The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-08-27
MISS INNOCENCE ABROAD"

Miss Fanny Rice. a most untiring per
son, who affects big sun bonnets, sings
juvenile songs and INDUCES In a perpet-
ual series OF expansive and far-rcach.ng
dental smiles, opened the season at the
Bijou Theatre. Saturday night, In a new
comedy farce" called Miss Innocence
Abroad" adapted from the French by
r. c. Phillips and Charles Brookheld,
and arranged--or dissrranged-for the
American stage. by Edward Paulton.
The broth, II will thus be seen, was DIAL
lied with by a number of cooks, and the
proverbiai result Of such dalliance was
most evident.
Miss Innocence Abroad" that started
in to satirize the matrimonial bureau
business, and started in well. with
bright dialogue and some clever cpl
grams, went to pieces before the first
ect was ended, and resolved Itself into
the disconnected, illogl al and irrelevant
medley with which W. are all. alas! but
too familiar. The thread of the story
got itself into Il hopeless sort OF n
tangle, from which it was never suffered
| to emerge, and save FOR Miss Rlce's va
riety speclalties the evening was insult
| ferably dull. III Phillips had been left
alone we might have Jared better. for
the author of AS In Locking Glass"
could not be stupid " he tried. MIR.
Paulton, however, was admitted. to dis
arrange the thing for the American
stage, and ne did 1t. The piece cannot
be analysed. 1t is in three acts, and
Miss Rice plays the part OF n supposedly
Unsophistlcated maiden. She appears In
street dress. cut low In the bodice,
while her fingers are plunged knuckle-
deep in diamond rings. 1t seems to be
an unwritten law that a feminine star
must wear diamonds--that there Is some
| thing sordld. squalid and trivial In the
idea OF lady who doesn't glisten.
| That being the case. she should never
appear as IN unsophsticated maiden.
| 1t Is quite unnecessary. There are peo-
| pie who are troubled by sLch petty de-
tails as logic. though they get precious
little Of 1t In farce-comedy. "..
Miss Rice, however, is toning down a
little since the days OF "a jolly Sur
prise" She doesn't change her dress
every five minutes, and, in fact, she
wore but three gowns. That is some
thing to be thankful for. She Is not de-
| void of certain kind OF cleverness. Her
imitation OF Chevalier Is exceedingly
good and her mimicry quite commenda.
BILE. In fact. she did a good variety
turn" In the third act, but you had to
walt long time before you reached It.
The lady's humor is trhe odd. When
she wants to be funny she turns OH a
sort OF nasal intonation that is bewilder,
ing. Her merriment Is Of the nose, nosey
The company, with the exception Of
Charles Coote. whose character sketch
Of the Private Secretary" order was en-
tertaining, was scarcely up to the metro.
politan mark. There was a large youns
man. named Melville Stuart. who seemed
to be in state Of constant surprise that
he was so nice. and there was a pert lit
tie fellow called Frank Jones who sang
a song, In which he begged a youns
woman to inform him II she would love
him always. The young woman sat or
a sofa In the mean time. and as h,
opened his mouth very wide while hi
made his touching request. she appeared
to be gazing intently down his throat
1t was quite pathetic. George r. Eide
son did as wei! as the silly part giver
to him allowed him to do, and Mis-
Rose Beaudet. cast for a stately role
was stately. Two little character part
were neatly played by Miss Glady
Greene and Miss Nellie Jordan--the role
were evidently the work Of Phillips
but the young women dropped out aft e.
the first act.
Miss Innocence Abroad is Just a bi
behind the times. but Miss Rice's dia
mond rings are almost Intellectual