The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903, 1896-01-18
WE AND OUR ,NEIGHBORS

: very favorable criticisms OF Paul rot
ter's Trilby. Last week Trilby com
pany played here. Not so good a com
pany as the New Workers saw, but a
fairly good lot OF players. Svengali and
Taffy were poor, Nine. Wizard, Trilby,
Little Billee, the Laird, LIE Zou Zou and
Gecko had more than the average abil-
ity OF strolling players. Talent counts
for nothing however in such a play.
As for coarseness tbs quite the coarsest
thing that has appeared here for many
years. Sam T. Jacks dancers are pre-
advertised. The audience is prepared
for the ballet and for double entendre.
Du Maurier,s story of three men in their
studio in the Latin Quarter emphasizes
the purity OF their lives, the unselfish-
ness Of their friendship for each other,
their love for Trilby. their industry and
their love Of art. Potteris play-bad
cess to il, makes of the three men three
'roues utterly demoralized and democrat.
izing. 1t makes Of the Reverend Mr..
Bagot, wolf in sleeps clothing. a SEN
sual priest Of the Boccacio type, where.
as Du Mauriers Mr.. Bagot is only a
narrow minded, simple hearted village
clergyman with genuinely strict ideas
Of propriety and social position. 1t does
not even do Svengali justice for an aud
fence who had not read the book would
get no idea whatever Of Svengali's mast.
cry Of music his only excuse for being.
Nothing is made OF Little Billee's fame
as great artist. The only characters
who arc reproduced as Du Maurier
wrote them are minor ones, LIE Zou Zou,
Nine. Wizard. Gecko and Dodor. One
OF the most charming scenes-the
Christmas dinner is turned into q DIS
gusting orgy. There is no excuse for
this for Du Maurier expressly states
that there were no women present ex-
cept Trilby. her friend Angelo Boisse
and Nine. Wizard. These did the cook
ing and waiting. In planning the
Christmas dinner they all agreed on no
ladies and the Laird quoted from the
Scotch gillie who said: Them VIM
men spiles the ball" The Ginner in the
play occurs in the second act and have
never seen anything worse on the stage
and besides it was deadly dull. At the
Du Maurier Christmas dinner only men
sat around the board. They told Jokes,
each others wit and genius
and peace and good will sat on every
face. The dramatized dinner drew a
few hoarse outlaws from that part Of
the gallery for which it was written.
The body of the house was silent.
Paul Potter in conjunction with Bill
Nye" has lately written play called "a
Stag Party" 1t was a dismal allure,
full Of coarse jests and without extran-
eous help it could not but fail. A book
ike Trilby is a success because the
author is able to make of each reader q
friend. lover. would take a long,
toilsome journey to zee a real Trilby and
Paul Potter has used this affection to
his own end. He has abused it, He
has shown himself a sensuaIist, a traitor
to the good and beautiful. How differ
emit was Shakespeare method. He took
tales and people and made
hem fascinating. Paul Potter takes
The most fascinating. lovable woman in
century literature and de-
grades her. 1t is frequently stated that
u order to be interesting a play must
,e Frenchy. The plays that live and con-
iuue to please have not that quality, at
my rate in predominance. The Rivals"
md The School for Scandal" are char
by the eomeWhat brutal frank