New-York daily tribune., 1864-04-07
AmUsEu uENTs.
Winter Garden.

rh. o s4sr-svsteu" has its uses and its abuses
An actor or actress who by diligt effort or through
extraordinary natural gifts arrives az scnuino
artistic distinction, is justified IN seeking p''''.
rewards and wider fame than ordinary thea'ilcai
.o,,ico can afford And it is manifesty to the IN
to-ost of tho drama that great talent should De
hidden under no local busbel, but exhibited as
+oolv and as universally as possible. The dement's
which a real master of tho stage may confer upon
his professjop. as well as upon the public, can DO
dis,,ibntod in no way so well, all things considered,
a. NV the " star.systen." But its advantages only
appear when upheld by supreme merit. Medlocrity,
or oven moderate cleyernoss reyerscs all It's cond-
tops. In the hands Of actors of average ablity II
s. serious injury. In the hands OF bad actors II
simply brings rdicule and contempt uponthe DRAMA
1t would require very little demonstration TO snow
that in America the abuses ofthe" star-system en-
tirely outweigh its uses. There are perhaps nan
a dozen stars" in the whole country who have
fair title to the eminence they claim for them
selves. The Others are either actors Of ordinary
qualities or are positively bad. The fact OF their
frequent popular successes is wholly unimpor'ant'
for TO be led by the nose into every species OF abb
surdty has long been of the dearest joys OF our
theatrical public. Setting aside the half dozen
worthy stars" there remain few hundreds, We
believe, someof whom might fairly fulfill the duties
of regular stock engagement, and many OF Wnoni
would not be tolerated in subordinate positions at
, properly y-organized theater.
Miss Ayonia Jones, who on Monday evening aP-
reared for the first time at the Winter Garden, is
apparently of the moderately clever Glass; ono
has some personal adyantages-a good voice,
q good figure and countenance capable ot
certain strong expressions. 1t is proper TO say,
however. that the voice is not always judiciously
employed; that q constant depression of the head
5nures the effect Of the figure and that the coun-
tenance seems to reflect too persistcntly the same
set of emotions, being very little else beside
scornfnl and yindictiye at any time. Such pecu-
1ar faults, in eminent artists apt to be passed
Nnnoticed; but in case where there are no STINK
ing merits TO overbalance them, they are necessa
sily taken into account Miss Joness style OF act
ing is that of gentle mediocrity. We do not wish
to say that il is bad but certainly cannot call II
good. Perhaps in less somber character than
that in which she made her debut, she might de-
velop better qualities but, judging from her hrsi
appearance, she lacks the positive attributes OF
dramatic distinction. That she should become a
"star" is not much to be wondered at, since scores
Of ladies with qualifications far inferior
have, within few years, attempted
the same experiment, and, in one sense, have sue
ceedcd. At the same time it is difficult to resist
the critical inquiry-why should Miss Ayonia
Jones be "starl" Has she any quality which
peculiarly distinguishes her from actresses holding
what are called "stock positions at other thea
ters Is there any uster of originality in her. from
which we may hope for something better and
fresher than the cut-and-dried effects Of or
dinary "star' performances Or, if original
power be wanting, does she follow the old
methods with moro yigor, or earnestness,
or bgiancy, or boldness than we are accustomed to
find among theatrical companies where stars " do
not twinkle? We sincerely think not. Her perform
ance of the part of judith" showed simply good
personal endowments good taste, and complete
acquaintance with the business of the stage; but
not superior talent In any degree.
The piece prepared for Miss Joness debut" Ju-
dith the daughter Of Merari"-is tedious and inef-
fectve. The audience on Monday night was greatly
Iatigued by it. A few strong "stuations' are pre-
Iented but the processes By which they are srived
st are so wearisome, and sometimes so irrelevant,
that they fail 10 interest. New and good scenery
has been prepared by Messrs. Bartholomew and
Wallack, and incidental music written by Mr.. Rob
srt Stoepel These afford relief to the drear-
ness of the play.
Miss Jones appears every evening this week.