Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1891-01-25
SOCK AND BUSKIN.
TWO NEW EFFORTS ARE TRIED IN NEW
YORK THEATRES.
An Old Fre"ch Farce Meets With Some Success
at the Lyceum-Lydia Thompson Renews
the Friendships Of Her Youth at the
Park-FOOtight Flashes.

!
New YORK. January 1.-THE enter
tainment at the Lyceum Theatre last
evening began with The Open Gate,
half-hour. sentimental play which has
already stood the trial of TWO perform
anceS on recent occasions of charity. IL
is the neat and clean work OF Haddon
| Chambers, as quiet and reasonable as
passage taken out of unremarkable real
| life, but made charmingly interesting
by the acting of Georgia Cayvan, Etiie
Shannon. Nelson Whcatcroft, and Fritz
/ Williams.
The entirely new offering was sin
gular one TO be made at the Lycenm. as
it consisted of an outright farce, with
out minute of SObriety or seriousness.
This play was Nerves" originally acted
in Paris, and then for long period in
London, where an English condition was
given to it by J. ComynS Carr. and il i
his version that is brought 10 New York.
It's fun arises from a young wifc'S en-
deavor TO break the mOnotOny OF her
husbands placid temperament by IN
citing him to jealousy. This
miSchievOuS plotter not only
comes to comical grief herself, but
brings the whole family and some out
SderS into the difficulty. As in nearly
all French vaudevlleS, there i COM
pleXity of mistaken Identities. Mr. Carr
has transferred the scenes TO London,
and sacrificed their Partisan improprle-
ties. He has thus provided three acts
of material that is ludicrous enough, /
but which did not produce great or con- /
tinuous hilarity in its first American /
audience. There was considerable |
laughter. but not enough TO indicate |
that it will be well to let NERVES" keep ,
more praiseworthy matter long off the |
stage OF this highly respected theatre.
Old friends greeted Lydia Thompson |
at the Park Theatre last night. The /
CAV burleSquer Of ls6S and Whereabouts |
might well have renewed her youth UNI
der the warm encouragement OF the |
plauditS that were Showered upon her.
Her audience was large and il was at
all times friendly. Nothing that the
old favorite did or said went unapprec-
lated, and there surely has not been
better proof of this towns loyalty TO It's
early love than that which Miss Thomp-
son won last night. Her reappearance
was made I'm very farcical tumble OF
song, dance, and acrobatlcS, called "Ihe
Dazzler." written by Thomas Addison,
and having no purpose aside from that
of forcing laughter and captivating the
eve. To this end there was quartette
of comedians TO chat and kick each
other at convenient breathing spells; a
bevy Of pretty girls to wear multiple
itv OF gay costumes, in which tights or
short skirts were the features: contu-
sion of comic incidents caused by mas
querade ball. and few mechanical con
trivances arranged to hurt somebody,
and 10 tickle the spectators.
All these exhliarating things are es-
sentia in farce comedy as the world in
sists upon having il nowadays. IL was
vastly different in the old times, as
Lydia Thompson very well knows; out ;
the public changes. Miss Thompson is
irving to keep along in the procession.
In The DaZZler" She is kitty Star ,
light" an eN-actreSS prosecuted by an q
Irish lover. whom she avoids by Seclud- G
ing herself i'm the widS Of Staten Island q
and there assuming a new name. OI y
course. her adorer take his passion, his !
whiskcrs and his dialect To Staten !
Island after her, and there the love
assumes a furiouSly funny aspect before y
the expiration Of the time convention q
ally allotted 10 a theatrical entertain y
ment nccesSitateS quick explanation
and the cNtinguishmcnt OF the gas. Mr..
Addison. it must. be said, seems to UNI
derstand the construction of this sort OF
farce. for The Dazzler," after an in I
troductory half hour which is agoniz-
ipgly dull, becomes Il very laughabie +
show and maintains its livelineSs to the
end. There is no newneSS in It's wit I
but all of tits clean. {
Miss Thompson is fat and fair and so
forth. She said last night. with moth /
erly wink at the front row that all the {
bald heads knew her, and when she
came out i'm Robinson Crusoe'S' white
coverings, with the dimpled knees that
once drove scientist crazy, the bald
heads seemed to agree with her. She
danced now and then. but not with the
lirhtness of that airy "IXion' OF old:
and She sang betimeS, but only with the
echo of the sweetness of the SOS. Still,
there was no curtailment Of her smile
which was as generous and rs genuine
as of wore. and there was dash enough
/ n her acting TO make her an agreeable
figure whenever she held the stage.