New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-08
THEATRICAL CHAT.
GLIMPsEs OF THE NETWORK STAGE.


attendance numerous wives, and In the parquctto
were many more who If not quito so numerously,
were still sufficiently blessed In matrimonial way.
! was playing the MIlllners Bill and had been most
cordially received. IL was not TIL had started 10
sing the song Ills cart was true to Poll that the
awful significance Of its moral flashed upon me.
glanced at my husband who sitting in box and
that he too had suddenly appreciated the danger
OF the situation. His face was alternately very red
and very white. What looked like don't know,
but do know how felt, and that as II wanted
to get on trap and sink through the stage Very
early In tho song, when the hero gets wrecked and Is
married to the dusky Queen, 1t is related
'She made him present of twenty wives,
Their beauty I'll not extol'
This bad enough; but think Of the last verso,
when poor Eli IS being tried and the lines run:
But the sympathetic judge
Wiped his glasses OF smudgo
And declared with the wisdom of old SOL
Though the case looked like polygamy,
1t wasn't even bigamy,
For his heart was true to POLL
"well, substituted Slaves for wives and cut
out the last altogether. The song was ruined
but engagement was saved.'
The vokes Company will not be seen in this city
TIL April, whom they will come TO Days. Their
principal novelty will be The Circus Rider,' adap
taion by Mrs. Charles A. Doremus, which has met
with great success
Dion Boucicault Is of the most industrious Of
dramatic authors He is nearly always at work, and
when he is, his roonf looks II six men had been
writing IN It. He at the Barrett House
ono day last week, clad In long dressing gown in
which he usually writes The floor, the bed, and
large table were covered with loose sheets Of MSS
and as the reporter entered the veteran dramatlst
finished another leaf and tossed 1t blind him. As
the reporter threaded his way across the room he
must have crushed many poetic thought and stepped
numerous wlttlcsms 81 am polishing up my now
Irish drama 'Cusha-M achree,'n said Mr.. Bouccault.
Dot, he NJ ding of
critics may sit all of It, still have great hopes
of my last baby my Benjamin, the child OF my old
age 1t is domestic story Of the Colleen Bawn
type, and though tho prologue is laid In 1888, and
the action then jumps TO 1905. there is no reference
to any Of the political events o~~hat stirring time.
Nor IS there a priest in this play. | know what an
important factor he IS In Irish life, AMI that he IS an
interesting figure the stage, but have used him
much that want. as the boys say, to give HIM
rest play I'm the prologue. an Irish lad OF eighteen,
living up near the Giants Causeway. He Is In love
With maid at inn. and the hostess thereof Is In
love with him. lie has to humor the old lady in order
not TO be shut out from coming TO his sweetheart
In the later acts he Is seen married TO the girl of his
choice. and With whole string of youngsters IL Is
then that try to show what has not hitherto been
well done upon the stage-the domestic life of the
peasant farmer, In which the importance of the cow
the pig and the poultry members OF the family Is
duly brought out There are at least two sensation
scenes One shows the villain cutting away the
ruOts of a tree, TO tho branches Of which wounded
man is cnglng. The villain succeeds and the tree
falls the elf. All the tiIho he axe Is being
welded, little of the victim Is trying to hSht
his fathers murderer Then there is scene of
jal fire, with prisoners locked ia their cells
Eoges, of McNckers Theatre, Chicago, Is painting
of tho scenery aud other parts are being done
by Thompson at the Hollis street ihenro, Boslun
where shall produce the piece ior the INST tinc Oh
E6G' 10 shall Md nave Mt sDSa MsS
Mrs Barker, Julia stewart, aud Jean Gordon wh'
acer part-a girl in the prologue who becomes crazy
old bcggar later. The play is in four 2cls
one scene to act, Mr. Eouclcaultl"
Oh mol l don't believe I'm thai for melodrama
Ny new piece is like my ola ones OF lo same ciass
first act three I'm the second, in the third and
two in the last-ciehtoen In all When carrying on
story with of people, tho rich and the poor
IS compelled to have changes OF scene or ese TO
bring about meetings and conversations In unlikely
Relieve in keeping up the action and illustrating its
progress scenically For instance, man Is arrested
into trap and emcrgos tliumphsny,., Now If IL !
described In France they get over the difficulty by
having a great number Of tableaus and they don't
caro- how often they lower the curtain Now think
really arrived at what is agtsiically the end OF your
ict;yecn two curtains it should be a part of the
story complete in itself yet having consequences
Wg cepe are bad when you have to explain to tho
audience where the characters arc and how they got
there but when everything proceeds naturally, be
lieye audiences like constant succession # pictures.
al have noticed" continued Mr.. Bouclcault, many
cheerful acmcnts to the effect that am written out,
plaved ont and generally almost in my doiagc.
don't feel any difficulty I'm writing and II have not of
late years had any big meodramatlc success. Il is be-
cause have tried to do something Of better class.
suent n great deal of time The int and though
SAYS It as shouldn't II was as good comedy as
ever wrote II played six weeks IN Boston 10
enormous business. Then l brought II to the Star
and averaged 81 900 performance for seventeen
ations Dnt whom brought II back the
season people didn't want H. The small cultivated
class who cared for piece of that kind had bccn
hau ed. N he IN he
! could have put together two three PLAYS OF tho
style Of The Shaughraun or After Dark Then.
too ! wasted time. n turned ont. in writing PLAYS
In which was old man. ] am quite sensible that
] am old. and have been saying 20 the managers
How long do you Xpcct me TO keen playing bows
Let try 10 do something cse.' But they won't
have It, and they the public won't have IT, either
and am forced TO tho conclusion that the managers
have gagged tho public taste CORRECTLY. So have
made another at rmpt. and shall probably tOnilnua
to play the olH boy as long as am the stagc.n