, 1876-02-13
The Minstrel Doys' Programne'"hoyem
Of Home and Foreign actors.
The Won BuIow Imbrog1io--.Ger.
man Musicians on the
Rampage.
Views Of an Old Music Teacher, and Ger
tain Comments Thereon.
Musical College Concert-..German Hill
tary Band...Stanle5's Goodbye.
TIE DRAMA.
IN CHICAGO.

IN CHICAGO.
1.-THE MIGHTY DOLLAR
his been the attraction at McVicker's Theatl
through the week. It hiss drawn very lare
audiences. Friday night people mere tu1ne
ax.y. The whole city seems to hays heard {
tho play The slang OF the Hon. Bardnel Slo
has penetrated every household. The inliis
.seac,r which admits Of endless variations, al
which the lowest order Of wit can use success
fully. has been adopted BY the young men abou
tovn a. the qrintessenco Of refined humor; an
the French Of Mrs. Gen. Gs!tlory has been up
propYiated By the young women OF fashiouabl
socie.y as Hghtful inheritance. Paterfamilia
now asks for h,s c. N. when he wants son
m.eh Bobby tho sou and heir, comes in Il
dinner with the bland announcement that he i
P.L c.; and Matilda, the daughter, speaks he
ordinx1y French, in exact imitation OF the Gil
forv. The people have wonderful powers OF as
kin7ilsting slang; and Al sdectation Of ignoranc.
and coArseness is. TO some persons, the 1ueres
child's p)sy. But when coarse people try to b
coazser and Ignorant people conceal the LITTLE
sense they have, and dull peopls DIS
eujse their lack Of wit in the vest
raents of nsngled English, the results are mol
agreeable to high-minded and patriotic citizens
"The Mighty Dollar is exceedingly funny. Il
is remarkable for good actiog. It contains a
eeyese and useful satire on American politics and
the idea Of Government by popular suffrage.
There arc dozen standponta from which it
1nay be witnessed decentIy and with pleasure.
But oue Of these standpointsi is not that which al
lows tbs spectator to admire the central figure
II the play. There ia nothing admirable in the
Hon Bardsosn Slote. He 10 Sne Of the most re-
pulsiye characters aver put on the stage; an M
pr5pcipled, Ignorant, ,ll-bred political adven-
ture1; keeping his Vose alrags on the market; i;
saking and taxing money for his influence in 3
love affair; and committing bribery az part Of
bis regular business. He Is the sort OF man one
would not like to trust alone with the
spoons. The people ought not to admire
; character Of this description; and the fact
that they DO ia melancbo1v- It shows how
strong hold the Bord.cen Slotes have got upon
the 1sss Intelligent portion OF the American peo-
pie The period has not set entirely passed in
which nero shrewdness is held by large num-
ber Of respectable citizens to ba sufficient
qualification for public Office. and cleFer rascal
is preferred to stupid man OF honor.
THE FLoREScEs
do come excellent acting in 1.-The Mighty Dol
1af." There is very little in their makeup OF
general style Of acting to remind the spectators
Of anything in the parts assumed by them in
former seasons. Mr. Florence completely loses
his identity, and is for the time being the Hon.
Bdrduel Sote himself. His manner is thorough
~ artistic, and as refined as the nature Of the
performance will allow him to be. His imitation
OF speech in Congress is perhaps more after
the sty1e Of stump speech than in the VEN of
the best Coneressional efforts: but such
speeches have been heard in Congress.
His delivery OF forensic appeal for the freedom
Of the African race while sitting on the back Of
one negro and having his boots blacked by two
otbors. is as fne piece OF satire as the play
coutalna. Mta. Foteace, too. deserves credit
for her personation Of Mrs. Cen Giffory. It
shows decided advance in her professional at
tainnents- The author OF the play has CONTRAST
ed the characters Of Ars. G1lRary and Bard,Deu
SlotG endovine the former with the moral quail.
ties which the latter wants. and making her de-
heieat in the shrewdnees which is SzoGes oulv
virtue The good nature Of Hrs. GilTosy leads
her to offer her services to get her friends out OF
trouble snd her stupidity never fails to plunge
them deeper in.
THE SUPPORTING PAnra
After the hon. Rardtoeu S'ote and Nr., Gen.
Gltory, the most important parts in the play
are those assumed by afr. Seymour and Miss
Moore. The former is baghful lover and the
latter bold loved-one> M1ss Moore p1ays her
part with much intelligence and animation. Mr..
Seymour is not 80 successful He does not
dress like "an awfully rich young
man" nor act like "an awfully nice"
one, Hemakes the baahful lover q foolish booby,
much more In the style OF Dolly Speaker than ~
be should be in the pattern Of young MdrLo1oe.
There is no other acting in tho play deserving OF
particular mention.
TIE ATTENDANCE
is one Of the phenomena Of the season. It in
:reased gradually from the beginning of the
week until the end. StandiDg-room is now in
request nightly, and before the end Of next
week, no doubt. even this will hare to be re-
fused. We have heard Of ono infatuated person
~ho has been every night thus far, and many
bave confessed to three nights. The success is
strong te=tinon! to the popularity Of Mr: and
al1a Florence and the agreeableuess Of their |
personasaons: It it we're not for the fact that |
one OF the other Of them is On the stage almost |
he entire time. the audience would soon weary.
~; n1ch ase1cks1s 81 company has pe,hsps not
nothing with an enthusiasm-an abandon, so to
,peak-of which it uerer before seemed cspable.
The PLAY is, however, beautifully put on the
:tage. Some OF the Eceperv is ueW, aud all of it
appropriate and fresh. The muaie is intended
% be something OF a feature, but it NAV be re-
marked tha: the D. G. gs1op played between the
1ret snd second acts, is not 30 d. q, as it might
%, upless these initials may be Interpreted to
mean id queer.
"DEyor1oS'
Il nav plsy with the above ritle will be acted
or the first time At Col. Woods Museum to-
RolTo" n1SOl- I'll. Louis L. James has been |
peciaIly engaged to act the principal part,
Iessrz- Mchanus and Wilson and Miss Roberts
te aleo in the cast- The play is founded On
3ibbon's story s. For the Ring" The authors,
Ieesrs Thornton and Hill, have beeu assured Nv |
a1ious perBoDs pretending to be skilled ia such |
natte1 that the play has genuine merits. The
ubssance OF the plot az newly arranged is about
8 follows:
Hugh D< Lacy, an old Tory, has married his d.pgb-
L to L<seer F9akt1, has Joined the Continental
rmy. Laev &nternepts dispatches addressed to his
on-lnaw and betrays their contents. frankiyn is
sted tried for treason, and condemned to death. He
scapes from prison. and enters the army again under
assumed uaIpe hoping in the end to prove his pa
iotlsn, by gallant action In the field His WIFE, who
devoted to her husband, follows him to the camp
Id wsrus him of particular danger which threatens
ii. She is discovered in the csmp, and Accosted
ere hr m old lover who, after the reported death Of
r husband, had renewed his opportunities In Or
to ouet the suspicious Of those shout her the de-
ted wife agrees the statement Of her old lover that
"a il now betrothed to him Her husband is tor |
rcd y jealousy, and il on the point ct clz1aing bis
Re in tho presence Of his commanding officer, when |
e in order to sare him from arrest, disoEns him !
terly She afterwards urges him to visit her at her
na He does 60, but only to heap Eeproaches On | (
head. While this scene between husband and V'to
:as3iug Coz. arr<, the loscr already referred to,
ters He tauots the husband, who is OF courae dis
ised and unknown to him. and forces him to betr1y
identity. Tne arrest Of the husband follows. IN
, list act, A1Fr,ue, the lover, and De Lacy, the
her-ip~ls1, sre shown to be traitors, md unttss