New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-11-02
Academy Of Music.

anc. Monday night in the character of Rip
I-au. Fiakle.
The crowded house showed how much
public expectation had been excited, for it
is very doubtful if spare seat could have
been found in the auditorium.
The are but few among the intelligent
portion of the community who are not
familiar with the legend Of Rip Van
Wrinkle" as told by Washington Irving.
How Rip, "a dissoute. "ne'erdo-wecl," :"
with a confirmed propensity to idl,ness,
and passion for strong liquor, had a wife,
whose natural shrewedishncss was stilnu-
lated by his dissipation and improvidenee.
How. to escape from connubial ingual in
fiction he sauntered with gun in hand and
dog by his side, far up among the Katskill
mountains where the malicious practicings
of demons, aiding lis strong appetite for
strong waters. he Was induced to imbibe a
mystic draught, and then slept a sleep of
twenty years. He awoke at length, TO find
the little bush near which he had lain down,
grown into tall tree, his gun decayed to
pieces. his dog a skeleton, his habiliments
in shreds his beard and hair of enormous
length and white as snow. Painfully max
ing his way down the mountain toward his
home. he finds himself. as it were, in Il new
world everything around being as much
changed as lie himself
Astounding. as this legend does. in ele-
ments of the romantic aud the dramatic,
| there have been but two attempts made to
adapt it to the stage previously to the ap-
IN u, g u,
attempts were highly successful, for the
| impersonators were men of great histrionic
genius. OF these two, Hackett belongs to
the past. but Jefferson is Vet of the present.
and his mastery delineatlon is fresh in the
minds of the admirers of the drama. 1t
was, therefore, a bold attempt TO follow
close upon this admirable actor, in an i'm
personation of the very legend that had
made him SO famous i'll the theatrical world.
In the face OF this. and hampered by the
miserable support he received from many of
the other characters in the piece, Mr.. Nc
Wade has, we think, in his impersonation
of Rip Ian Hinkie. brought out the domi-
nent idea with an excellence of delneatlon
difficult to improve upon.
Like Mickey Free. Rip Ian WmAle, as Il
play. does not amount to much. All the in
| terest centres in the principal character, the
other performers having nothing TO do ex-
few exceptions. poor as their parts were,
they contrived by their actin. to make them
still poorer
1t is difficult to get rid Of an impression;
and there were. we do not doubt, many
present on Monday night, disposed to be
guided in Judging of NcWade by their re :
collections OF Jefferson. But we are in
clined to think that comparison between
the two performers cannot easily he lnsti-
tutcd. The Tan ITinkie of jefferson, and
the Van HMhie OF McWadc, although the
plot of each has the same foundation, are
totally different in the essential points OF
dcilneation. 1t would, therefore, be as I'M
fair to compare them, or to make one q
| standard OF the other as to compare
"Alexander's Feast" with the Jolly Beg
CARS TO illustrate the idea We all know
that person may have his portrait painted
at different times by different painters and
each one OF the portraits Will strongly re-
semble the original, yet on comparing the
portraits together, no two viii be found
alike.
There is all the less occasion TO compare
Mr.. McWade with preceding performers,
for we have the original story to judge by;
and the only point TO decide is whether the
performance Of Mr.. McWade is a successful
portrayal of the character of Rip Van
Wutkte, as written by Washington Irving.
in our judgment it is.
1t is unnecessary to remark on last nights
performance, us it WAS u fac simIle of Mon
day night, defects and all. The innkeeper,
in the last scene, who attemps to initiate
Yankee by talking through his nose, came
about as near to 1t as a dime jewsharp re-
sembles a church organ. We ditfidently
suggest that Miss Waugh do not play old
woman-till her time comes. She is much
nicer as young one, and she will not snc-
cced as the former for some years yet.
We understand that Rip I'a,s Winhle will
be repeated every night till further notice i;
SO that our playgoers will have a sufficient
opportunity to see IL performance that re-
or reliable judgment can be formed respect
ing it.