The record-union., 1891-09-05
music AND TIE DRAMA.
AmuSements in the Great Ameri-
can Metropolis.
Successes and Failures of the New
Plays-The People Evidently Like
the Operas-Fair Week Attractions
in This City-General Stage Notes.

the great metropolis: "'Dorothy's Di-
lemma' opened the season at Manager
Dunlevy's New Park Theater on Thurs
day last, and in spite of many evidences
OF friendliness for Miss Rose Coghlan and
an excellent company, failed to make
hit. The comedy has been rather freely
adapted by Leopold Jordan from the
same play by Gustave Won Moser which
gave to Helen Barry "A Nights Frolic,'
but Mr.. Jordan's work is not as skilIfuI.
The humor is at no time rollicking nor
is this version from the excellent Ger
man play ingeniously contrlved The
tale is trivial, there is no real wit in the
text, and even such good artists as Rose
Coghlan. John t. Sullivan, Thomas
Whiffen, William Redmund and Helen
Russell will be unable 10 whip it into
shape.
ION Saturday the Grand Opera-house
and the Third Avenue Theater throw
open their doors, the first to Captain
Kari the latter to 'Cruiskeen Lawn
kari has been put together by Sidney
| IL. Ellis for the starring purposes of
Charles a. Gardner, a German dialect
comedian, lately come into New York
view. Karl is a humble vintage worker
III SaNony and that's about all that is new
III the play, the story being old. The
Crulskeen Lawn is a new Irish play by
Dan Mccarthy, but the story is the old
.threadbare one of schenling villains and
honest heroism as it appears on the
Emerald lSIe with the usual mysterious
documents, which in this play are hidden
in a whisky flask, called 'Cruiskeen
Lawn Paddy Murphy was the hero of
the piece which will 'gO'-as most Irish
plays will-at second class play-houses.
The present week has been busy
one, four new plays having been brought
forward, and New York must be fond Of
music, for three of these productions
| We're operas. This is rather a good rec
ord at this time of the year, even for the
great metropolis, and the keen demand
shown by theatergOers, crowding every
house in spite of a tropical heat and per-
feet deluge of rain, is pretty clear evi-
dence that all the people DO not leave
town during the summer as supposed.
Ia addition to all these new things offered
Charles trohman opened his Twenty
third-street Theater with Mr. Wilkin-
sons Widows and Hammerstein his Co.
Iumbus with George Washington's u
and l. The novelties on Monday were
'Fleurette' at the Standard, and The
Black Masque' at the Union Square; on
Tuesday, indigo took the place of The
| Grand Duchess at the Casino, and on
Thursday The Khediye' opened NibIo's
The Black Masque' is awkwardly
u0iCIellb III ILl0 OlllIleS, IN
effective IN climax and utterly cOnVen-
tiOnal in both theme and dialogue. A
quick but kindly survey reveals abso-
lutely no merit that would Justify the
elaborate production'given it. Frederick
h. Giles is the unlucxy dramatist, and
Edward j. Henley, the only one in the
cast who at any time commanded serious
attention. For fear of disastrous results,
l wish to add very humbly that William
MuldOOn and Jake Kilrain wrestled
beautifully and i'll their black jersey suits
and muscular development exposed.
made the others on the stage look sick.
'Fleurette' is an Operetta-cOmedy,'
words by Mrs. c. A. Doremus and Edgar
Smith who does the literary patchwork
for the Casinol, and music by Mrs. Emma
Il. Steiner, who personally conducted the
orchestra. Mrs. Steiner is a remarkable
woman, and no doubt deserves great cred
it for what she has done, but she has at
tempted too much, and she has not had
efficient aid from her librettists A Gou-
nod or an Offenbach, a Wagner or a Le-
cocq, or any similarly great composer,
would be at a loss to pull such book as
that of 'Fleurette' out of its slough of
triviality, and Mrs. Steiner, alas! is
neither GOunod nor a Lecocq.
The Fire PATROL is a sensational
drama in five acts, by James w. Harkins,
who locates the first two in Deadwood,
Col, and the next two in New York. The
plot twists around two men, bosom
friends, in love with the same woman,
and one of them hunts the other pretty
vigorously. The play is well put to-
gether, and its many good points are used
to great advantage. 1t will no doubt be
very successful on the road.
indigo at the Casino is not success,
but Pauline LAllenand, the new So
prano, will in a short time be as great q
favorite as Lillian Russell. The opera is
| orc fin in of itc,, ioo1
numbers, III which waltz movements of
course abound. The English book by
Edgar Smith and Max Freeman, how
ever, does not rise above the level of con-
temporaneous comic opera text. In spite
of very warm weather business in all the
theaterS has been good, with the single
exception of the Garden Theater."
FIRST FAIR WEEK ATTRACTIONS.
The Australian Novelty Company.
which opens five nights engagement at
the Clunie Opera House, commencing
next Wednesday, September 9Th, COM
prises some OF the most novel and inter
esting features ever introduced on the
vaudeville stage. The company has been
but short time in this country, but has
created profound sensation wherever it
has appeared. 1t numbers some twenty
five artists, and the programme is such
as to show the versatility of the individual
members to the greatest extent. Among
the more prominent features may be
mentioned Kublai Khan in his wonder
ful exhibition of "Black Art,' Moulton
and Dashway, Basco and Roberts, Gould
and Burt, the original Girards and others.
STAGE NOTES.
Ethel Chase Sprague has left the Rich
ard Mansfield Company.
Young J. X Emmets tour has so far
proved highly successful.
''SinbadD will close its DrOSDnrOus rIIn
at the Chicago Opera-houseo on the 18th of
September.
Despite all reports as to her retirement
Janauschek is busy making preparations
for the coming season.
Miss Addie Cumming has Joined the
Sadie Scanlon "Eily Company" playing
the part of Adele Palgrave.
Mrs. Agnes Booth returns to A. NJ.
Palmer's management, and is to appear
at Palmer's Theater in Alabama"
George Washington Lederer's new
comedy "Incog," with Charles Dickson
as the star, has made hit in ST. Louis.
The old Howard Athenaum on How
ard street, in Boston, is to be torn down
and new street run through tho famil-
lar spot.
Nellie McHenry began her season at the
Globe Theater, on Monday, in "a Night
at the Circus" and Boston gave her
very hearty welcome.
Dan Mccarthy will have three compa-
nies on the road this season-"The Cruis-
keen Lawn" "True Irish Hearts," and
''The Dear Irish Boy"
Alma Strong has been engaged for the
| "Work and Wages Company, which be-
| gins their tour at the New York Windsor
Theater, September 9TH.
Major Henry c.. Dane, the well-known
lecturer, has been in Australia for some