The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-06
SEEN IN THE NEW PLAYS.
CHlUN0EY oLooTT AND INDREW
NAoK Al SINGING HEROES.

"
ne Points Ter Popuiarity In car Irish Cen
tieuan 1.-THE Kind or Fun That Hs Found
IN sPousse Carr r-The Richly Ficte-
rial Scenes In ''The white Heather"
The Irish hero who can sing has on easy time
q Il in entertaining his audiences. Both An
drew Mack and Chauncey Olcott have found 1t
10. Eugene 0'Rourke. too. oven Mt so recen;
Q day that as D broth OF q boy he had Alder
manic Girth, had his upstairs hearers very
close to him. Whether It is some attribute Of
q sweet tenor, or of Gaelic pertncss-the stage
brandon q mixture OF both. tho result Is
plain enough. When Chauncey olcott was at
tho Fourteenth Street his hearers laughed 80
much that thcy interrupted the performance
and made some Of It's language unintenigiblo.
This was with impartial. mid-week audiences,
SAough It may DO putting 1t too strongly to do
ussfbe any assemblneo as impartial when Oh
colt 10 tho actor. Andrew Mack started of
IN much tho same way last week. He had
many friends, who were unwisely persistent
In their applause, but this was following his
singing. Whenever no was really cute in
his replies to the villain, or was ready at fiat
tory In his wooing. there were prompt outbreaks
from upstairs that oven solicitous friends had
no call to Join. Indeed. 1t is doubtful II many
Of them were stirred to do so. Ramsay Morris
dialogue is rich in retorts for its hero. and
most Of them are bright, but IT'S only the audi.
onoes that gather to tho banners Of heroic
Irish tenors solely for pleasures sake that
break out into outlaws over such humor.
The delivery Of those pert something's and
sweet nothings is quite different with these
two actors. Olcott makes his saucy retorts
% though pretending politenoss, and in his
remarks that overwhelm the heroine feigns
sStiessnesS. M L.. ir lfh,,4s Is an outand:out
preach q bit here, and there, there e no in.
~ rrnrI ~ MAMMA MaNE 10 Nhn
easily into emotional throes. He has several
sRetths the Il %m Ge'o 81 his diSi po%ers. so Sn1 no 'h Increase rass o OF in in
tensity is possible; But as q wooer he is en-
very sE~f lar rI rom a non"combatant hero, and at
one point knocks down the villain with a blow
saUa ' sSe p sSrl0p aos. hf 70 SloO With h shs y TSiee Is
gyeeter and he sings without any of the signs
q s1 sonor .h s1e M sasS. b sho their S sS ss1T IsSah the Sc
haps 1t IL the lucky man who oIcels as the
An Irish Gentleman, has Q priest for one of
tts characters, and. following tho fashion in
t tsiil Pa'' part t.'i He 70 is H' a m Mteabl 9o Chap iaAn not {
given to preaching .emong his parishioners as
does "t try to read p1'i lesson tho incident Snu is s turned
to his discontinue. Twice he makes q show Of
d aai1hFS5siy ONCE assi shis z FELLOW hST'1 il 'e eharRsd a BY Rf his
pastor with his irtemperance, but ~retorts glib
hero WAN and ff for the e m Moment et the priest es Is i Is m Mede the
feeder for q somewhat irreverent joker. Even
more startling is the playwright'e treatment
opposed to the dissipated servant whom he
commands TO reveal the sender of a letter that
want Is, and whose promise Of secrecy the
1 %aed h With s So; e fslf fn Sut RS1eis F 81 sis o sis eg the
servant throws his head back, opines that this
I, Sl 6 hY%SHis s s%%G 'asi . asi a a1a lelus Ssf Seins e ss Se
And as between the worthy priest and tho
s salrsty i SsF Si sho s1 saiie Is hardly a fr''nd Tor the
In '-Th White Heather" arc other episodes
nearly as interesting. II they are not 90 novel.
as tho struggle between the divers under the
water of tho coast Of Scotland. The opening
scene ia In itself remarkably attractive In the
sense Of space and atmosphere and Is Q beauti.
full Wow Of q Scotch heather with the mist hang.
Ing over the ground and tho low hills stretching
far away in The distance. AS the curtain rises
a flock of sheep crosses the stage. and there fol.
lows promptly o hunting party, gay in plaida
and sporting dress. Then these titled persons
settle themselves for luncheon and their foot
men serve .t out from hampers with more
delioacy than anything Of the kind since tho
one in tho second act Of '"The AmaEons." Thu
next of tho striking scenes is in the Stock
Exchange Of London when q panic is impend
ing, and tho stage Is filled with an excited
yelling crowd which is quoted only Mt the end
of the act by tho sudden death of a member.
More attractive. IL not moro numerously filed
81 the scene Of the locks on the river, where o
steam launch is awaiting tho arrival of the in
tensely hish-born characters who
every situation in the play. Back Of the boat IL
q gwarm OF Raily dressed men and women, merry
making. More glitteringly brilliant Is the fancy
dross ball In tho last act. 1t Introduces a Rrcal
o. aI four views gives an idea de Of tho variety ar Of Il
lustration In the latest example of Drury Lan'
melodrama.
1t sesms as though all tho advantages thai
could be got out or changing scenes had beer
exhausted, and the authors may have realized
they were not content to accept anything on thu
surface Of the earth. They, went down to tn,
bottom, of the sea. Probably nothing but Q
balloon will answer their purpose when theil
next piece comes to be written.
An American spectator of "Tho White
Heather wonders how the Drury Lane audi
enccs took tho hunor of the piece. Much. o.
t a1sfu IS e0 am ae9ar W n!mi6 a9l to as p%Ffily 'o %Ish
the qualify looks like something g. of a carica
ture Of George Alexander, the London actor
player Is compelled to admit that his real nam,
Y Simpson, which is said 70 be the case viii
humorous lines Is about as effective as 1t wei
could be, but tho language is a little above tn,
tracts. Tho play has attractive women. Mad
eliene Bouton, is one. Amelia Bingham enact
etatuesqpe and well moulded as any heroln'
that eyer h9 Ga, up pn, nn % de S r Oily,
nifty, and for that matter there are many girl
In tho company VINO could do much mOr
than their opportunities permit them to. EX
1ctly the same cannot DO said OF all Of tn
young men.
There are three scenes In "Pousse Caf6." an,
as many changes of raiment for nearly all @
the leaders in the Weber & Fields stoc
company. In their DISCUSSES most Of thes
frollickers are much changed in appearance
though their behavior Is closely akin to thel
antics in The Geezcr." Under tho Red Globe.
and THE Glad Hand" Tho first act is place
in Paris. and makes no further attempt at bul
lesque than to employ a mechanical doll and t
throw a few jibes at Oscar Hammerstein an
La Poupee.' Here Is ]. T. Kelly, talking
pacing. and gesturing at tho highest possibl
pressure and in tho highest of trousers. A
this IL usual, but his tackling French Is new
and his mispronunciations arc comically con