The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-03-16
NEW THEATRICAL NATTER.
"THE B0Es OF KILKENNYD rs An
IRISH PLAY, OF COURSE.

In nc n Village Priest Figures uniaueiy M .
Principal Charncter-''The Isle OF cold
In the Title OF the Latest Attempt at
Comic Opera In the Oid-Fashioned style.
The Stars new play Of last night, "The Boys
OF Kilkenny" was marked by q full measure of
respect for the precedents Of Irish melodrama,
and yet IL provided a considerable number OF
features that are TO its kind. To be-
gin with, Townsend Walsh. Its author, was one
of It's players, yet he was neither the hero nor
the man In velveteen smalls who sang tenor
in the quartet. He was, instead, a
harsh old man, tho father of the hero
Inc, but the cause of her separation
from the hero. and the landlord who ordered tho
plays cvictions. The playwright had reason to
feel satisfied with his choice, however, forh he was
almost continuously conspicuous In the first
three acts. and finally had a long scene Of seri.
business at tho end of the third act, the stage be-
Ing dark but for the red glow from n fireplace
near which he sat. Meanwhile the hero had had,
with the exception of a chance to sing ballads Of
his own composition, no other opportunities
than such as showed how prone to mis-
fortune in such plays arc truly good young men.
Once he got after one of the plotters in an effect
i've and unusual way. Tho victim Of his first
moment Of domination was one OF q pair of vii.
lains, who was tumbled into q blanket whose
edges were held by a half dozen strapping fell
ioWs alu lnen NiolcuLly tOSScu. DuJ ieSS unun
an act later he was being whaoked over the
back by the hard old father of his sweetheart.
and thereafter his troubles, like the peach in the
orchard, grew and grew; AZ the height OF his
woes he was charged with murder, and escaped
ing her with him, which was quite contrary to
custom. In i've years he returned, with his for
as they did before his emigration, and to clear
himself, OF the charge Of murder. There was an
the villain was about to confess that he and his
assistant murdered the. old man, when who
feeble but not dead, and with a pal.
sy and pallor that marked him as a
largo degree. to an influence that worked for
good In many other instances; This was the
authority exercised over his parishioners by the
village priest. This man was almost as con-
spicuous a factor as the harsh father, and he
was quite nm unusual h character for this sort of
monizing, his hearers seemed to like him and
to approve his presence. They also indorsed
pipes. To the average of It's hearers Ave acts
were not too many.
1.-THE Isle of Gold" which the programme Of
the Park Theatre in Brooklyn last night called
"a musical comedy" has every element of an
extravaganza except its humor. 1t lacks even
the consistency Of burlesque, and is a fantastic
mixture Of nearly every known species Of stage
performance except high tragedy and variety.
The production had escaped these features by
some chance, and there were moments last night
when either of them would have been welcomed
by the audience. Herman Perlet's music was
quite the most refreshing incident Of the even
ing. 1t was not very new and 1t did not linger
In the memory any longer than it did in the
hearing. But 1t was generally vivacious, and 1t
added a sprightliness to the performance which
was not forthcoming In any particular degree
from the other features of the work. G. A.
Byrne, who supplied tho dialogue of the piece,
had not done much to produce such a necessary
quality in an extravaganza. The average
OF tho speeches may be judged from
the repartee that passed between two
characters when one of them said he had left the
Indian reservation because no could not bring it
along with him. The facility Of the lyrics was
impaired by the stubborn refusal of such q word
as lady" to rhyme with {. baby" or mind" with
coursc, the fault Of the author that such words
won't rhyme, nor is he responsible for the fact
h fea1 aaai aSoat people nsTf %So I ieft . p ISas "% beca nDw
they could not take them along.
There were some ingenious ideas In tho piece
that failed to make the effect that might have
been expected. One Of these concerned the agent
BIS Il a c ssss and dste Mnd nsp to en' keep sas HIM hhniA alive Veo IN
order not to lose his position and It's salary. An
S to %hi waf th bee p snfEsst to Be- 81 st e tSsc very a %iiiihslg
TRs;isS d By g,v the ts sSsb0F ts sF t aspect a'tS 81
oAlsu ASN kASAN SAS>s IVA
they proved scarcely noticeable in the general
commopplaceness out of which they momentarily
the chorus, some comic steps by MI. Hess and
Mr.. Coyne, and the very amusing burlesque Of
Jessie Viliars. She was struggling against her
opportunities, for she had to put on boomers
have lain at rest now for some time. But she
was quite the most laughable feature of the
evening.
There was no exceptional acting to help the
piece along. w. H.. Thompson was rather
unctuous in one of the roles and E. NJ. Favor
glib and lively in another. Laura Shorter was
u pretty girl with not enough voice for the
music she had to sing, and her personal
charms could be more successfully presented
in other ways. Skirt dancing, for example,
would show her to as much advantage and
not be nearly SO great a strain on he, vocal
still undecided as to whether he ought to be
downright serious or comic, and last night he
alternated both these conceptions of the part he
played. The chorus was lively and audible. and
danced with exceptional grace. But The Isle
Of Colo" would be more amusing Ii the actors
were capable Of giving the piece the humor and
sparkle 1t entirely lacks at present.