New-York tribune., 1880-03-09
sIUSIC-THE DRAMA.
MIR. wALLAcK IN TIE LIAR.

Animation, spriehtliness, and flowing grace o.
treatment arc absolutely ind spensabie 10 the sue
eeSsinl performance of tho play Of " The Lar lne
piece indeed, Is generally bright ana often VleoT-
onsly satircal in it's language and such acoh rs l'
cont!ius is carried on in mood oi Sustainei meIl-
neni bur If the acting CT it bcnot eleeinca' WIN
enarllaQ viyacity, its own merits VIII Win ioT 10
but slender appreciation. II is not strong either
in stor,, character, OF feeling; ma 10 contains
scarcely a line that any one would care 20 rcuen-
Der Its characters arc--with some allowance Tor
distorlio-the denizens of comedy Its iucldentsare
those of farce. play thus composed can
only conquer admiration when made dazzling
by brilliant execution. To provide the opportunity
for this execution seems. Indeed. 10 have been the
chief and controlling purpose OF the authoT-who
was de great master OF Inrthiul volatility and
cracking, dashing audacity, aud who wrote the
play ior his own use. and WIS himself the original
representative OF Young BUa;Ng. The puIpos" thar
he may thus be supposed t0 have had in ccnteilpia-
ton ne has admirably fulfilled; FOR, tbonah he NM
self made bnt n tame Impression a. ire LiGr' ne
moulded aud framed capital part foJ farcical
comedian. His own performance OF H'iaWg lis
readers of theatrical biography are no ooubi,
aware.-was first seen, at C0vsnt Garden London,h
1902; and such readers may also be supposed
10 know that the play Of " The Lar"
then FIST acted was ap echo Of SIR Richard S'etleo
Living Loyer,n which had been suggested by are
mistaken Beauty" winch in turn was an 1iap'a-
tion of Corneille's " Le Menteur." which. Eua'iY
the great French author had derived from inc span
ish OF Lopez de Vega. Ii may as well also De noied
here,-also by way Of Teminder,-thSt as o.. ginaily
produced by Foote, The Liar" was Iu three actS;
but, in 1890, twO-act version OF it was presented
in Drury Lane and this IN 1867 was brought for
ward, with still further alterations by Charles
Mathews at the London Olympic his ia the
sr 4 and atW al
lacks Theatre. and reviV ed by Mr. Wal
lack on the same stage. 1t is radiant male but
teriy. aud as it comes back 10 with tile blue
birds. it ought to be made welcome with all the
other hsrbingeIS OF sunshine, flowers and content
There is much mental beueft to be- derived from
this piece as now acted. The sceue is laid in Lon
don; the .;me is the latter part of the reign Of
George the Second 1850 the stage pictures, as
arranged hy Mathews, show view OF 81. Jamess
Park and an interior an fine London house; that
there is an opportunity afforded of depicting. or at
least OF suggesting, the customs ard the way of fash
ionable life ia the British capital more than a
tury ago. Only six persons are IntrOduced-thc
servants counting for nothing IN tins case-and
their oooquies and proceedings OF a flmsy
and evancsceDt character; yet. the spectator o.
lows the thin current OF their dialogue
and experience, he may coniure M IN
his fancy very various and pOpulous pc
ture of the past aud he may muse and moralze
TO his hearts content on the close resemblance,
which, in tho s.Ddy of human nature are always
presented between to-day and yesterday. iouHg
Uilding, fresh from the University, CAV. dashng.
wild sp0rtve reckless OF consequences, MIN DE IN
the invention OF mschievOus cXpedientS piou to
adventure. agile and brazen IN falseh00d, yet ami
able in spirit and winning in manner, n he lies
himself into scrapes and then lies hlmself out of
them, till at last he as euueshed IN suc1 tauRle
that he cannot escape detection. and 50 IS exposed
and rebuked, might be as much at homo IN Madison
ave. as in PiccadIy, and would be appropriate to
the Park ot Gramercy rs TO the Park of ST. James
1t Is astonishing how modern the piece Is. in its
accoutroments anl persons, as well in lis spirit
and style 1t would be tedious TO specify here the
lies that Youag UitdiHg tells, or the occurrences by
which they are discOmfted. They are drol lies
because very sudden in their genesis and because
told with so much stalwar BRASS and the exposure
of them is still more dro by reason Of tie cJnlical
perplexity that ensues upon lis accOmpl shment.
Many famous associated with the
character of young Gildiag-Foote, Palmer. FL Is
ton and yandenhof being, perhaps, the most Re-
nowned: but no comedian can ever have acted the
part with more brilliant force and elasticity than
are infused into il by Mr Waliack. Self-conSciOus
ness ia here 10 dcTiment TO the illusion, while the
touch of farce. to which Mr. Wallack 10 prone and
which he uses so deftly is Indispensable attri-
butte His unhagging animal spirits. hIs husting
activity his nmble readiness his grace, and his
mastery of the art of giving all their point 10 satire
tlrusts, ia half-lines and quick and subtle m
Elections, here combine in one of the best
of his works. 1t is perfect it is represen-
tative ii is admirable. Mr Wallack was received
with great satlsfQctlon by crowded house. and he
repaid that jOyous and earnest welcome with aS nne
an effort in farccaI comedy ever yet he has made.
Embelshed In this fashion, even mendaclty becomes
charming, and the observer ncllnes 10 say VITA
Papitton,-tO whom, by the way, are give Tue most
robusty significant words III the piece" this talent
of yoIfs the very soul and spirit OF poetry, aEd
why IL shOuld not be che same III prose / can't ior
my life determine" . m
The cast included Mr. Harry Beckett az PapiUioa,
Mr. Barrymore as Sir james Eii0t'. Miss Ada Dvas
as Miss Grdntham, and Mime. POnIsi Misc GOdJfcy,
part that Mathews turned into that OF an oid
maid In order to heigBten the cOmlcallty OF the
incidents. Mr.. Gilbert acted old hiding, The con-
vcntional. dignided father, and made nn cor
rect, polished. and kindly, aud just sufti-
ciently formidable. Mr. Becketts stimulation OF The
unprineipled but sagacOus PapiiiOn full Of
Qnset humor, and the broken French English was
spoken with comic point. Miss DYaS ALWAYS
ladies of the old comedy, gave a suInpiuous and
sparSiug performance of MISS GrdRthdm. Ine old
cast of tho The Liar" at Waliack's included, be-
side Mr.. Wallack aud Mr.. Gubert, ). Z. Williamson,
Owen MarOwe, Clara Jennings and Miss Mestsyer.
The representation of The Liar" was supple
mented last night by that of the farce of My Mies
Dentist; but this. after the combination OF FOote
and Wallack, was somewhat like thin clalet alter
rich Burgundy. Mr.. Gerald Eyre acted the chef
part. The full cast stands below;
John Beauvlle. Henry Edwards
Richard Hazard { GeIad % Eyre
LADY Letita Beaaviie ia Bonifaco
Rhoda
The motive and treatment IN this farce are far
from being novel. 1t Is enough, however. that !ts
SITUATION Is comic. young fellow, escaping from