The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-03-18
ADJUSTMENTS.
A Isl, or Gossip Abou, the L.tc., Exhibition.

The humor o; the Black Crook" writes tho
philosopher In The GALAXY. was 60 simple. so
like the wcll-rcmcmbcrcd ringmastcr and
clown Of our childhood that we all aughed at 1t.
wise MS we'll ns foolish"
Until had seen this exposition was unable
to determine the place OF the beautiful exhibit
ton made at Booths Theatre under the name
OLA Trip TO the Moon"
The Gaarv throws n food Of light upon IL I
perceive that it ia tragedy. primitive seductive.
and vigorous tragedy.
II were able I would send 0a,dries TO
Booths Theatre and have them distributed In
the audience nightly. 80 that other sufferers
might learn as have learned. and arrive at
some opinion as 10 what the play Is.
! do not know who made tho tragedy. but
there Is an evident disposition In tho house to
thrust the honor and the responsibility upon
Kiralfy.
He must be- the arch Fixer himself II this be
his work. II is better than The Fifth Avenue"
1t transcends Blue Glass" even. 1t is. in
word. the work OF genius. who exceeds not
only all the ordinary rules OF composition. but
the ordinary powers of comprehension as well.
There ia this merit always about tho work OF
genius-it is bcttcr or worse than the general
run.
In producing tho worst play OF the century
Kirnlfy has distinguished himself beyond all
the people who havo Of late been struggling.
Diabolical badncss is something that has q
fresh flavor for us. We are tirod OF mild inlqul-
tics. The proper stupidity Of all that has been
going on Of late leaves no taste in our mouths.
The dead level Of gentle inadcQuacy. the smooth
inanimatc folly Of Mr.. DAILY and Mr. Rowe ex-
hausted VA like II swell evening party.
one always felt at the Flitn Avenue Theatre,
before the second act was over. that to 20 out
lao
limb would be- a recognition OF human nature
and return to human conditions
believe the business manager OF that house.
who il deep. designing student OF human
nature. understands this. for he always keeps
out " the lobby after the second act.
kiraliy bounces into the uneventful epoch
with An entertainment that can no more be
formulated or classified than can the spontaneity
and Joyousness of a bull-terrier.
He is not hampercd by any considerations Of
technique or precedent No puttcrer. with
forms and dialectics But sturdy contractor.
who agrees to dump so many cart loads of rub
bish into an empty house-and does ii like man.
OF course there come Immediately to whisk
and whirr over the dust heaps the blue bottled
insects OF the ballet
And that makes the atmosphere tremulous
with beauty.
SO far In the history OF now experiments
jules Vernes's romanccs OF the Positive have
not filed the stage we'll His Around the
World In Eighty DAYS" possessed little more
than the showness OF procession. save
when it was digniilnd by the Conway who passed
through all the nations of the earth in the same
costume. and touched every degree OF latitude
with the same easy indif'rehr "A Trip TO
the Moon" is no better. The fatal objection to
IT Is that II does not mean anything. And sup
| pose by this time even the kiralfy ought To
| know that even a ballet must mean some-
| thing besides color and motion. or 1t will be
| worthless. II this were not so. why does the
| ballet master invariably weave his coryphccs as
well as his premieres upon "A fable and endeav-
| or 10 make them point moral and adorn u tale
| with their decorative members.
| In those former furies. Tho Black Crook"
| and ever" Humpty Dumpty." the artincer never
| forgot this. Even negro minstrclsy was sue
cessful only so long US 1t kept u clutch upon the
plantation.
Hal Mr.. George Fox been shot into the moon
you may be sure he would have extracted some
kind Of pleas ,ntry from the journey. and We
should have laughed at his blank face and gro
tesque establishment illuminating an impos-
| sblity.
That was the charm OF those older spectaclcs
they laughed in the face Of the improbable.
| jules Verne. on the contrary. carries n mock
serious countenancc. rs if his alsurlitics, hav-
| ing deled science with its own nomenclature
should also defy stage art with lis contempt
| When the young lady in \ Trip 10 the Moon"
| II fred of the stupendous nature OF the under
taking is lost sight Of in the stupendous nature
which she brings to the feat. jules Vcrne's
mechanism is rs nothing 10y the side Of the
act NJ mechanism. His tremendous machine
is dwarfed out OF all comparison by the Kiralfy
|
any missile that can be conceived. with the easy
and frivolous uncon eern OF Chatham street auc-
| tiOncers.
The young lady who PLAYS the Prince goes to
| the lunar regions very much as she would sell
| paper OF hair pins or deal out strawberry cream
| 10 cheap customers. There is u young lady 8
constant assumption that hair pins and straw
berry cream and lunar investigations are idle
| suhterfuges. and that the real pivot Of the cos
| mos is the young lady.
Indeed. you begin TO feel before the second
act is over that not only our world. but all 9TH
ers. rest. ms they did in the heather system,
upon tortoises back.
You perceive that the Kralfy, In his endcavor
to bring the public nearer to Nature. has adopt
ed the straightforward course OF taking all her
| clothes off,
To me his two pretty girls. who prance on fra
gle legs through the wreck OF matter and crush
of worlds. are like a couple OF children playing
in popuous but ill-kept graveyard.
II IL true the sunshine will fall on them even
then. but one cannot help wishing that they
would come out from the tombs. for. with the
natural suspicion OF our Sex. we suspect that
they have selected this place, with the natural
adroitness Of theirs only 10 hcightcn their own
brightness.
You have seen something like the Kralfy pro-