Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-02-23

TO permit ms name TO appear. "A Lazy OF
Venice" had not gone very far in her ad-
ventures, however, before l realized that
the concocter, whoever he or she may be, is
sufficient of a critic to recognize the hope
less impOtency and unqualified inanity of
the work. MOdesty evidently cut very
small figure in the withholding of the name.
1t would rack the brain of the chess ex-
pert Stenitz to a dangerous degree to at
tempt to detail the supposed intricacies of
the pilot" of "A Lady of Venice" Besides
it isn't enthusiastically interesting, so the
game is scarcely worth the candle. Suffice
it to say that it is stupid, illogical and faulty
of construction to an inComprehenSible
extent l do not see how play could be
worse.
But if "a Lady of Venice" is unworthy
of criticism, what shall be said of the act
ing of Miss kathrne Clemmons who Sc
lected it as the vehicle for the exploitation
of her stellar ambition? This young lady
is quite pretty. That is desirable if not in
dispensable to a female star But her
beauty is the only point in her favor. She
acts as poorly and crudely as Il graduate of
a ''school of acting" Her methods are
those of the veriant and self satisfied anna
teur. She butchers the reading of the very
bad lines assigned to her, misplaces the
accent, plays hob generally with the dramat-
ic proprieties and then takes a curtain
call with all of the sang froid of the sue
cessful veteran.
With her good looks to aid her and
Willingness to work long aid hard, it is
possible that Miss Clemmons, by starting
at the bottom of the ladder, might in the
distant future become an actress. She GER
tainly is not now, and it is worthy of note
that she is perhaps the least competent per
son in the large cast employed in the pro
duction of A Lady of Venice" Such at
tempts this of Miss Clcmmons work ir-
reparable injury to the theatrical profess
sion, for it is an insult to the intelligence
of the people whose dollars support the
playhOuses and through them the actors.
The failure of The Ogalallas," which
was produced here by the Bostonians, is
still the topic of discussion on the Rialto.
The librettO, which is by Young E. Allison,
is about the worst thing of its kind ever in
f1icted upon the New York public. 1t is
purpOseiess and ruins what might have
been made a very interesting story of the
American Indian before he was corrupted
by fort and reservation influences. There
is scarcely a bright thing in the book, and
to it is fairly attributable nine-tenths of
the responsibility for the failure of The
Ogalallas."
Inc music was composed Dy Henry w al
Ter, an adopted son of Mrs. Scott-Siddons
Waller was, l believe, for some years an
Infant prodigy" piano player, and it must
be confessed that he has verified the predic-
tions based upon his musical precocity
1.-The Ogalallas" contains several numbers
which are superior to anything ever written
in a comic opera by an American. There is
in spots tendency to somberness, but that
was doubtless induced by the libretto. Some
of the music, too, is more involved than the
average theater goer would like perhaps
The Instrumentation is artistic, and while
not particularly original is not tricky" in
any sense.
Mr.. Walters work from beginning to end,
in the weak as we'll as the strong spots, evil
dences an artistic temperament and keen