The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-03-27
NEW IN OUR THEATRICALS.
. uroPtl, LIMI1gD," AND TBE DIBUr
or JEAN MOUNET- sULLr.

p,rsor-sa 1T the Brssawss-Tkp Csie-
SEATED Freneh Aeter tstrsssess Hi-sslC
az AsSsy'. Thes,re - "Herussi."
rb. llbrstto OF Utopis. Limited" was writ.
Tan By ". g. Gilbert for English ears. The
audience at the broadway Theatre. where the
nisc. had its nrst American performance last
...nIne. was quite able TO comprehend tho
humor, but not TO be amused by all OF H..
m. theme satirIzsd was the London abuse
a, Nh. law under which limited liability
sounsnies are formed for all sorts Of
SADNESS purposes. We in this country
A.. not sfiuciently familiar with the subis Get to
laugh much at the fun made OF II as We were
nth the psthetIcism which was Knocked In
patience" or the JApansse art craze which
recommended The Mikado !" to our resihili-
,i.s The com position oithehe works as to both
language and mi sic was sclipsinRiJ more mer-
,torious than in this new Gilbert and sullivan
.rort: vet the authors have not hesitsted to
,...lI memories OF them by putting into the
n,,..ut piece m ention OF the capital punish
n.nts devised | y the Mikado OF Japan and
.,,,ch OF the hardly ever" song OF the Cap
tin OF the "Piuafore." However. the worst
autnut OF these collaborators' genius is
halter than the average OF our native comic
on.r.. and so IL is no wonder that this mid
Slns example gave pleasure to the people who
vsr. at the broadway. Anything like great
.uec.,s was prevented last night by two rea-
.o,, one has already been pointed out In the
torsien character OF the chief subject derided.
tn. other was the mediocre ability OF
m. company. They did not sing we'll In
vocal sense. and so Mr.. Sullivan's music did
not have . fair hearing: and they did not give
clear utterance to the verses. and 80 Mr.. Oil
b.rt's verbal wit was not half heard.
our readers know already that Utopia,
Limited" illustrates the case OF an island
tinrdom, with q monarch who being visited
nv some British officials and learning from
them OF the system Of limited liability In COM
mercisl affairs. applies 1t to his Government
IN general and his people individually. Tho
experiment. fails. but good result OF 1t
Il that certain distorted ideas Of English
polite usage. which have been taught to his
daughters 10y n lady from London. are dis
placed by true and preferable instruction inn
parted by the newer guides. Tho most divert
ing scenes last night were those in which the
King gives a reception In imitation Of Queen
yictoria's drawing room. This Is In the second
set by which time the King and officlals have
nut on the dress OF British functionaries, and
the court costumes OF the ladies are exceed
tnrly beautiful and fine The formalitiss OF
prsssntation to royalty are enacted In the
sjchtliest manner Imaginable. The picture at
this point Is rich and beautiful Indeed. the
sntirs mount OF the opera Is richly ornate A
sreat deal Of money has been expended In
scenery and costumes
The nrst act represents the islanders as liv-
ing in lazy lauyuor. The rise OF the curtain
di.closss a stageful OF maldsns lolling In non
dsscript but picturesque and tasteful raiment
on q luxuriantly tropical sesshore Then
the King announces his determination
to remodel his country upon Great britain,
ons p pc Il and n
able humor. The felicity Of the Gilbert and
Sullivan so5pSrston In making n! Ts'%s: , that
fairly well in the very first chorus. which sets
these words to q tuneful air:
In lazy lAnguor mot,onless
fgt Vision. com. from rSppydon
o.. dsnest. alternative.
In S Ssin , G!' .:s .s AZ: .ss SILVER au,
journal Which exposes his foibiss. ana the ' sS
thor Of comic opera which caricatures him.
He sings about that. and so does his elder
Guards The soidisr1 h.. some stirring eho.
mi It; WIN 6: ss; o ei
Men Of the court The action eeompanying
and the dances are as pleasing; The Wise
Nen, for instance, have a conspiratory duet.
and then one OF them dances Grotesaueiy rs
Observe this dance which employ.
what sentime rs does this sxpTessi
He FORKS his legs more violently and quesrly
than before: but his eSomnaniSn is 70 unable to
ton 10 sung:
Supreme contsnt and happinssa
The other man. further along IA the inter
,iew. should have dancing SPELL which he
tn. step TO Us. I eond..e.ad
wS:si'n iSss; nss ;;yT ss ss s.a.ad
Hypinrs unsslnShns's.
And then the pair should dance as they sing
together:
unseinshnss., Unssin.hnsssi
OF course it does-unsslnshnessi
But last night only one Of them was In dane
smallest steps seemed to hurt him SO he
could not attempt 20 dance. and his eoE panion
had TO do the best he could alone with his legs
though the disabled actor sang his part In due
.0as Of tn. more amusing eopeei.s Is that Of
ISLANDERS IRON, 2 to I o'clock daily a. object
lessons, and who sing OF themselves as follows:
Whose soeial code 10 rather free.
1000 rSSf :, y. r.S 700 su vi.
And a. We stand. Tx. elecI WORK toys.
Proceeds to prsiss
And saiisis9. character
oar EslEknown blush-our downeAst syss-
which composition .till dsnes)-
Ls.n al g. sIowd isl. down our looks
msmorandum DookB-
To diagnose
Our modest pose
. The kodAks do their best:
ueEldsnce you would possess
" What Is mAiden bAshfulnssa
leu only need a button press
And f. do ali the rest
The tutor Of these mAIdens enters and. while
sne singsA lesson to them. they illustrate In
Santomims their manner OF receiving the adj
are.ses Of wooers: This was the passage in
,Ls nrst act best lik cd By the audience. When
ne curtain fell for the nrst time. the general
sss sap was hardly conesalsd but the
SECOND act started SO promisingly, with the
..eanfGrss9ng about his Ugh notes being Affect
90 lelnrlously By his love. that very hearty
spelIgse broke out Then followed an
sSSsss sd copical ROYAL council con.
concert the king and his advisers sitting In a
WAND playing an accompaniment to their
;song and chorus. The brilliant court prsssn-
s .nSn spectacle ensued. and so. take 1t alto
s,slhsr the second act may be said 10 have
'eod bJ itself q success.
songs 10 an original and happy vein as to
ssytus and tune are the kings account OF life
s sshg Ioke from birth to death. II only one
sth see the humor OF 1t: the promoters ex-
Id ~ S6 o. the English methods Of getting
~ ~ ueDts under the processes OF limited
nAolllly: seyeEal love dItlias aantim antal and