New-York tribune., 1881-09-11
THE DRAMA.
QUITS.

QUITS.
tits not 20 be doubted t at Mr.. DAILY has made
wise choice of subject for his opening play.
"Ouits r-produced on the first night of the new
season, Wednesdayis, at least. cheerful and the
weather and the circumstances of this time demand,
obove all things else, cheerfulness Equally, it is
not 70 be doubted by the thoughtful observer of the
niece that good idea has not been carried ont in 1T
as we'll as it might have been, with more severe
literary labor. The idea of the play is the
discontinue of q mddle-aged profigate by
brilliant young woman, who bainboozles, outwits
and defeats him with his own weapons of good
natured and easy-going duphci Y. The topic is not
entirely delicate and the treatment of the topic
times verges upon coarseness and sometimes upon
buffoonery In theme and drift the work is kindred
with Forbidden Fruit land that is the clever type
of class of pieces that cannot be called wholesome
The present ebulition of sweet-scented wickedness
however, calls for no" reiteration of often-re-
peated protest against kind of topic that
has long been Objectionable in theatrical
art. There, probably, not two ways
of thinking upon this point. The more immediate
direction of comment will naturally he toward the
spirit and style in which the saacious pranls of an
elderly reprobate herein treated. These are
light, superficial, quizzical, and kindly; there IS
even a moral at the close-as usual in the come
dies of the Restoration ana 1T is Just about as
pungent and sincere a moral the writer's of that
period vouchsafed. The whole work skit of
satire done with a smile of ood-hGmored tolera-
ton. There is neither strength of purpose nor sus
tanned power in the execution of the de-
sign The ENHANCEMENT of Colonel Hickory,
indeed, is ceverly devised and displayed, but
the dramatis displays far less skill in the working
out of his exposure
Two acts of the piece interest and amuse--
and prepare the way for a spirited action but
the other two diffuse, sketchy, rambling and
confused. There is an excess of little incidents and
the story is made intricate with tangled triviali
ties that the observer to for it and gives
his attention solely chiefly to the characters These
are mostly interesting-for, while engaged in pro-
they have natural and queer and often
comic traits, and they presented by able and
often delightful actors. Mr.. lie Moyne portrays
downy well-bred, hypocrtical conventionaty
with amazing subtlety and charming man-of-the-
markable talent for the crisp elegant epigrammatic
expression of half-cynical playfulness, with re-
served force behind it, Mrs. Gilbert gives unique
study of all-suffcient female, whose executive
genius receives comic repression. The rich rosy
animal Iuxuriance of Miss Laura Joyce finds en-
phatic and pleasing expression, as the intriguing
widow, who can securely tamperwith the keen edge
of vice. Miss Ada Rehan fills happy type OF
demure, sparkling girlhood. Mr.. Lewis presents
another remarkable makeup, and chirps through a
number of extravagant farce situations and leaves
everybody pleased. 1t is difficult indeed to see how
anything more could be done than is accomplished
by Mr. Daly's PLAYERS for the frOlicsOme farce with
which he has been pleased to reopen his theatre. Ii
is only farce 1T will neither live very long
create mach effect but it is well done, and it
as food for mirth