The Washington times., 1894-07-01
Gallery. PHI
and Groenr00nn.

| brances Of the pleasure previously given may
be assured Of revival of thessensation
| Mr. Bond is the .sB8ch, ljr Of Arts He is
J a gny oung fellow at out town. wi ot:rough
| a IN stake assumes the ouliss OF tutor to a
boy away from school. As man OF the
| world lie Is suppose to have r INK deep Il
the joys Of ,if;, and his indut on into s,rc
timon!o IS family and into the st lid 70 e OF
| tutor is the threld on which the me IL
ties OF the NJ tn )r aad OF Mr. Bond a quite
merrily hung. The pats tlken oy Mr..
VIII ,elo k. the pupii; Mr. Coots. and II rest
are al exceleLtly co Q attic u IN suboIdi-
q Q / to tie wh.rlwind OF Mr.. Bonds fun.
| Miss Sanders Mr.. Wheelock, and Mr.. Coote
do the three-cornered sl;it which introduces
| the bill. 1t will be remembered that they each
created, for most OF ns at least, part dis
tinctly to be remembered as quite little gem
in its way.
Miss Gal,atin's best work was seen last
week. which marks her departure from the
company. The part she took In Home" was
almost the only one In which we could form
any idea of her charming individuality. and
the general opinion has been that she acted
with consummate taste and finish.
Miss Maud Haslam is the lady who will take
Miss Gallatin's place, appearing with the
company for the first time Tomorrow night.
She is comedienne, pretty. sparkling. and
fetching. and has been playing roles of the
kind she proposes to essay here for several
years. Ii am right. she took the leading
ladys part in the first production of The
Private Secretary in which, by the way.
Mr.. Coote was n conspicuous member Of what
was then one OF Manager Palmer's best COM
panies. Miss Haslam was a long time with
Frohman. and during the last year has been
leading lady with Dickson in 'Incog." She
yVi ba n strong addition the eQmDanv
There are several good bills. some of them
pleasant surprises, in store for US yet from
the comedy company. The business has been
good nearly every one is pleased. the COM
pany and the theater-goers are neither OF
them tired OF the other yet. and Mr.. Rapley
SAYS tnat probably in consequence we shall
have five or six weeks more OF Summer COM
edy.
A so-called "stock' company finished "a
ten weeks season at the Bijou Iheater
in Binghamton last Saturday. The man
agenent might have gotten good
idea from company here. but
they did not, and went ahead on entirely
different lines, which were no. only not sue
cessful but not legitimate. From beginning
20 end the repertoire was composed Of
pirated plays. including Forget Me-Not,
THE Planters Wife" MIXED Pickles,
The Private Secretary" 'Hazel Kirk.
and others which are supposed to
be protected by unexpired copyrights. Leay-
ing out of the question the moral OF this
kind of thing. there can be no question
that the average theater-goer prefers some
thing fifty years old. which he has not seen,
to something ten years old. which he has seen
under much better advantages. Nr. Shaw
and Mr.. Rapley. our own gentlemen. have
found out this thing for themselves very salts
factorily. Allthe PLAYS produced by them have
beer great successes OF a generation or two
ago, and they have been immensely liked.
Perhaps next year the Binghamton people
will do differently At present their action
has caused uniavoruble comment.
A sonnet by John Ernest McCann to Otis
Skinner in the Dramatic Mirror Will give
pleasure to the innumerable theater-going
people who are beginning to realize the pos
sibiiities that are before this strong, fine
young man:
The wise old stars have watched you well and
From iar beyond the ridged oIynpian heights,
Thro' space and time, AID many rugged
nights.
While you have been alert, farseeing, strong,
Shy OF the motley. vain, and thought!ess throng,
Shy CT the notoriety that blighis,
OF TIE SAD, cheap fame that blasts those it de-
lights,
Or plays, with many keen and singing thong.
So, after many years. they have sent down
Their light, to guide you up the narrow way,
Nifh all your splendid efforts AT your hand
Beyond the ridges they hive placed crown
Which you must reach, while yet your life is
May.
And nobiy wear into the silent land
Some words as to how Mr.. Johnson and
Mr. Shaw's new opera failed at the hands OF
the company which was supposed to produce
it. and also as to the valuation we should
place on the lamentable fiasco Of last Mon
in lfr,Tn rh,.
opera seems only the far thing 10 these young
men.
1t is tact. notwithstanding that Mr..
Strakosch now says he produced "Marken"
out of friendship for Johnson and Shaw that
he chose the opera. after he had heard its
music and its lines, from among several avail
able bills. Also despite the assertion that
this unfortunate manager now makes that
the opera is worthless, be was, when he first
gave it a hearing. quite enthusiastic over its
brightness end deiicacy. There is proof OF
this. NJ. Strakosch had definite business
arrangement with Johnson and Shaw. an ar
rance.nent very much to his advantage
which he insisted on throughout. The prin-
cipa! feature OF it was that il the opera sue
ceeded he should become its possessOr. Which
shows that he hoped for good things for ii.
On mis- side Mr.. Strakosch promised 10 give
the trial with Il good company. with abso-
lutely necessary special scenery and costumes
were all absent. Us any one could see with half
an eye on Monday. The adequate prepara-
ton. especially, was conspicuous by not Civ
ing any evidence OF itself. Mr.. Strakosch
himself was TO have given the opera his per-
sonal attention. As a 4 after OF tact, he was
over in New York during all the time OF re-
hearsal looking up his living picture vent
ure.
As to the scenery 1t wns not. As to the
special costumes they also were not. There
was nothing special about them except their
ludicrous incongruousness. For instance,
the conception of the opera required strik-
ing contrast between the quaint out-oi-the-
world dress of the Inhabitants Of "Marken'
and the height-of-fashion garb of the gilded
youth who visited them from Gotham. The
alleged quaint dress OF the '.Marken" people
had done duty many time and Oft to eiothe
French and Italian and German and English
peasants. The gilded youth wore his tennis
suit considerably soiled. As TO the company.
most OF the original members had left Wash
ington. The season was nearing its end
The people were receiving larger salaries.
when they received them. than Mr. Strakosch
either cared TO or could pay. He let them go.
In the beginning the company was not a very
good one Those who remained were not the
best of the company. and they were all dis
satisfied and very much the victims OF de-
pressing circumstances. II they had done
their best it would have been poor They did
their worst.
Not one line in five of the original was read
or one song in the whole opera correctly sung.
Liberties were taken in the way of introduc-
ing funny business for the funny man. who
was not Mr.. Bgelow. the star funny man, by
the way. but the second gentleman OF that
character tn 1t the company boasted.
One noticed amongst the general chaos. the
burlesque of opera tnat was given. that one or
TWO people had been conscientious. and one
or two things We're well done. The chorus
was well drilled Tor some reason. and its work
was satisfactory. Now and then CLEAN OF
the original music through the waste and
wreckage showed what might have been.