, 1872-12-10

huhdrcds Of forms In which this de1ectab1e his
tory Of the po1ygarnous despot has appeared,
for The benes =, nfr5stda hdr cge to
the "Bhrbe Bleue" of Offenbach. Precisely ut
| which point between the two the version tro-
duced at the Academy should be placed, We do
neE hn9H, nor does it matter. There is plenty
| OF burlesque, ts NC have seen it before. and
little OF anything. else. The same tenuous
pnns are stretched to transparency, the ssmo
lmmeasurable measures move along" the same
lsek ct meaning, and the same abse nee Of drap-
| is not much to BIZ said about II. in an9 wav
The costumes; what little tAefs IL Of them are
gorgeous, so far as they go; the difficulty Is
| that they don't go far enough: The scenery Ut
the Academy is necessarily deficient, and the
orchestra not as deficient as delcately Organized
theatre-goers could wish it, except in The eie-
ments Of music. The stage is scarcely adapted
to striking scenic effects, and this disadYan-
tage nothing can atone Tor. Some Of the old
favorites were there,-Beckett, Lydia Thonp-
hsa 2ocas Wh'rs6y Tsh and T hS dubsss dss
take the places Of those who are no longer seen
and heard in the company. Miss Thompson was
as yivacioug and sprightly as ever, aud Vas
recognized as an old friend at once. Her Won
derfal song, "My Heart is True to POLL.
not as q literary effort, Touched the tender
hearts Of the people, and rendered them obliVi-
ous Of the painful defeat Of the orchestra, which
vas nearly distanced several times. The quar-
Misses Thompson. Wetheraby, Dubois, and
Zurbini with excellent occasional effect
for the orchestra was occasionally
called upon to- remain quiescent,
and given time to rendezvous and recover it's en-
ergies for fresh assault upon melody.
Beckett was as usual extremely funny, reYelling
in . breadth Of burlesque to which few can hope
to stain. The inevitable "If ever cease to
love, which he as Blue Bedfd, and Miss Thomp-
son as selina, expressed their alteration for Fd-
local hits, which t6e sadienca scceptsd as pecu Gu
harly refreshing; The M introdaction Of scene
from Brete Hart's sHeathen Chinee'' was nov
city, and pleasing one, for it gave Mr.. Edouin
an opportunity to be immensely funny as the
was 30 successfully simulated Indeed, hlr.
Edouin is to be congratulated On having for his
share the only piece Of acting in the burlesque.
As for the rest, there is no reason to suppose
that ANYTHING but lack Of opportunity prevented
"Blue Beard" to commend, there is nothing to
condemn. It is, happily, free from improprietv.
and as long as the public is willing to pay It's dol
lar to gaze for more than two hours at good
legs, twill excuse bad music, and pardon the
nonsense that babbles in q perpetual stream,
for the sake OF the pretty lips from whence it
flows.
M'1oKER's THEATRE.
Miss Jane Coombs began the second week Of
her engagement at McVicker's last evening to
with Miss Coombs as Lady Gay Speaker. Her
rendition Of the role, aa well as her support by
the company, will receive q more extended re-
yieWal than can be at present allotted to it.
LoTTA IN EUROPE.
Tho papers have been killing poor little Lotta,
the actress for some time, insisting with per-
sistency worthy Of better cause, that she was
pining away and dying, and you'd no more
announce that she is still in the land ot p tie nT
Of S' the ' st. Louis % Opera House, i received f q
letter from her week ago, saying she was un-
married and not dead, and Chicago has later
news-chicago always Was ahead Of st: Louis
in aletter received yesterday by Mr. Mcvicker
from which re are permitted make the follow
ing characteristic extract. The letter is dated
" "Yarwood Hall, Cheshire, England" +" and says:
Here We have been in Europe five months, travel
hardly know where. Mother returned to England in
September, but remained in Paris with some dear
oh, how do study French, and music, banjo, and
drum. It keeps me- as busy as long rehearsal.
ahe wanted No and I wanted her. NY friends |
were very kind, but "what Is home without . |
mother" So started for England, and here We all
place called Yarwood, Cheshire. When arrived the
church eaaat bes we're ringing chine ana thought for
However, but tn hats no matter. I Y9e cunnina tls aI
carriage, and pair Of ponies Mother says ought to
have three for that's the style here but tos enough
when you want to study economy: I drive great
five miles and think nothing Of it, but obi don't it
make NE hungry! At good meal am match for |
the snartest huntannan In the chase. I have |
had many offers to net in the best theares In London
but mother says, 'No you here for rest recrea-
ton, and study, and you shall not act and mother is
right guess mothers always are. Besides what do
want mora than America? There is room enough |
there for all my acting It's SO foggy in England they
might not understand me, and think 1t my fault,
I'll stick TO my dear old friends in America, who
know, will be gad to when come back again.
That's 80. Lotta's head is perfectly level. !
She is not bit dead
JOSEPH 5EEEERs0N.
A paragraph has been going the rounds Of the |
papers for some time, and found it's way into the
the dramatic column Of The TRIBUNE on Sunday, |
to the effect that Joe Jefferson, alias "Trip Van |
Wrinkle" the famous actor, was not only nearly |
blind, but was threatened with insanity. Thea
tre-goers will be glad to learn that Mr. McVicker
received letter from 8lr. Jefferson on Sunday,
stating that his sight WAS almost entirely re- |
stored, and that he would resume the practice Of |
his profession in about four weeks. His Illness, |
which postponed his Eastern engagements, will |
also prevent him from presenting his great in
personation to the Chicago public this season.