, 1874-09-06
REVIEW CT ADJUSTMENTS,

WIN the end Of summer came our fall season
oi amus2menta. Tuesday night four legitimate
tneatres were open, and q renovated miastre
hn'l All the places Of entertainment hayo beer
fairly attended, and the managers have gono t.
work in earaes. in 4 fair fight for tho public
favor. It is little early yer to forecast the sea
soa from one week and re shall content cur.
selvcs With examining, go fur as Is practicable
the material we have on hand for the winters
amusement, Gnd the dispcEition made Of it. 4
glance round is cheering. Wo ha7o two first
class star theatres, which divide att tho available
stars visiting the country or resident here twc
! stock thcGtres, one Of which. at least
caa claim to rank among tile frs. IN the
country; aad q popular burnt-cork COM
blnntson to re}iovb the severe meutal
strain of the other houses. Tho relaxation OF
negro-nlinstrclsy appears to be necessity in
the Amusement world. There is 10 reason 1rl,y
t the general public should feel their iatel!ects
Etrsinea over tho ordinary dramas presented on
/ tue legitimate stage. 1t is sufficient that they
! do. The minstfels thrive upon tho weakness OF
| the public brain End its uncultiyated tnste or
else tho dramatic representations given in Chi
cago ero miserably below their proper standard.
| 1nasmuch as tho latter Is by no means tho case,
aud iEasmuch as three Of tue theatres in this city
are on 3 par with eoy three III the country, md
vastly superior to most Of them tie public can
not claim lack Of excellence in them 60 reason
for prodisaI partiallty for tl,o stale jokes and
tlrosomo iaanitlos of the uinstrel-ssnSa
TIE OPENING OF uooLEy's THEATRE
upon the new principle Of tirst-cIass manage
meut Is vol as tirst-class people was au event
to which the public locked forward with unusual
interest. Th1s WIS proved both by the character
Of the audience on the opening night and tho
vcll-1llcd appearance Of the house. Mr.. Uooley
1,,J lad. Ill
tha community to support him, aud tho response
was uEmistakably sincere. There were other
demands npoa the public that night, but tho
c1nss Of people observed at Hocley'6 opening
was not likely to be ailure1 by mediocre attrac-
tions.
In critically examining
lied ASTHAY,"
the drama presented during tho week By tho
comedy company, ono is led to no conclusion rs
to the especial feature which insured its unusual
success III both Boston md New York.
NLilo it is admirably constructed, and is OF tho
intense emotional school, there Is nothing par
hcularly novel in it, do any OF it's situations
reveal the secret Of the strong grasp it had upon
the public favor. Tho subtleties in which it
ahounds, and Which so completely stamp It
French, are not observable By the great lnass Of
theatre-goors. Il is not more dramatic in it's
clirraxcs, more human in it's interests, OF closer
III its synpat!iics, than drama presented at Nc
1ichez's last season, and promptly repudiatcd by
the intelligent public. We are driven to believe
iss unprecedented SUCCESS absolutely fo1tuitous.
Perhaps it is not 80 purely artistic rs Tidcc's
Ct tIn,1no!n:!on." There is moro padding, and tha
emotional strain Is intermittent. Douc:cauit il
not altogether d conscientious artist. He is
successful because he yields He stoops to
conquer. Nobody better than lie understandable
public taste; his condcfccn6ion marks his con-
tempt 1or it, His additions to drama a1o in
ya!iably clap-trap. He hnrls in an Iriahman Of
the most stereotyped mold, and interlines washy
sentiment with amazing p1odlGaiity- Feu1llet.
Scribe, and Sardou write for F1enchmea who
would repndiate clap-tfap. Boucicault realizes
lowers the tone to its appreciation. Boucicault
succeeds, too, and yindicates his low opinion OF
the people for whom be is catering. Mover mind
the wretched incong1uities that ensue from
nin5ling burlesQue and clap-trcp with sentiment
tho audience ns whole overlooks it. Tint is
tho charm of his adapting. lie has right to
claim 81 Led Astray'' as original. No other iv-
ing dramatist could throw in Unpopular rubbish
TINT he does.
What remains after he has watered a French
drama is still rich-:ln'ost ,ich enough for U.s.
Freochmen laugh ut our dramas. We lack unity.
Compare tie delicate detail Of every French
drama With tho coalscr filing Of m American
piece. Our n.tional appetite is satisfied with
less artistic cookery. Iako an instance Of this
iino iutncacy. N1silo I,u1ande is reading poetry
addressed to her By an unknown lover the horn
in the distance, the dialogue OF tho younger
lovers, everything, tends to bring ont tho picture
Of the husband ia the selfish enjoyment Of his !
own pleasure and the neglect OF his wife. Every
word is an acceesoEy; every action il 4 finger
post This Ii true dramatic art. Observe more !
over, tho justice and fidelity to nature in tho |
stormy scene between husband aud WIFE She, |
With her smania for sympathy" actually withers
ct tho discovery of her husbands intldelity, |
while her lover is waiting outside overhearing /
the whole dialogue. The husband has her meas |
rrc. ''You lost the right to upbraia me" he
cries, 'vhen, with your mania for sympathy, |
you carried your wees into your neigAbors |
13rse." The sight Of her posing before the J
world rs victim has not beon lost On him, and |
she discovers that his supposed blindness is vol
Hntary. There is world Of philosophy in his |
taCnt that ~ the sympathies and confidence Of |
her femalo frionds soon proved too weak slim
ulant. and she was urged 70 pour ou. her soul to
addod an interest to this drama beyond any it
could have possessed when it was the tago in
New York. Then the circumstances were |
alien and distorted. To-day they are seen
the fact? It was an American home On the stage |
rs truly as though Feniet had written the
drama on Livingston street or Michigan avenue. /
But it is highly immoral, aud. if our socal tone
were not already low, would bo debasios. It
shows us whore we stand and its immortality ia
our own.
It is still question whether the public ez-
posuro Of social rottcnnees is improving It he's
not yet boen decided that contact with vice pro-
tects virtue by inoculation. It has not yet been
demonstrated that tho warnings Of the stage sink
into tho life and walk OF the individual It is
therefore unsettled whether such dramas exert
an influence for good or bad.
Lied Astray" holds up two sets OF characters
actusted by amatory passion. the pure and tho i'm
pure-nEd D yillaiuous set OF Doucicau1t's crea-.
lion, which eavor Of the penal settlement. The
course OF pure love iB comparatively smooth,
nnd ends in happiness Misery is tile LOT Of the
other. Happiness By al is attained only by the
purgation Of misfortune, and tie young lovers
rcunite tie guilty renew ouce moro their
marriage vowB, u as tho cant phrase. Of the day
has it.
There can be no discussion IS to the most in
tc1cstng point Of the performance
THE ACTING.
We can pronounce without ethical hind1anco
1poa its quality, individually and collectively.
As whole it is what VIC wants good. It
means something more than positive goodness
before May; it means excellence.
We shall speak but briefly Of two artists in the
;ast Of Lied Astray Mrs. Williams and Harry
Murdoch, although they are both strangers to
1s There is SO little to criticiso about them
hat it would DO supcrtluous. The secret is
his: They nro noted artists repeating triumph, |
nd almost oblitc1ating other leEs fortunate
,layers on the boards. Both have captivated all
sho have seen them Alr. Williams promises