New-York tribune., 1867-03-28
THE DRAMA.


Theater in the person of Mr.. DOrsay Ogden Mr.
Ogden looAd as if he felt very badly, and we dare
saw he did. To have much trash on ones inihu aC
once as is spoken by the Stranger must indeed DC 10
endure acute anguish. Mr. Ogden, however pore up
brayely His voice was voice from the tOin3 ms
coat and his boots were plenteously hung wiIn th9
fur trappngs of woe. These latter objects attracted
the lively admiration OF the ;f Snv other
ueubrious observations made by The Stranger Is
one to the effect that there Is another ana Deler
world Ii is heartily to be wished that this melan
chOy old humbug would go thither lie is llItle
more than human nature can bear. debut occurred I
on the occasion of this performance-tha1 OF MISS
Florence Noble, who appeared as Mrs HdHT
worse chOcs of character for this purpose could not
possby have been made. The lady-we are sorry 10
be obliged to sayhas no natural qnalll.G;atons @ IOr
tbe stage and it would be positive injustice ana u
Kindness to commend her in the pursuit OF thls Voca
tinn Mrs wilkins, as Countess UinteseH, lnduigeu
i'm particularly amusing style OF elocutl0n IN Iacl
she creakod like bellows. Mr.. Mark Smith, by a
correct and humorous pcrsonaton OF solomon, ic-
deemed the performance from the gloom oi aoSoiu'o
dullneSS.
Mr.. James W. Wallack will make his last APP
pearance at Wallacks this season. in Henry Dun
bar on Saturday evening. We trust he will haye a
very large audience to give him farewell gree!lng
MASKS and Faces" viii he repeated here tonight.
II was brilliantly acted on Monday, Mr, fIsGr ue o
Tipld. Tomorrow night Miss Fanny M0rant WIN
take her Benefit when will be presented The serious
Family" and i" High Life Below Stairs"
Ate. o'clock on Monday evening the curtain fell
on the fifth act of Oscar the Half Blood" at
Woods Theater II will readily be inferred that one
of the faults of the drama is excessive length That
we presume, can be, in some measure repaired. In
fact it is ever the custom of the dramatic author a
fer n first representation. to cut and come again.
But no cutting can save this play Its story
il intensely dsagreeable; its incidents are often
absurd II belongs to the bad class OF French melO-
dramas. In the original it had some success, from
the fact that Fechter played in it, and rendered an
extravagant character picturesque: ME- James
Schonberg has translated and adapted the fTeneh
original As to the ski ana taSte wisn ~ ot nolsihIc
IN speak definifelyfOr the reason that his play mas
been interpreted by the most extraordinary coec-
tiop of incompetent and ridiculous players that we
have ever chanced to behold There are three persons
i'm the cast who can act well-Mr. George Becks bir
Stuart Robson, and Dir. Sol Smith Jr;r lheree e
are three more who can act passably Inc resi-
are tolerabe neither to gods nor boxes In tne
hands Of these players the first representation OF b
SchOnbergs drama was more amusing than Moiuo
can easily describe. The hero OF the OCCASION as
well as of the drama, was Mr.. L. N: Bates ms
actor reyves the storied days OF KIRBY; lie Is
blessed with voice that rye: sir IRON te eeGi nod ng 90
Hamlet He ~ Furthermore blessed WIN i9Iest Ii
hyacinthine eurls. Shakespeare tells u.s., through
fGc lips of ERobarbHs that 1Btoay when gong t0rth
tn meet Cleeudtrd was "barbcred ten times DER" "A
similar precautiOn appeared 90 have been taken 9y
the REPRESENTATIVE of Oscar, the hair blood" In
the drama N the UuSlilCSS Oh lHS Ellltu ="
stalk gloomily about the stage-to assume attitudes
of melancholy grandeur. and to announce IN sepuF
chral tone that be knows no fear ana that ne is Is
always fatally successful He may be- for auglt we
know in other lines-as auctloncer, Tor instance
or t0En crier-but he certainly Is not IN the ART OF
acting Shall we tell the story OF Oscars chequeisu
oareeTf Alas that were too narrowing. An
outline of il viii do as well. lie was
once a slave; but he organized revolt
made his ewner "A bcggar and himself rlch
camc IN Europc dropped am English nObleman into a
crcyasse in Switzerland, assumed hls victims itle
nnd passed the rest OF his time IN searching tof =
longlost brother. futteslng young mlllneT ana
keeping his hair curled. FINALLY he swallowed some
poison aud died the longest death on record W Nnnl
could be mOge aifeCtngf Let us draw yen. 10
tell all the woes Of tins man OF destiny would Isquie
many columns OF this newspaper 10 descflbe ms
loves and harcds, his gasplngs and gurgilhgS, ms
hand of IRON hls slow unmOylng iorcHnger ~ ~
pointed i'm the frequent tahleau, ms lIchdS anu hs
Toes were TO execute Herculcan labor, ana 10
plunge an innocent community INTO grlcI', We !oI,
hear Nor need we tell how the heroine of his epcal
fortunes vaiuly stroye To outwt ana destroy MN
All that Tecollcct ci her, indeed IN that her name
was Claire and that she occupied good part Oh tie
evening IN singing Florence PercGs Rock me 70
sleep mother, rock me to sleep 10 the auuencic auuei
sleep would have been possible without any such
gentle incentive. The reader who chances 20 De eA'
poricnCcd in theatrical matters VIII perceive ina. We
are speaking of badly mangled melodfllna WIN
good players and, especially with on actor ol great
Imagination b.iliancy of style. and perfect mas
tctv al art in the leading character this piece
might. VIC should think, he maze citot-
i've. Badly performed, II u mere Eacmty' 10
attnmpf, uflufr the tlltull-lhuftNt w iviih
ment Of Mr Schonhcrg's art as drnmatist would be
wholly unjust Shakespeare himself could not have
sustained the aggreeatea iihction On OF r,l baeJs
Miss Mcneil. "A Miss Hattie Thorne and-but why
catalogue the ilustrous obscuref That such players
shoud ruin a drama is not so surprising as the fact
that they shOuld be upon the stage at all. why, -
why do imbecility and cOncet forever walk hand IN
handi Why does incompetence rush madIy Ia the
foolighsi Are there no corncrgrOcory stores To be
tended no farms TO be titled no butcher-wagons
that Young ambition can swiftly lmpol across the
shuddcring plain But here We touch upon one ol
the great mysteries Of the theatrical world Here IS
an art that the education and thus TIE spirit
ua welfare of society; that interprets the everlasting
treasures of literature 10 which mon and women OF
genius have committed their inspired souls; that de-
mands for its proper exercise the highest and rarest
gifts. Yet III every direction we see swarhng over
il persons whose main qualifications consist IN halr,
calves and arynK; who cannot pronounce correctly;
who can scarcely read; who know absolutely nothing,
either about literature, society, or human nature
and who pass their lives III ideness, by day and III
desecratiOn of the drama, by night Will this state
of things last foreyerf Human patience Is very
necessary virtue. The readers of this paper full well
know that treatment of the players has ever been
kind and consdemte But there are occasions when
patience becomes sin. That this il of them the
reader will, think become convinced, by attend
ing at Woods Iheater representation OF " Oscar
the Half Blood"
Mr.. Greenwood continues TO exhibit the Bunyan
Tableaux at Union Hall. These TableauX have earned
great deal OF money Tor their exhibitor They continue
TO attract crowds, though at first they were compare
lively neglected The religious community has apparent
ly heard Of them and rallied to their support or their
merits ana ueecs VIC nave dlIchuy cAPHcty spohcn'
The theatrical season which is now drifting
toward It's close has not been In every direction
n lucrative one; yet 10 has brought good deal Of
money To the managers and given no little ben
gift and pleasure TO the public. At the moment II
evnces more activity than novelty The benefit term
must for some time yet; and, until that be past
we shall have no Important new enterprise TO record IL
should be mentioned, by the way that In private social
circles just now, rage for amateur dramatic perform
auccs is extremely prevalent Benefits for the Southern
Famine Relief Association quite common. In this
respect the young ladies and gentlemen doing good
work and I'm which ferventy trust that their ef
forts-aud all eiforts-w be abundantly successful.
,Irrc