New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-12-14
uP1AY1Ne WITH FIR g.

audiences composed of the fashion and discrimina-
tion Of our theater-going community, requires US
to make d little more than a brief mention of it.
We have already stated that funnier or better
acted comedy has never yet been offered to the
people Of New Orleans. We viii now give brief
outline of the features of this latest and most sue
eessful of American dramatic creations.
Playing with Fire. the title, ia simply the old
figure which expresses the folly Of meddng with
dangerous things. In this case it refers to the
danger of testing too hastily severely the sacred
relations Of married life and the honorable ties Of
friendship. The comedy is made up of four couples
Of exquisite characters, to-wit: Herbert Waoerly
and wife, personated by Mr. Lefingwell and Miss
Charlotte Thompson; Dr.. Sabage and wife, by Mr..
George Jordan and Mrs. Leighton; UJac5e Timothy
and his old sister the IFtdog Gra1stick, by Mr..
Mark Smith and Mrs. Chapman: and Pt,aeIsbeek
and Perkins, by Mr.. Davenport and Miss Fannie
Brown. The play portrays constant succession
Of cross purposes, confusions, bewilderments, and
ludieroua scenes and situations, good DR.. Saudge
being the chief victim all the way through.
Herbert Waverly and wife roll in wealth, love
each other, but are sated with happiness, and
gradually grow unhappy, each fancying the other
the victim of some secret grief OF discomfort,
though neither doubts the others fidelity. They
are intimate friends Of the Savage family. Mr..
Waverly, in great distress, calls the Doctor, and
explains his wife'a case. Mrs. Waverly calls on
the Doctors wife, and pours out her grief about
her husbands changed appearance. They all
meet accidentally in the Doctors office, and dis
simulate charmingiy. Mrs. Savage secs nothing
wrong in Mr.. Wayerly; the Doctor sees nothing
wrong in Mrs. WaYerly. FuuniIy enough, the Doc
tor and his wife come to the same conclusion,
namely, that nothing is actually the matter with
the Wayerlys save the suggishness resulting from
too much luxury and inactivity; and funnier still,
that little exercise in the way Of flirting to an
innocent extent outside of the family might stir
up tho blood of the Wayerys, and bring them
around to a better understanding and appreciation
Of each other.
The Doctor advises WaYorly to get some good
friend of his to make love to his wife, secretly be-
neyi8g that this is alt he needs for q cure. Wa
yerly is at first shocked, but upon further conyer
sation and rejection takes to the idea and asks the
Doctor to be that friend. Tie Doctor is bluff,
| honest fellow, and not much Of lady's man: he
recoils at the idea but having recommended IL at
last concludes to accommodate his friend u acting
the lover to that friends wife. they draw up ana
sign written articles as to how far the thing shall
go, Wayery agreeing that should the Doctor actu-
ally discover anything wrong about Mrs. Wayerly,
there should be 10 trouble between then as friends
and so on. So the thing is agreed, upon betw cen
these two. and the Doctor is in great euapdary
as 10 how he shall get out of the scrape into which
lie has so suddenly thrust himself. aM
The Doctors wife, who is piqued and angry at
his want Of attention and afectionate display and
believes in flirting little, just to bring him around
now and then, advises Mrs. Waverly to try the
same experiment with her husband and, wishing
| to have a good joke on her own husband at the
| same time she advises Mrs W. to open Irritation
with the Doctor. The beauty Of it is that there is
nomore confidence between the Savages than there
is between the Waverlys; and here we have the
two husbands on one side and the two wives OF
the other, each side laying snare in ignorance O
the snare laid by the other.
Mrs. Waverly is quietly introduced by her mis-
chievous friend into the Doctors study, aftel
Waverly's departure; the Doctor fancies they two
are alone together; but his wife is hiding behind
curtain, peeping out, and motioning to Mrs. W
to go ahead to pitch in strong, etc, meanwhile
shaking with suppressed laughter at the capital
! joke she is playing upon her lege lord. Whilst
4 the Doctor studies how to begin his difficult and
delicate task, he is perfectly upset and thunder
struck by Mrs. WayoTly beginning to make love
| to him. He collects his boWdered IDEAS, and
sghs for his unhappy friend. The lovely wife Of
that friend, prompted by her friend, continues 70
make love to him, though in a rather unfeeling
and mechanical way, tinctured as it is with her
natural modesty and the little spice of deyilment
which her mischievou5 friend has Infused into her
The Doctor at last concludes to make love to her
little anyhow, just to oblge her husband though
he is now really shocked in the belief that she is
truant TO her vows. He goes to work Unreal Romeo
style, and, in making love without feelingit rather
oyerdoes the thing. Mrs. Wayerly is now terribly
shocked, in her turn; she had no idea the Doctor
would respond in such way each fancies the
other in love, when there is no love on either side
whilst the hidden Mrs. Savage, believing there
is some love on both sides, is the worst shocked
| of all. Unseen by her husband, she witches hel
friend away by her skirt; the Doctor flies off te
acquaint his friend with the dreadful result of hi
pretended ve-making; and poor Mrs Savage, tht
victim of her own folly, jealous a fury, pitcher
iuto and abuses Mrs Waverly for OVERRIDING the
love scene-the latter attempts to explain but can
not-and there is pretty kettle of fish all round
Meanwhile, Pinchbeek, the Doctors man -ofall
work, medical student and SO on, comical AM
rascally young fellow, is fixing up precious mes
4 for the confusion and astonshlnent of all parties
lie aQN6TtiSeS HllIlSell III newspapers Us
g matrimonial agentn broker, to bring togethe
eligible but oyer-bashful people with view tt
acquaintanceship and marriage. He uses the Doc
tors office for tbis business during the Doctor
absence, and in pinch has no constitutional OBJ
lection to personating the Doctor himself am
wearing his Office gown and cap, when strange
chances to call. Mrs. Wayerly's waiting maid
Perkins, is gay creature, full Of mischief Pinch
beck, willing partner in his mischief, and willing
enough to play the lovely young husband hunter t.
any old goldfish Of wife-hunter that might b
hooked in Pinckbeek's splendid matrimonial
agency.
Pinchbeck's advertisement brings a respons
from one "a Romeo" in the country, who subse
quently comes to town to look for wife throug
this splendid advertising agency. He turns out +
be a wealthy, but timid and bashful old white
headed bachelor; no less parsonage than Uncl
Timothy, the uncle of Mrs. Waverly. He calls a
the mansion OF his kinfolk, and is Hospitality re
ceiged and lodged. The happiness of the Waverly'
has always delighted and now enchants him; the
again, some evidences of their secret unhappines
alarm him; he is great watcher of marie
people; he taxes them with having some secre
trouble; but they both deny it SO sincerely that Ii
recants, and concludes positively to visit the matr