The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-03-18
A II u S E NJ E N r s.
SardOu's "Uncie Sam" at the Grand
Opera House.

SardOu's "Uncle Sam" at the Grand
Opera House.
The production OF the Compromised play Of
"Uncle Sam" at the Grand Opera House last
night, was great success, both in its rep
resentation and the number OF persons who
witnessed the performance The fact that
the play had been prohibited in Paris, osten
sibly because 1t was likely to be offensive to the
American people, only served to advertise it and
increase the desire to see 1t. In consequence, the
immense theatre was filed by one Of the largest
audiences ever gathered within It's walls. Unlor.
tuAately II M. Sardou had witnessed the first rep
resentation of the piece he would have concluded
that the audience was full of his worst samples
of Americans. The best seats in the house
were sold apparently. before the doors Of
the theatre were opened, and yet when the
curtain rose the orchestra stalls were almost all
empty. Half OF the first act was lost to those who
came early in consequence Of the confusion created
by the laggards in reaching their seats. Nothing
more ill-bred was enacted on the stage throughout
the entire performance than was the conduct OF
the 600 people who disturbed 1000 other persons
because they were not and the others in their
seats before the curtain rose. But in spite OF
noyances which no foresight on the part of the
management could prevent when the act closed it
plain that the play, in spite Of its bitterness,
paved for something very like enthusiasm when it
closed with the surrender Of Young France to
Young America.
"Uncle Sam" is play in four acts. It is called a
comedy, but is in fact a drama. There Is not real
American lady or gentleman In the piece. The
thread Of the story is exceedingly slight and each
act is in fact only iarce The play opens on the
promenade deck of the Hudson River steamer st.
John, the scene being a very fine specimen of
scenic art. Mr.. Dunocq's skill makes the stage OF
the theatre as realistic as II the action took place
on the boat ITSELF When the curtain rises trad
tional saloon hand Is seen busting chairs and ar.
ranging tables. strolling French fiddler on
his way to New York to give concert
Is soon joined unexpectedly by former
friend, the Marquis de Rochemore. Then
come, Nine. Bellamy and Elliott, an American jour.
nalist. The talk, OF course, is about America and
the "imperia CITY," Nine. Belamy is disguised with
the country and ready to be a mentor to the two
young Frenchmen thus encountered. She has good
reason to be Disguised, for she had bought land in
Kentucky, which was bog, and took in all its
proprieters and had a., lawsuit in two States for
In Massachusetts she gained her suit in Connecti-
cut and lost it in Massachusetts,, and then ap-
Connecticut In the end the Courts OF the one
State awarded her the drawing room and the
o. @ to to a
for the Introduction Of Miss Sarah Tagplebot: the
nsHs Of sam vng tie New YOrs
Hotel Miss Sarah, with some Of her friends, has
been at a camp meeting at West Point The Freach
Brist relates how the Rev. Jedediah Bnxtsn de-
nOunced all alcoholic drinks and recommended In
torative@BSTMisso- which was to be- had had
only at .'Boum's No. 173 East Twenty second
street" Elliott describes old Sam-naming him.
self as Sans ex-sOn-in-law-aS q brOOmseller at
twelve, pork packer at seventeen and manu-
facturer Of blacking at twenty, who made fortune
iisheS by lucky speculation in euano. Then n' the
ladies appear-Grace Flibburty, Elliott's ex-wife;
Betsy, music teacher, and strong-minded, and
Miss Sarah. Robert de ROchemore Is introduced to
Sarah, and when the boat arrives in New York she
takes his arm and forcibly walks him of, with Nine.
Bellamy's "Beware" sounding in his ears.
The second act shows as Sam himself in his pri-
vate parlors His first duty Is to receive Fairfax
and his p Ts9 are
mon Council Then his family come together,
Ulysses MS elder son, who has Just failed for
Ben, his younger grace niSEurty, his daughter,
whom he has not seen LOT year; Colonel Nathaniel
other members Of the Tapplebot family, including
Miss Betsy, their music teacher. Sam asks every
body to dinner: and almost at the same moment
the Marquis comes to take tea at the invitation Of
Miss Sarah. Bret also appears, and Madame
Bellamy stops Sam on his his way to dinner with
bot city. According to Madame Beamy
and wsrdo., the young ladies' q New
By ne na So after annel
the room Is filed with visitors Miss Olympia
Olyphant, Miss Lucreza Brown, MISS Cora Livngs-
ton. Miss Clara Renwick and Miss Lydia Polhemus,
each attended by her beau. Miss Sarah forwards
her courtshp with the Marquis, and the act ends
with her departure, Ostensibly for Long Branch,
her new lover accompanying her.
The third act takes place at Long Branch, and
consists OF business, like the second act the
episodes being the marriage Of Briot and Miss
Betsy by the Rev. Jedediah Buxton. greatly to the
amazement OF the Frenchman that he could be
welded at q soda water fountain and peculiar
quarrel between Miss Sarah and the Marquis, with
q notification to the latter from San and Fairfax
that he will be compelled to pay for the injury done
to that part OF Sarahs anatomy she calls her heart.
In the last act Nine. Bellamy completes her pur-
chase and circumvents Sam mis- son Ulysses cheats
his father out OF the election for Common Council
nan, Fairfax and the Marquis fight with pistols in
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and everybody Is recon-
ciled, according to rule.
M. Sardou's play Is not play on American
society and manners: 1t is not even caricature
bitter and not entirely unjust satire on many
things that are American. This satire is OF course
an exaggeration OF occurrences which have had a
foundation in fact and we are not disposed to
overlook the truth IL contains or to cry out in
anger against the lesson it teaches 'Uncle Samn
Is just such play as an intelligent foreigner
books and newspapers and shoddy tourists would
write. The weakest character In the play is Uncle
Sam Tapplebot himself for the type to which he is
supposed to belong never travels and has
Flibburty,. on the other hand, is strong,
because Dickens furnished the ideal for him and
for Tappleb0t City in Martin Chuzzlewit" In
reading. HepwortS Dixon's spiritual wives"
supplied him with his ideas Of the free love ten
denotes Of American women. He Reneralfzes from
the stories about the Oneida community, the in
hull and newspaper talk about Chicago and In
diana divorces Though he speaks OF the virtues
Of this country, to his inaginat:on tne whole