The San Francisco call., 1896-09-13

By al means see ION the Bowery." 1t
has become quite the rage to go, and you
will get number of priceless suggestions
from the hero of the piece and his satel-
lites. For instance, you will learn all
about the interior workings of a low
saloon, besides getting valuable tips upon
the newest and most approved way of
singing drinks around. You will also find
out how to rush the growler without put
ting UP the dough. 1t is not Brodie who
achieves this latter feat. A man all tat
tered and torn who frequents his saloon is
the individual who gives you pointers on
the gentle art OF boodling the bartender.
Even this accomplished gentleman's an
tics pale, however, before those of Brodie
himself. he is triumph of realism. Steve
has no more idea of acting than an alli-
gator has of playing the pianoforte, but
the way in which he serves drinks-ahl
there's realism for you. 1.-THE great
Eenora Duse does not act the part of
Marguerite Gauthier in La Dame aux
Camelias,' she is Marguerite" says cele-
brated German critic; and Brodie, the
Brodie beloved of the Bowery, he does not
act the role of a bartender, he is bartender.
Environed by the familiar surroundings of
his own saloon he dispenses beer with a
realistic fidelity to life which is higher art
than mere acting. If Brodie slung round
layers with melodramatic intensity, or
dispensed frothing schooners of "two for
five cents with pensiye senumentality,
how tiagrantly he would be transgressing
all the traditions of Bowery baTrooms!
But words fail in describing the beautiful
simplicity and naturalness of Brodie's bar
tending. There were old topers last week
who were moved to tears by his work, par
ticularly when they saw that the beer he
dispensed was real. Whatever his de-
tractors may say, they cannot deny that
Brodie is a realist who has lived his part,
and lives it again before the audience. Fin
de steele art is realistic If we cannot
have Duse and Nethersole, who are real
lists, and do not appreciate Mansfield, who
is also a reallst, by all means let US keep
in the swim by going in our thousands to
see Brodie.
''On the Bowery" is a "go" in this
City, and to preach against 1t would be
worse than useless. To tell the truth
about the play, however, 1t is dull, ridicu-
Ious melodrama innocent of dramatic con-
struction and bearing all through it the
hall mark, "Written to display Brodie."
About its only real interest lies in watch
ing Bowery toughs consume beer In
Bowery barroom, and the scenic embel-
lishments of the piece are far below
those usually supplied at the local home
of melodrama. The author has eked out
his lack of invention by leaving spaces
for specialties ad lib. The third act is
nothing but specialties, concluding with
a vision of Brodie fighting his way
through the property ratings of a prop
erty Brooklyn bridge. Most of the
specialties are clever, but they are
seasoned with illusions which recall the
song
They say such things
And they do such things
On the Bowery.
And some of those specialties are enough
to make you VOW "rll never go there any
more"
Tonight we are to see the most success
ful opera produced during the last three
years. The story of how it came to be
written reads like sn invention of Ben
iamin Trovato; but it is true, neverthe-
less. .Humperdinck, who had been chorus
master at Bayreuth in Wagner's time, was
supposed 10 be promising young musl-
clan: but his first youth was passing, and
still he had produced nothing of any con-
sequence. He happened to have whole
brood of nephews and nice nieces, to
whom he was especially devoted, and
when their mother, Frau Adelheid Wette
told him that she wanted the dear chill
dTen to perform a little operetta for which
she had written the libretto Humperdinck
readily offered to put it TO music. Han
sci and Gretel" was the fairy tale which
Frau Wette had chosen, ana the uncle not
only wrote the music but taught the
children to sing it for Christmas.
There were several musicians present at
the performance, and the peculiar beauty
of the themes and their skillful Wagnerian
treatment struck their fancy so strongly
that they begged Humperdinck to show
his "Hansel and Gretel'' to some opera
house conductor. He took it to Levy of
the Hof Theater at Munich, and that ceIe-
brated Wagn erian considered the work
beautiful enough to De produced in his
great theater. 1t goes without saying that
numberless wiseacres were inexpressibly
shocked at the Hof Theater stopping to
play little fairy opera, but the result
justified Levy's judgment. "Hansel and
Gretep' was the greatest success which
has been seen in Munich Tor years. Other
German theaters took it up; then it began
triumphal tour of Austria, and by the
time the next Christmas had come round
the little opera played by Frau Wette' s
children was being given in the Imperial