The sun., 1895-05-28
FUN AND MUSIC IN THESE.
HAMLET II.o AND a. DhUGH-
TER OF TEE REVoLUTIoN.v


TEE OF TIE REVOLUTI0N."
A New Perversion OF Shakespeare by Dom
neiiv and Tour ee aud the Latest Comic
Opera by Goodwin and Highlander.
There was fun In Hamlet H." Mt tho Herald
Square, but not much, and what there was OF 1t
was not very laughable TO a discriminate au-
dience. The method of burlcsquing adopted
by II. Grattan Donnelly, the author of
the piece, had been simple and easy. 1t
had consisted in the main of quoting liter
ally n sentence or two of the Shakespearean
text, and then completing tho passage in Ten
derloin slang. Working by that process he
should have written the piece In a week or ten
days, with plenty of time for rhyming the songs
and devisng tho exceedingly few wtticisms
and whimsicalties requiring any originality.
To put it plainly, this burlesque of Hamlet"
| was poorer stuff than often obtains place
on any other stage in Broadway than the Inn
perial beer hall. The music for its ditties had
| been written with something of tuncful Jingle
| by Homer Tourjee. There were actors In the
| company who would have been entertaining II
| tho circumstances had permitted. John
Bunny, a stranger here, and Kate Davis, II
jovial acquaintance, had tho ability to
| be irresstlby comical us the King and
| the Queen. and the disposition, too, but
their efforts began and ended with looking
droll as the author had provided hardly any
! thing merry for them to say. Katharine Lewis
| was little better Off for matter, and she made
the most of 1t cleverly. She was long past the
| youthfulness requisite for the part. but, by
| thinking Of her Ms she used to be in
| "Oliyette" while seeing her in Hamlet
| H." m enjoyment OF past and present
| was possible. There was Jacques Kruger, also,
| as a reminder Of things which he had done we'll
long ago. and as evidence that 1t was no fault OF
| D,I,, a I,,c1
excuse cannot be made. however, for Ed
ward j. Henley. who undertook to be
n sero-comic Hamlet. His mockery OF tragedy
| was not bad. with its touches OF Booth and
rood. 1t takes a talented and resourcefnl
| comedian to combine n tragcdian and bnffoOn.
The production was not ,nigSardly as to cost
| nor miserable as to taste. Bright costumes and
gay scenery were abundant; stagefuls OF ANA
IONS In marches and chorus singers In tableaus
| made snowy srectacles. and were rather less
| immodest than the recent average OF such exhi-
| The fault OF the affair was in the witlessness
| Of the text. The music was at least serviceable,
the performers were surely capable of doing
was quite good enough for a successful bur
| lesque-such as Hamlet ii" can only become
whom almost wholly rewritten.
| Comic opera librottos are written nowadays
with a special view to selecting period that Is
| picturesque for the costumer and the scene
painter and even the composers sometimes con-
slider the time and place of the story
| in passing The new opera at the
| Broadway Theatre last night, "A Daugh-
ter of the Revolution" made very
effective use OF picturesque period in Ameri-
| can history and one that has, curiously enough,
been rarely utilized in the drama with success.
and seldom in comic opera. Its scenes were laid
| in the days OF the Revolution at New York and
| Trenton, and the spectacular opportunities
which tho time and place afforded were seized
SO successfully that they are likely
to prove an important element In the new
| works success They were always kept in their
right proportion and were never allowed to
overshadow the rest of the production. SO they
seemed almost simple in their effective
ness. Tho uniforms of tho soldiers and
the well-painted scenes were pleasant incidents
NUNS s Il them to Be-
| But in connection with the new opera. they
most mo- Tim important feature OF it. but because they
are not: The libretto, which is credited on on
BE- ouaed TO hs'v'f large
measure on n,, an opesre,,s written By S,I; Leo
Theatre with Marie .Geistinger in 1884 ia a
tedious stretch Of writing with comic opera
az ser s Rssnf hs4
when she is s once on his track continues CONT n to
bright line to say on the subject herself and in
| the association OF a number OF persons who have
| nothing bright or witty to say on any subject.
There were not five humorous speeches in tho
| whole book. but there are not quite so
many as usual that arc profoundly confusing.
| Ludwig Eng laender. who wrote the music.
has composed very agreeable score, with u
| great deal of graceful melody and plenty Of
vivacious rhythm and movement. 1t is strictly
| Niennese in STYLE with no attempt to color it TO
the spirit of the piece, but it has tunefulness
entirely successful in complishing its purpose
which is much more satisfying than to have it
fail elaborately. Mr.. Goodwin or MIR. Gold
| mark. or both OF them, has supplied him with II
| librctto which is well arranged. whatever
the quality of its dialogue may be, the
tirely tasteful and grateful 10 the eye
| and when the actors are familiar enough with
| their work to supply some humor of their own.
| "A Daughter of the Revolution" will be very
| delightful performance.
Last night the performers were sadly at sea.
| greatest frankne1s, but did it so charm
| ingly that the audience seemed to prefer her
| smiling embarrassment. 1t wouldn't be bad
| idea for her mover to learn them AS they really
| are not important, and her Laughing confusion
| was much more attractive. She was nervous
and rot in good voice and shrieked too much.
| But she was animated and graceful and never
looked prettier. Hallen Mostyn, Harry Macdou-
ough industriously initiating Francis Wilson.
Clinton Elder. Sydney Worth and Annie Lewis,
| were her associates in the cast, and they were
nervous too. They had not great opportunities for
that would be entirely opposed TO all principles
| of q comic opera written for prima donna. but
when they have learned more about them they
| will do better than they did last night. This
| was never bad, but 1t was never particularly
good.