Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-10-05

ACADEMY OF MUsIc.-The drsmatizatiCn
of novel is a work which, even VIXEN
best done, had better have been left tt
done. The best efforts of this kind nee es-
sarily fall short of the works from which
they were taken in power and interC- t.
And, of all novels, the one least susceptiL 3
of stage representation is the master-Work
ofVictor Hugo-the best fiction, in some
respects, ever written" Les Miserables." )"
A fve-volume book, narrating the history
of a whole lifetime, crowded full of Incl
dents of the most intensely interesting
character, all intimately connected with
each other, and none of which can be
omitted without vital injury to the story
describing and illustrating character
with unequalled particularly of detail and
power fanalysis-flled with scenes which
from their very nature lose all their beau
ty and force upon the stage-cohtainin
thousand pages, every one Of which is eE-
sential-deriving its main interest, too, from
its wonderful power of description and an
tithesis, rather than from plot or dialogue
it is as impossible to dramatize such book
as to draw off the ocean through
faucet. If played at ali, it should
be played by sections, "to be con-
tinued" nightly through aseason. And so
if the version of it given on Monday and
Tuesday evenings at the Academy OF
Music, under the title of Jean Valjean,
fell far short of the power and interest Of
the great work, if it omitted half, ana, one
would almost say, the best half of the
book, if it left characters in en5ryo which
Hugo has finished with the accuracy of sn
anatomist, if it left the whole plot of the
piece confused, unfinished, vague, unsatis-
factory, if it displeased those who had read
the novel by what it omitted, and those
who had not by the vagueness with which
it produced what it did not omit, these
faults are not incidental to this play alone,
but to every dramatization of Hugo's i'm
mortal story. The fault lies not 50 much
tempting to do it at all. But the author OF
"Jean Vatican" has graver faults to an
sTer for in the transposition and alteration
of the plot, and the entire change, not for
the better, of the age and character Of
various dramatts persona. Of these we
cannot speak in detail.
The play was rendered very much better
last night than the previous evening. Mr..
Boniface's rendition of the character OF
Jean Vatican was very natural and full Of
quiet power. Miss Newton gave US some
very touching acting as Fantine, in the
death bed scene, and made Cosette as
good as so badly constructed a part will
permit. Mr.. Ellsler's "Thenardier' was
capital,- the best IN inception and rendi-
tion of the whole cast. Miss Hewitt as
"Gavroche" was too noisy to be funny
the fault rather ofthe part than the actress.
Mr.. Lees "Javart? was too melodramatic.
Miss Adams as the "Thenardiesse" made
an excellent impression. Mr.. Locke made
as good thing out of "Gillenemand" as
the construction of the drama would admit.
Tonight will be presented the great
French drama "Jocrisse the Juggler" with
Mr.. Boniface as "Jocrisse" and Miss New
ion as guile. The afterpiece is the COM
edy "a Youth that never saw a woman"