The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-12-28

ga Parlor Match' flashed at regular intervals
last week at the National Theatre before large
audiences. Evans and Hoey have always been
favorites here with the fun-loving people, and
they manage each year to introduce sufficient
novelty into their performance to give degree
of freshness to the skit which they use as
play. In reality there is nothing to the piece
more than u framework around which to drape
q list of specialtes varying in quality accord
ing to the abilities of the several artists com
prsing the company. Mr.. Evans as L. McCorker
is very funny in way. His makeup and
mannerisms are eXaggeratingly appropriate to
the cheeky book agent he impersonates, and he
still wears that frozen smile which has become
a part of the play. OF Old HoSS Mr.. Hoey has
created distinctive character part and one
that never fails to catch the public. His topical
song, They're After Me-" commanded encore
after encore last week. AS Innocent Kidd Miss
Clara Thropp was very good, the most meri-
torious part of her work being her beautiful
dancing in the second act. There has been
nothing seen here in the way of Spanish
dance to equal it. Miss Florence Myatt as
LuCile did some rather good singing and the
other members of the cast were fairly good.
The Levey sisters, who were so largely adver-
tsed, did nothing to warrant special commen-
dation. 1t is evident that they travel solely on
their shapes.
Mill6cker is either egregiously undertaking
the tastes of the American public of late or he
is woefully waning in genius or judgment, for
whatever there may be of merit in his latest at
tempt at comic opera it is so thoroughly mixed
up with what is uninteresting and tiresome as
to stamp the production as decidedly mediocre.
The public is quick to discriminate between the
really meritorious and the poor, and for this
reason it was that even the excellent company
which Mr.. Aronson sent over to do "Poor
Jonathan at Albaugh's Grand Opera House
last week failed to draw a crowded house on
any evening excepting Christmas. The fault
lies primarily with the story of the opera and
incidentally with the action necessary to carry
it out. Secondarily, the music, with the ex-
ception of two or three numbers, is misit and
might be used with equal appropriateness to
carry out an entirely different idea. 1t is not
intended by this to imply that the airs are not
pretty, for there are some which are very sweet
if not Catchy but as q rule their application
to the lines is such as to compel the auditor to
master the story independently of any
assistance on the part|of the music. Miss
Camille Darville, who sang the role of
Harriet captured the chief favor of the au-
dience. The music Of her part is much more
exacting than is usually discovered in comic
opera, and she sang it with ease and finish
Her voice is one of unusual purity and power,
and she is moreover blessed with a beautiful
face and handsome presence. Miss Louise Els
sing as Hiss Big was very clever in what little
she had to do. Mr. Fred Solomon as Jonathan
Tripp and Mr.. j. II. Ryley as Tobias Quickly
made the best of their respective parts, but Mr.
Henry Hallam as RuJygOld was disappointing.
Mr.. George Olmi is wasted in an unimportant
part. The chorus was characteristic of the Ca
sino company-large and well selected-and
the scenery was quite effective.