The times., 1898-12-18

possible disguise Cockney butler with
a desire to help everyone in the cast, a
she-dragon of an aunt with a legacy in
her grip. and a couple of sweet. young
girls with any amount of affection for
the reprobates of the play. There a.e
also a number of people who are equally
unusual on the stage-among them an
Indian and his keeper-but the greater
part of the tale is enacted by the sort of
beings farceurs have been showing us
for centuries.
In the present case most OF the factors
in the piece have certain variations that
separate them from the general run. The
young scamp is without any Jealous wife
to trouble him, the butler manages to
hide a desire fer all the liquor about the
house-f he possesses such a thins-the
elderly relative has only good purpose
in view and even the sweet young girls
are odd, in that they are imperson-
ated by two distinctly home,y women.
The farce in many ways resembles
.Charley's Aunt and What Happened
to Jones'" In the first offering most of
the humor came from the fact that the
Gentleman disguised in petticoats and
false curls was about as unsneminate as
anyone the spectator could imagine. Ine
present procuetion gains more than half
its laughter from the impossibility Of an
Ene.ishman who assumes the toSs ana
supposes that he assumes the manner or
an Indian. The general outline of the
play and two or three of its episodes re-
mind oneSof Broadhurst's masterpiece
And yet a great deal of "A Stranger in a
Strange Land has never been USED De-
fore.
The chief novelty In the work is Its
theme. There is something excrutiatingly
funny about the idea of placing before an
| American audience number or people
whose ideas of this country are-to say
the least-rather vague. While there is
no legitimate excuse for making sane
man who has spent an entire year In the
United States place his plans in jeopardy
by declaring that he owns a cattle ranch
| near Buffalo, the falsehood Is certainly
! laughable and gives room for any number
| of opportunities, of most of which advan-
| tage has been taken. The Indian, too, Is a
| completely new factor in farce comedy.
and his proclivity for stealing has proven
a source of unlimited possibilities with
! Messrs. Wilmer and Vincent.
| In general "A Stranger in a Strange
| Land" is admirably constructed There
| are number of small points in the piece
| that would have become roughnesses I'M
| der less able treatment but which are
| brought out most naturally by the au-
| thors of this latest effort. The plot is re-
| counted with graduation and finish. OF
course. there are many things which need
| further attention, and some of these faults
| are glaring, but one cannot write per-
fec; play offhand. and the producer is not
i yet through with the Stranger. The
| most serious error in the offering is Its
constant repetition. Many of the
| incidents are gone over and over
this being especially the case ir
the last act-a portion of the average
presentation that must be handled witt
| considerable care. A successful farce
must not be delayed in its finale after tbs
first closing line has been spoken. Their:
can be little humor in explanation ant
three minutes should amply suffice tC
unravel the troubles that may have
caused amusement for an evening.
These trifies are easily corrected anC
have been pointed out for that reason
Taken in its entirety, "a Stranger In
Strange Land is one of the most enjoya
BILE absurdities ever seen here. 1t Is In
ieresting and entertaining throughout
far superior to either why Smith LEFT
Home or THAT Man" Under the abl,
management of W. NJ. Wilkinson it:
| success is certain.