- enthusiastic applause for this portion O! the enter
tainment bu, by he attention ~ the busia, OF the
sc.Ie and admirable get-np, showed what good
arts. can 10 with even the smallest part, and fairly
carried % large portion Of the honois Of the night.
At TIE cone uson u the piece, which placed on