New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-02-23

9fHunGnpSt
d,smayed. The play was Lord Lytton's =" Money -
a NAV fuli of sentimental. fustian and suited non
sense and impossible characters dong incredio'e
things. l. has. nevertheless, strone points as an
acting play. and Lave seen il acted very cleVerS
and effectively By tins same company at the Prince
ofWales. saw il again last night monday Wheh the
agitation oecasoned by the riot might be supposed 10
have worn off The performance was deploraDle one
and goes far to Justify those who have maintained
that the very qualities which have made the repu
t,on of the Prince of Wales company would DE
fatal IN them in a house of double the size; OF
yyould be lost IN these very immensiiies ferhaps
the size of the stage had as much TO do with the
failure as the size of the house. Not one oil the
actors had found out what to do with his voice.
Distances had not been calculated on the DoaruS
for concerted scenes; the very exits and entrances
seemed 10 occur at hazard. Nobody was at MS ease
ExaggeratIon, discord. buifoonery. vulgar uproar'
re,laced the ouiet and finished method which once
marked the rendering of the same piece by the same
nerforuers Mr. Bancrofts Sir Frederick was CLOWN
ish Mr. CeciPs Grares was farccal. Mrs. Ban
croft's Lady Franklin was a pert souo,e''e,
Mr. Conway had the manner of man who entered
n drawinc-room for the first time, and so on All
average provincial company would nave uOhe II
better But | none the less incline to DeileVe 'n".
time will mend matters. and that the dehcacy anu
careful rninuteuess of finish which once dlSun-
gu,sbcd the more excellent of these comedians WAL
yet return TO them.
A IN the house itself / should say 1t might DC
comfortable when it was dry, and When some AFTER
ations had been made. The orchestra stalls rise
sharply, and the pitch of the seats gives you 'he
feeling that you are IN the saloon OF ship WIN q
list TO starboard. There are but two good boxes
the lower ones next the proscenium. The others are
r.rarap q -
Galleries and behind the balcony seats or are too
near the ceiling. The decoration, and, to some ex'
tent. the disposition of the house. are maniestly
All pested by those of the grand opera III Paris, to
which they are in all respects inferior. gliding
ohounds 70 be sure and there are lunettes aud me-
dallions containing what we expected to accept
"a works of art-wOrks which inspection IN more
favorable may prove to be merltorous
Everywhere the fittings ana ornaments are amOi-
tious occasionally they are successful. The spec
tailor cannot entertain a moments doubt that what
ne sees has cost a great deal of money. For large
mart of the public there is happiness in such
a conviction. And there really Is splendor
enough and elaborate upholstery enough
and ornamentatiOn enough to satisfy the
souls of all the furniture dealers in London.
wish could say that the lavish spending had been
undcr the control of accurate taste, and accurate
knowledge of art Certain II is that the auditorium.
ali blazing in crimson and gold. ontshone the stage
The mounting of the play was inferior TO what we
used TO see AT the Prince of Wales but by no means
inferior in pretentIousncss. Possibly we are gong
foo far i'm the direction of scenic plendor. and the
liking for gorgeous realism now 50 common GER
talnIy needs no engagement. The aim OF the
Bapcrofts. however, is not toward simplicity
They were the first 10 set mp aesthetic drawing
rooms with real blue china and old brasses and
Wardour-st cabinets. They have lately taken an
other step on the same road Tney appeal osten-
tatiously 10 the love of luxury, without too much
caring tnat it be not bour yeois and dcbasing. Now
the merits OF the school, il school IL were, IN their
other house were not of a very noble kind. but they
were genuine a. far as they went and the drama is
certainly not going 70 be elevated by making them
less genuine. Nor will that much-talked-of
elevation be attained by neglect of the NICE
ties which before were carefully cultivated
nor by Withdrawing the attention of an audience
from the words and action of the piece IN order TO
fix IL upon beautiful stuif nor by arrosling 1t half
way by a huge gilt frame TO the stage. trust the
Bancroft~ have no such purpose IL they have their
new venture In the IaymaTket will deseryedly fail
II they mean a. believe they do. to keep up the
old traditions Oftheir management, aud better them
they will deserve Success and people will soon for
cot the mistakes incidental to n hurried opening.
G.. VS..