The evening world., 1894-03-23
NEWS OF THE STAGE WORLD.
Rehearsals of utopia, Limited"
Conducted with Secrecy.
Irving Place Theatre Company in
"Divorcons."

The rehearsals of utopia, Limited"
the latest Gilbert and sullivan opera are
being quietly held at the American Thea
ire. for the stage of the Broadway is &C.
cupied by the scenic artists. who appear
to need the whole theatre. If the
tempestuous Gilbert were himself with
D'Oyly Carts company, greater secrecy
could scarcely be obtained. It Is almost
impossible to get any information at
all about the production. Nobody seems
to know. The agents. If there are any.
keep themselves very quiet. This policy
is generally a mistake in America, al
though In England it goes very well.
indeed. The Gilbert n Sullivan operas
that have met with success in this
country are those that have been talked
about Il great deal beforehand. The
enormous success of "The Mikado' was
not a little due to tie tangles Of litiga-
ton in which the alleged pirates found
themselves, the anxiety to see the au-
thorized version and compar 1t with
the spurious edition, and the cheering
reports that came from London. And
50 with several of the others. or
Utopia, Limited" nothing has been
aid or course, II 1t has merit 1t will
succeed. brit the way to success would
be made shorter and easier If the public
knew what they had to expect. The
first night. however. will be a big
premiere" The nrst-nighters have been
saving themselves up for 1t for a long
time.
The company at the Irving Place Thea
ire Appealed In Sardou's .Divorcons"
l4St MINT IL Nula nrASanta1 ,,,lar ,La
of "Cyprienne" for reasons that
are not quite clear. This sparkling, love-
~ French comedy was a little too much
for these clever people. 1t went heavily
and lacked the mast essential qualities.
Fri. Braga played the part of the hero
me- but 1t was out Of her line.
Sig, Perugtni. who used to think his
him up and down Broadway. now scorns
such democratic means of locomotion.
He was seen yesterday doing the Rialto
in a real cab all by himself. He peered
out at the well-known folks he saw with
a sort OF cxultant expression upon his
face, as though he We're saying: you're
poor old boys hanging around corners
Why don't you marry a prima-donna, as
! have done? There are lots Of them
knocking about, and they're very nice"
Perugini Is rarely seen out walking, and
those who can't afford cabs look upon
him with envy.
Otero. the handsome Spanish dancer.
who came to this country two or three
years ago with Arabian Night-esque
stories of her wonderful conquests In
Europe, n who was not a success, is
just now making a name for herself
In Paris. She came here a little too
early; that Is to say, .before she had
made a name for herself in Paris. She
is now the rage in the French me-
tropolis. and manages to get her name
in the French papers as she couldn't
do in New York.
Neither Mounet-Sully nor Nine. Sc
gond-Weber Is able to speak English.
and II Is said that every member OF
the company betrays a similar ig-
norance of the English language. Mr..
Abbey's satellites, however. are begin
ming to get used to that kind of thing.
The stout Mr.. Matthews and the slim
Mr.. McVickar are not easily to be
fioored, although they don't speak a
word OF French. The interpreter is a
genial little Cuban, a special pet OF
Sarah %Bernhardt, and 1t is he who
bridges over the chasm between the
two languages for them, whenever they
feel particularly hopeless.