Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-09-14
"DR. sYNrAX"-FINAI = OF ACT I.

| DIX. SINIAA final Ot ACT j..
sic for it and submitted 1t to Augustin
DAILY, who produced it, and Miss Ada Re
han, who was not quite as famous then
as now, played tho part of the suffering
girl who was cvcrlastingly chewing gum.
Miss Rehan's work, by the way, in that not
important role added considerably to her
reputation and attracted much attention
to her. Mr.. Morse's comedy as Mr.. DAILY
presented 1t was called Cinderella at
School" It made q very good impression,
was generally conceded to possess q great
many strong points, but it was put upon
the shelf until few months ago, when
Morse pulled it down, gave it to his collab-
oratcur, J. Cheeve- Goodwin, to do now
| librctto and himself set to work to COM
pose any quantity of new music. The re-
suit of their joint efforts is ''Dr. Syntax, -
which De Wolf Hopper and his really fine
company produced at the Broadway thea
ter few nights ago. ''Dr. Syntax" is
not costume opera. In fact, to be exact,
it is not an opera at all, but a musical
comedy. And what an Improvement it is
upon Wang" "Panjandrum" and other
such nondescripts! The libretto fairly
bubbles over with bright lines, nearly all
of which are evolved naturally from the
presumptively surrounding circumstances.
The music is excellent with several num-
bers which are certain to be very popular.
| The orchestration in many respects is the
least meritorious feature of CDR Syntax. :"
| There is q tendency to bring the flute into
prominence, which, unpleasant and jar
ring at first becomes positively offensive
after few repctitions. But, take it all
in all, ''Dr. Syntax" is the best thing in
its line which New Workers have had the
pleasure of hearing in long, long time.
| De Wolf Hopper in CDR. Syntax" has
made his only bid since no assumed tho
dignity of starhood, for criticism as a roa-
sonably legitimate actor, and it is no eX-
aggcration to say that he surprised even
those enthusiastic followers who arc wont
to express in hotel lobbies the opinion that
de Wolf can do anything from cxtrava
ganza to sentiment. His present engage
ment at the Broadway will do more to
make Mr.. Hopper permanently popular in
this city than any that he has yet played
here. The supporting company this season
is exceptionally strong. Cyril Scott who
voluntarily gave up magnificent position
III Charles Frohman's stock company, has
made a mistake in going into opera. There
are some fussy people who still cling to
the opinion that a singing voice is abso-
lutcly Indispensable to an operatic artist
Cyril Scott evidently does not agree with
these old fogics. Neither does Edna Wal
lace Hopper. All that can be said in IA
vor of the vocal abilities of these two I'm
equivocally competent comedians is that
each is no worse than the other. In the
first act Mrs. Hopper and Mr.. Scott have
a duct, which was 10 times rs amusing as
it was intended to be. We have so few really
good players on the legitimate stage that
it is to be regretted that two such people
should have deserted it, Bertha Waltzsin-
ger, charming ex-prima donna Of the
Bostonians, who, really believe, is the
coming woman in comic OPERA goes to
waste in "Dr. Syntax." In robin
Hood" Miss Waltzsingor had command