New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-04
..The Lancers,, a. ,he ACADEMY.

''The Lancers" will be presented to the
audienceat the Academy of Music this eve
| ming. To show our readers the estimation
in which the play and the Wyndham com
pany are held elsewhere, we copy the fol
lowing from late number of the ST. Louis
Repubhcan
If we may Judge by the size and quality
of the audience here last evening, "The
Lanccrs" must be the most popular piece of
its kind that has lately been presented in
our city; for larger or more brilliant as
Semblage has seldom gathered within these
walls Yet "The Lancers," if we attempt
to ana1yze it, is scarcely more than a neat
and sparkling specimen of dramatic froth,
containing little or no real substance, and
hardly single situation which requires
what may be termed powerful acting One
Of the lightest and most genteel of light and
genteel comedies, it is intended to furnish
people of some taste and refinement with a
delightful entertainment. which, while need
ing no great mental effort to appreciate it,
Is very far from being commonplace, much
less coarse.
In short, this play though laying no claim
to genius IN its conception or arrangement,
is thoroughly enjoyable from the rising of
the curtain to the going down of the same;
and every portion is so nicely balanced,
every part SO delicately adjusted that there
is not a pereeptible blemish in the whole
work. Such "a play can not be rendered
with any degree of satisfaction by an ordi-
nary company; it must have actors and
actresses who are not only something more
than merely respectable members OF the
profession, but accustomed to perform to-
gether, and perfectly familiar with even the
ninutest detail of stage business. For I'M
less there is, 50 to speak, unity OF action,
and the most scrupulous attention paid to
the finer points, 1.-THE Lancers" degenerates
at once into glittering tissue of nonsense,
loses all its charms, and becomes wretched
bore. The Wyndham troupe, having these
necessary qualities, and knowing how to
Use them, are enabled to give ii presentation
dS nearly faultleSS as we care to see, and
leaving absolutely no room for criticism.
The Victor de Colrcy of Mr.. Wyndham
displayed the same graceful nOnchalence,
the same ease, naturalness and elegant
finish which won him so bright a reputation
Ill the same part last year; Mr.. Fitzpatrick's
Colonel de francepee was fully up to the
mark of its former excellence, and Mr..
Ryan's MuStache has lost none of the merits
which were so pleasantly prominent before.
Mad0Dle d'AptOntbe found her best repre-
sentative i'll Miss johnson, who is as good
an actress in that line as the country can
show; and the lesser lights contributed
lISLl oLidlC " MISS MAR
garet Young appeared for the first time
here as ESteite DurGnay, and though it
would be difficult to tell just where the
deficiency lays, she is hardly the peer of her
predecessor, Miss Moore, in this character;
while i'll others which require higher order
of dramatic talent, she is decidedly supe-
rior to that lady. Her voice is sweet and
always judiciously modulated, but it lacks
rOundness and volume, and there is evil
IDENTITY slight timidity and lack of confid-
ence, which detracts somewhat from the
general effect. These tritling defects can be
overcome, in a measure, and then we shall
have as charming an ESteile as we now have
an Esther. But with all proper Difference
to the rest of the company, commend
US to the dashing little Miss Sydney
COwell Her Madame Pomponne was as
pretty bit of acting in that de-
partment as one can witness in twelve
months journey, and taken in connection
with her Polly EccleS establishes Miss
COwells standing as first-class soubrette
"a very rare article nowadays. She is an
ineXhaustible fountain of fun bubbles over
with mirth and .joility flashes hither and
thither like CLEAN Of sunlight-but never
for a moment, no matter what the provoca-
ton, transgresses the boundaries of deco
rum, or violates any of the properties.
Mrs. Goodall's singing of the Marseillaise
in the last act was a fine exhibition of vocal
talent, and an appropriate finale to the
romantic story embodied in the ''Lancers."