New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-03-07
MJTSIC AND THE DRAMA.
MR. BoUCICAULT AS O'DOWD.'

recC
beauufu, in it's execution and freighted with poetic
pathos and simple, uuobtrusiye morality. Ii had
xhort rln aud il did not succeed 1t never has sue
ceeded from that dav TO this. Last year the author
nroduccd IT, in an altered FORM at London theatre,
unJcI III tile of 4" Suil amor. OF Life in Galway
and again it experienced the public indifference.
The endeavor had been made to give it political
bearing, nv investing it with some sort of
relevance to the latest edition OF the woes of
Ireland: and the author thereHpOn chose 10 latter
himself nat Its failure was due to political AMI
mostly Just So the billiard-player when he misses
n shot al avs gGzes with indignant reprOach u6on
The end If his cue. The fact is that neither Mr..
BoucicaYlt nor anything written by him could
possibly possess even the slightest political I'M
portance. Daddy O'Dowd failed in LondOn,part-
ly because at that place. Irish topics are bore,
and partly because the merits of the piece some
what transcend the average public appreciation
II is n quiet piece and one that offers such an
ideal Of self-Sacriice as few persons can really
understand.
Poor cd Michael O'Do,cf taking on him
self ID, blame Of Lis sons fault and
bearing for years load Of degradation
md unmcTitcd reproach-and doing this too, not
bnlv III silence but with chez rfulnesS-is grand
ns Colonel Newcome and as delicate as Tom
Piach: and characters o. this fine strain seem al
NATIVE audience that appreciates ideal perfection,
Is limited IN numbers. aud even those who can feel
the loneliness of the aoian harp not always in
The mood to enjoy it, The plain fact that Mr. Bou-
rcault f Il il necessary to this exquisite play
by hitcling it on to the contemporary irish
grievance indicates that he himself found 1t lacking
I'm p1a ii al reality The eXpedient was equally
clumsy and futile. The lack to common appTecia-
fion could not be supplied i'll that way. The
ideal hcIoism of ODoWd is not made one
whit more apprecIable by the of
Boycotting, in ms experience; nor does II nj all
deepen the spectators interest in the story to have
his attention incidentally directed to the relation OF
landlord and tenant in Ireland.
work of art oughtnot TO be neither an elaborated
precept nor rcformatoTy measure The large assem-
blagc that welcomed Mr.. BOucicault last night IN
Booths Theatre, and witnessed his revival OF the
renamed and TemOdccd Daddy ODowd," GER
toinly understood no better either the beauty OF
The character OF the excellence Of the play from haY-
ing heard a number of satni al remarks about
the British Government. III II IS as Patriot rather
than Pat that Mr. Boucicault wishes 20 be heard
he should take to the stump and talk poll
Tics. Meantime it is the dIamatlst and
motor VINO. to our mind, seems better worthy
of attention. Irish mttans will perhaps By
and by cease 10 he idle, uRg.ateful, treachtrouS,
and murlerou9 leave of drinking whiskey ard
shoo,in. landlords, stop whining and begging, ana
60 70 work; and so eventually the liiaeE!an grey
ance will he of an entirely new kind. But Mr..
BoLcicau1t if he is TO live in any realm of art,
must bc separated from all these fractions tuniults
md tra STORY feyers Of the popular spleen.
This character of O'Do,r1 marks the predominant
tepdencg Of Mr. Boucicault's mind, in the latest pc
Rod Of its development. About twenty years ago,
he was dcv ted to 1.-THE sensation drama which he
himself invented and named. From that partly
uuder The stress Of his own eXpen.nce
and partly under the influence of the genius
of JeAsr.on-which has affected him more than
any other one force-he drfted toward romantic
drama with a solid basis Of fact, in which ihe-e
should be a central character combining humor and
pathos and moving with n sort OF toTlorn gayey
through q realm of gypsy freedom. This tendency
eliminated in The Shaughrlun,' and NJ. Bouci-
cault. IA Conn, has entirely fulfilled the destiny
that was e,.wrapt in his character. Daddy ODOc3
wa. q .ten in that dircction-the author taking at
least hint from "The Porters Knot, which play
in turn arose remotely out of The book Of an old
Italian opera The spirit Of O'Dori is young, brill
liant end humorous tull Of buoyancy and steadiast
nauliness and touched with breezy, joyous, gypsy
FRESHNESS although poured into an old mans franz"
The wisiul pathetic effect was first TO be reached
The sad beauty of the aged Rip Van Wiuklc that
Jefferson had disclosed to the dIamatist was re-
time when the rosy vagabOndagc of the younger
mood Of Rjp would prevail over him with still
greater potency.
Mr.. BoUcicault's powers in acting have grown
SLOWLY i'm comparison with his powers rs an author
mud M. not commensurate with them. Nevcrthc-
less he is a. to the spirit of what Inc does, great
charact Factor. But he has harsh voice, and he
sometime lacks the art to conceal art-although on
occasions he can preserve an Illusion surprisingly
we'll The most thrilling moments IN his perform
ance of Michael ODoud are those of tie boys
rescue and the fa'h hers subsequent collapse, and
vncu The poor old man bcfrlcnds his fallen enemy.
But there Is finer tOuch,-cydneSce and gone al
most az soon rs secn,-whcn the worn and weary old
i.tbcr shorn If his last hope rallies his broken
spiri ana quietly takes up AGAIN the harden OF
IabOuou- hfc-whlcli 10 the very last, IT i the
duty OF a true man firmly and OVERWHELMINGLY TO
bear.
Some of the best writing that Mr.. Doucicault has
given t. the stage is found in this pIecchlgh sentl
ment humorous TetOrt, keen aud wholesome satire
dele tcly Nclled under absolute simplicity. lie
knows that innocence can sometimes strike start
linz blow in its mat er-Oi-iac acceptance of truth
And III this piece, also, he shows thar large spirit
chara .jersJic of the true dramatic author, which
can be entirely fair to different types of
Charac'cr-eyen to the loathsomc and abhoITent,
He has made sight changes in the business at
The end of act first and act second, and has almost
entirely rewritten the third act-but the last sill
remains weaker than its brethren lie BOycottlng
is introduced here, and then comes small series OF
unexpected meetings which at length grow tire
some III tAttHH VI nli>> IL - l'l
in this way that Fate dsPenscs ITS blessing, or its
pcnalucs. Aud, indeed, the entire current
Of human events in thI' drama is more
ic subs rvlence. Mr. BoucIcault has seldom
acted with such sustained power aud deep fcelingas
Ie displayed last night. lie was recalled twice
when the first curtain fell, and again after the
second act, and fourth time, with en- huslastIc
paudits at the end o. the, play. ne support was
good III BERTHE, Leake. ChdiArr, Wilcox, MuldOOn,
Barney, Lads Lawless and Kitty The cast IS here
given:
Michael VDowd Dion BOucc3ult
Bytlt IalJJl Henry Leo
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