New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-03-03
THE DRAMA IN LONDON.
,-,,,r1 s DOING AT THE TuEATERs.

THE DANIChLtto Al luz 81 ''N'
No LONGER FEARED.
=, rur REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRIBUNE'l
pIo<nox. Feb. 1.-The public, or a good portion
:. Iooks with SO much favor on Mr.. lrvings
u - M that the Lyceum Theater is well filled
III, This means no doubt, that the play Is to
c .run" Mir. Irving will act this most dill
',. ,ort six times week for as many weeks az
dc will go "a see it. Protests against TINS pohcy
V,,adc from time to time, hut without avail. l
., not know of anybody whose opinion IL worth
rO,inc who does not think the system bad one Ii
;r;o,s to the actor, and it is slur upon dramatic
Rrt il is supposed to pay, and there ends the
..-,,ocnt Tho most successful play at the best
n.7o,,r IN the world, the Coincide Francalse, which
,oosts Of n company able to double" any piece
,s,.od there. is never given more than four nights
:; v,eek The Lyceum has one good actor and ex-
.ts him 10 he lnsensible TO fatigue, invulnerable
20 disease. and | suppose. immortal; all the whlie
',tng the impossible. say impossible, because
- a performance like that of Richard Ill" is
".on every night it must often be, and is often,
go ,lrourh with in a manner little more than
s,ocbs,ieal. That was the ease with Mr.. lrving's
-, durinn IFS famous career of 200 nights; and
.I+ among others is the reason why the practice is
sodeletcrous to dramatic art.
To.yiolt is an exception, however, for it Is Ash
wednesday. and no theater in London is permitted
he omen; such is the living force of ancient super
s.;,;ors and ecclesiastical Observances. Whether
Mr. Irving VIII employ this compulsory vacation by
giving a reading in London or dramatic perform
o,ce N the provinces, do not know. 1t is only in
London that theatrical performances on Ash
Wednesday are wicked.
oftbe tbeaters in general itmay be said that their
condition is not more deporabc than usual; but it
;sdeplorabe. The good things are not new. and the
NOW things are not good am afraid | omitted to
notlco the pantOmlmos and other Christmas enter
tanmcnts at the proper time, and there is not much
nse in saving now that they were rather more dun
than usual, and perhaps q triile less Indecent Nm
exception should he made, | ann told in favor OF
Little Goody Two Shoes" at the Adelphi, which is
o,ted by children This is a hcarsay exception.
have not that pantOmime, but am willing to be
hove everything good of it, But there is a vast deal
Of nonsense talked about pantOmimes. as about
otbertkngs. Those which are brought out every
year at Coycnt Garden and Drury Lane are pretty
much alike They differ in name and in scenery,
and one set IL undrcssed women is substituted for
another set of uudrcssed women. and one story in
stead of another is muilatcd to supply the absence
ola plot But the spectator gets the same impress
sion in each ease. They are show pieces. They de-
mend for their attractions scenery and legs. You
know the kind of piece; il hes fourishcd ere now IN
New-York. and for aught | know, iourishes STILL
The pautomime proper, which comes IN
al the end, is now chiefly vehicle
for embellishments; but of other novelty
there is none. At the HaymaTlet where a rictety
kind Of responsibility is maintained Mr.. w. :. Gil
lert's "Pygnalion and Gaatea" is playing-a weak
phy by weak company. The irreprcssiblc
"SlaughIaun" serves as afterplcce TO the panto-
mime at ahe Adclphi-thc natural home Of mclo-
drama, especially of the more vulgar kind. 10
mclodralna also is devoted the Princess lheateT.
On boards once trodden by DCsclCe, the shining
LIGHTS at this moment arc Miss Heath and Mrs.
Alfred Mellon in "Jaue Shore" by w. g. Wills,
adramatist who has written one successful play
and host Of failures. He may dispute with Mr..
Gilbert the palm Of having been the most over
praised playwright Of his day. At the Olympic Mr.
Henry Neville, on whom Mr.. Charles Roade once
pronounced public eulogy, treats hls public 10 a
roaring IRISH piece, The Queen of ConnauEht,"
with Miss Ada CaycndiSh, an actress who has not
one idea about acting, heroine. This is tine piece
which has been advertised through London by cir
culars in the form of Irish threatening letters
which the peaceful BrtOn received at breakfast,
adorned with skull and crossbOnes striking terror
70 his tmid soul Then comes the Lyceum, OF
which wrote at length d fortnight ago and more,
less favorahlv than some others have written albeit
/ thought my praise was not stnted. i
have not seen Mr.. Irving's Richard since the first
night. land perceive that the price of stalls has
been raised to ten shillings 80 90 gold, apparently
tie direct result of the panegyrics in
the papers. In this the LyceVm is not
alone; the Gaiety, Court, and Prince Of
Wales have for some seasons eXactcd the same
price, the Haymarket also, and perhaps Others AT
sole Of these. what are called booking-fees have
III. NJ thpafpr
the privilege of securing your seat i'll advance But
inasmuch as nearly all the good stalls are put in the
hands Of the theatrical agents in Bond-St, you pay
your extra shilling to the agent instead of paying it
at the bax-oice and the net result to yOur purse is
much the same. Add shilling more for the further
privilege of having your coat kept, and OF being
shown to your seat and supplied with an evil-smell-
Ing programme, from which che ink comes of and
soils your gloves, and you may reckon up quite IL
shlllings for your evenings entertainment; not
counting cabs nor supper. Tins is nearly twice what
you pay at the FRANCHISE IN Paris. The proportion
between what you get for your money in the one
city and the ether will not attempt to calculate.
lprefer to pass on. There are the "Danichcfis" at
The st. James; a play which was performed some
thing more than 100 nights in Paris at the Odeon
and at this same theater, the st. James IN London
by the Od6On Company last season, with some
changes for the worse Here again tho temptation
to comparison needs to DC steadily resisted. If 4
London Performance Is 30 be judged by the standard
applied III Paris, we come TO an end OF criticism
almost at oncesmd blank despair takes its place. Mr.
LabOucherc. with that perous frankncss Of his, re-
marked not long since that NJ Charles Warner, who
plays Count Vladimir s the worst jeune premier in
London It's strong thing to say for the number OF
very bad ones is large yet perhaps Mr.. LaboncLero
was night. OHly you must hear in mind. thot he
knows the French stage, and NAV inseusibly - W
myself to judge by French caDons. Some other