The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-04
FIRST A OF THE YEAR.
<RTHULys NEW RURAL DRAMA, "THE
SALT or THE EARTH"
A,p,e Russell once More Enncis . Rustio
Hero,ne-"Ths Governors.n = FARGO TOR
Ward and vokes-Juiia Nhnrious Makes
..nn.nn nciinn nr MAn Won Lie IT,

ward and v~okes-Juiia Sinrioue makes
n rsrpr cd uction or "As Won Like IT,
The hero of +" The Salt Of the Earth" the new
drama at wallack's Theatre last night. was an
Indiana plouehboy. who raised himself from ig.
nornnce to knowledge, and from manual labor
to political distinction By the force and honesty
of his own efforts. He encountered the enmity
and opposition Of q scoundrel, who sought to
steal his inheritance, estrango his sweetheart,
and disgrace him with his constituents. but he
eventually ovorcamo those obstacles, and
won all that by right belonged to him.
His vicissitudes woro sot forth in a homoly,
crude, yet graphic fashion. They began
in an act that was like n prologue, with
tho plighting of his true love to a rustic maiden,
his dismissal from her fathers farm, and his
promise TO como back in two years TO marry
her. Tho three other acts represented
his return. the Vaccinations against him.
his spirited resistance. and his final
triumph. Tho same kind of depletion
OF rustic life that Joseph Arthur had put very
successfully into Blue Jeans" was abundant In
this work OF his. The characters were strong
ly dclineated, and were made 10 figure
actively in episodes Of racy humor
and positive sentiment. The fault OF
the earlier work was repeated, too,
and It was all the more glazing as observed on a
broadway stage. That fault was incontinuity
OF interest. Essentially separate stories crowded
and jumbled each other, and sometimes de-
stroyed tho potency of both. There was rough.
ness in tho composition, too, and some of tho
incidents meant for serious impressiveness were
not accepted In that spirit. But there was a
ready appreciation Of Mr.. Arthur,s hnmor
inio " ine sisppsiision r The ''i sesy III lsp' ss
w Ninst .u shs g so aa4isd Is lip and and i fflaSu is 6 nTss;
may be taken without cavil by subsequent, as
semblages. even in Broadway, and surely in less
axartipuly critical nnnrterA. with the really
good matter that abounds In The Salt OF the
Earth" y is bound to find Its public and pros
pFsoveral, Of tho parts which Mr.; Arthur had
done well by were p.t Treated rsr, yYiSTSy nnsly 9y The os
herself in "Esmeralda,", and was the same
naive, frank. and fearless country maiden
sro tS San her still still youthful face indicated.
She was the sweetheart. tempted at times to
s Sim. sh eef in rSfssi tall imporSonatsd III; God;
dess of Liberty in a Fourth of July celebra.
OF oon' it An without being. for a moment ridlcu;
l!us. Alice Fischer interpreted another of
scienceiess stepmother and she brought out the
grim humor so cleyerly that even when the
e esilef Es; viii lpf Hiss M her P1 Villain y i%S@s.'S v. Dem:
ham as a village blacksmith and George
M wiisGn the Ss author had intended 10 show:
Marion Berg was a Epm-eheWing girl. Maud
aozen minor indianians were made distinct in
one way or another; The production was
pcters. The personages looked and behaved as
such residents of a Hoosier crossroads COM
% 9HDPs sn %i ssata be s1 Nsra srt isi ahS r E!Sx' Ali Hi
the critical condemnation ofthe piece, and there
will be not a little of that, should be expended
Btructing. But his material is Of too popular
nature to fail with the nultit%d iSorI He has has
no buzzsaw for q thriller.
Ward and vokes played at Hoyt's last night
r-.L. a,o, ti.. L.. NJo.v vorl N variafy forcao ~
an enduring sort. In the ~rapidity with which
its specialties and absurdities passed of 1t was
we'll up to the speed set by that PAGER of slam
bang farce, Harry Clay Blaney. and in the
amount and freshness of rude fun 1t was
well nigh q record breaker. There were
three acts, not more than enough of plot to each
one than would servo y song-and-dance sketch,
but the vocalists were q score. and the special
lists seemed as many. Nearly thirty persons
were concerned In the farce, and while whoever
was on the stage was kept rushingly busy, those
who were out of view of the audience were APP
parently quite as thoroughly occupied, for,
aside from the stars" there were changes of
costume and makeup for all concerned, three
complete rigs being not too many for a single
act. Thus when 1t was time for q dance in the
style of Bowery "spielers" q stage full of ILL
dressed. repulsive-visaged steppers responded
instead Of the usual couple, and vocalists were
in fours where ordinarily two are sufficient.
With so much said of the quantity. it should
not be understood that the material was less
diverting than in the best of pieces of this sort.
Ward and yokes had what was equal to fully
three ;Pseia lnsid and bd none spns.d Of 70 their ,be sG Slss
and HarGld days in the variety shows. or
casts. mistaken for prominent politicians and
Welcomed ,SaS med. as ,o s9GsllSS BY Si TSlI;tSidG II t0 IL n sen.
duct of a hotel, and then they were absurdly
ssSSmical in burlesqge . IF %el SdEsnncr %ho
but q sample iGEs Is sep g q to locate much q Z
black be sent to him. send me one, too
Shiped in tho other hungry tramp; 1T he eats
Some Of the assisting contributors had the
nariiy do. Lucy Daily was one Of these, Her
dances and songs were several. and her
fPSsse"'s was "G not 'f FAR BEHIND her in CON.
spicGouSnsSs; and deserved Hn,S bis hiS place f John
favored f% above M'f tRo Busy Ps Score .0J just before s the
end Comedians Ward and yokes appeared, with
out the makeup that during all that had gone
before had made their facen Sideous.
AS You Like 1t" was acted last night at the
Knickerbocker Theatre in very agreeable, capa-
bic. and intelligent fashion by Julia Marlowe
and the members of her company. Miss Mar
lowe has played Rosalind before in New York.
but that was In the first years OF her career. and
1t is n performance now Of greater finish
and authority. 1t has gained as a whole,
although it would be vain to deny that at least
one Of its most grateful characteristics has been
Lost. There was u notable lack OF spontaneity
about her playing in certain scenes last night.
and this quality sometimes disappeared SO com.
p.cteiy that she seemed studied in speech
as well MS IN action. Especially did her gestures
seem TOO carefully thought out and too de-
liberately executed. 1t may have been the re-
suonsibility OF appearing in so important IA role
FOR the first time with her high reputation to
sustain that made her appear overcarcful and
thoughtful of what her results might be. But
it was in the loss OF spontanelty that her per-
torrance had not improved since her earlier
rtnQ, ring OF the role.
In grasp ana authority her ROsdifnd Is to-day
vastly more effective than II used to be. Her
own Gcauty, the winsome charm of her per-
GoHdiity, her delightful reading OF the