The evening world., 1888-05-08
THE LADY OR THE rlcsR7

lam AFRAID, I" said q critical being who stood
IN tho lobby at Wallack's last night and talked to
everybody he could buttonhole about ''The Lady
or the Tigerf" Sydney Rosenfelds new comic
opera, which was In process of development there:
" am AFRAID that ordinary New York audiences
don't understand all this clever satire upon Spartan
cruelty and Athenian refinement"
"sirW / said, with bitter Indignation. "You
are cynical and in error. New YORK audience is
as familiar with Sparta and Athens as with Ho-
boken and jersey City. We are an extremely
cultured set. Even though we do applaud horse
play occasionally we like TO see q piece winch
sends us to our classical dictionar. es when we yet
home"
You see, I was determined to stand up for New
York audiences, even though l felt tina, my cri,i-
cal friend was lot far wrong. have no doubt
that every person at wallack's last night, at one
period of his LIE, knew all that was worth knowing
about Athens aud Sparta, but HAD forgotten nearly
all about 1t. That won't offend anybody!
Taerc Is a great deal in 1.-THE Lady or the
Tiger 2" that is rather too laboriously good to be
genuinely funny. sydney Resented has written a
thoroughly clever ~llhretto, but 1t needs q little bt
OF explanation occasionally. You feel like saying
from TIME 10 time: "JusL tell me the exact point
OF that. like q good fellow. I'm dying to laugh,
but ] can't consistently do 80 until I know what
Pm 10 laugh at
Mr.. Rosenfeld has solved this problem presented
in MIR. s'ockton's book, but don't imagine that ]
am going to tell you how he did 1t. You viii have
TO go 10 Wallackis and mud out. The only trouble
about MIR. Rosenfeld's solution Is that 1t is known
to the audience before Lamsrchus has TO make his
all-important choice. How exciting the arena
scene would have been had the audience been
ignorant OF the contents OF the tigers cage.
"Tne Lady or the Tiger" is delightfully."- diff ers
elt f,Om the run of com q ODerIa. De Wolf
Hopper in a tunic, the Ave Ephorl or Chief Mdgis-
trates In their quaint attire Historically correct, of
%course), Irene in her severely spartan simplicity
ana the Armenian Prices In coffee-colored tight
constituted a complete change Tor the accustomed
comic-opera audience.
Sydney Resented has utterly discarded the use
OF puns, which In comic opera nowadays seem to
he as essential as the music. His lines are never
dull. some of his situations were extremely
amusing and were greatly appreciated by the
audience. The strike of Menander, tue prophet,
ior higher wages, and the en,reaties Of Polyxena
to he the lady in the ge were highly en- erIain-
Ing. You see, +" said Poly xena, with u COY look
aud an elderly smper, "he may not choose the
tiger. He may choose the lady, and marry her"
The music of - The Lady or the 1iger?' by j.
j. Lyons ana Adolph NowaE, is not al ali original,
but some of the numbers were 30 aImlrdbIy sung
that their lack OF originality was forgotten. The
quartet Uy Polyxena, Irene, Pausanias and the
Prophet, and tue trio by hilarla, the Prophet and
Theotychiles, were chalminRly vivac!ous. Then
there was Pausanias's song, of which this was the
first verse:
An. when you've decide on all that's correct,
And when you've done all you've II rignt TO ex-
pect,
And got, as they say, every end to connect,
You're on very GOOD terms with yourself.
When yOu.v brought all the list Of your woes to a
close,
NJ G MN pu, With vim m tho tons NJ vnur fnna
You've acquired that something the worlI calls re-
pose,
And youIe on very good terms with yourself.
Pausanias could have gone on singing additional
nave interfered.
De Wolf Hopper was, OF course, Pausanias, and
never has he done better work. He was undouDt-
eLly the most successful feature Of the evening.
Nine. Mathilde COttrelly, as Polyxena, who devotes
her life TO instructing .Pausanias in refinement, was
very amusing. Nine. Cotirelly Is such a thorough
artist that anything she attempts is pretty sure &c
be good. Her Polyxena, a character not at all
unlike Katisha, seemed to fit her like q glove.
Eugene Oudin was Lamarchus. Mr. Oudln'i
voice has greatly improved. HIS song In the trs
act was excellent. Miss Caterina Marco, as Irene,
was extremely impressive except when she sang.
She INDUCES all the time in a tremolo, which ends
by becoming exasperating. Jefferson de Angelic
chides.
"The Lady, or the Tiger % was very effectively
staged. The arena scene was beautifully costuined.
The costumes were rich aud appropriate.
ALAN DALE.