The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-18
NOTES AT THE THEATRES.
a NEW VERSION OF 4 FARCE NOW
CALLED "a NEW YORKER"

Robert billiard as tho Conviviaii.t who Lost
n DaS-The Revival OF "The Lady OF
KIiarne,n Is Presented By the Castle
square Compnny-Noveities In Vaudeville.
A jag farce once named "Iost-Twenty.four
Hours" now recnristened "A New Yorker
was enacted at Hoyt's Theatre last night in
what had been advertised as q new version.
Tho changes were not radical. The
theme remained that Of q man who got so
drunk In his wife's absence that ho slept q
whole day. and being thus led to mistake
Tuesday for Monday. got into trouble through
tho unexpected return Of the wife, the impor-
tunity OF q creditor, and the prosecutions OF an
adventures. The incidents OF his cmbarrass.
mcnt were the same as before. But the matter
had been smartly rewritten. with a substitution
OF colloquial American wit of the moment for
the less appreciable English article. This
wrought a distinct improvement. Besides that
gain, another was mado through the employ
ment of n wisely chosen company. 30 that the
performance was apt, brisk and thoroughly
comical. Robert billiard, who again assumed
the character of the husband. Is q very facilo
comedian. One point which saves this farce
from q tiresome similitudo with It's gen.
eral kind Is that tho husband, while
deceiving his wife. loves her sincerely,
and ia not disloyal to her. Mr.. billiard
expressed this honest and winsome element
with genuine feeling, at tho Same time that he
was laughable with his Ananias exploits. His
facility and versatility were admirable. Louise
Thorndyke Boucicault as the audacious en-.
trapper of mon, Jennie Wenthersby as the &C.
centric religious worker, and Dore Davidson
as o Hebrew money lender. simply repeated
what they had done many times before in other
plays, but were not tho less effective for that.
! Equally well chosen for their tasks, though less
| f.,,ntor D - tha a,l,.n,n a n rtr,,1a Cbaan
who was charmingly natural as tho fond and
fooled wife; Earle Ryder. who caricatured the
pious brother funnily. and Ethel Valerie, who
was ludicrous rs the steld maiden with desire to
learn how to be gay, "A New Yorker" has a
nothing rude or immodest. In these times of
degenerate fun on the stage. whom intdelity
London call for bushes, it is a surprise and a
delight to find one jag piece that Is amusing
without grossness.
In yesterdays announcements at Proctors
Theatre Kent and Proctor stood for Charles
Kent and Agnes Proctor, and was the debut in
vaudeville of tho former. They were employed
in Tanning a Husband" a short farce that
gave good opportunity to Mr.. Kent and that
, proved far moro divcrting than the average of
such pieces. A jealous husband and q wife
fond Of society were the characters. He was
seen first, complaining Of her absence. and she.
returning from a charity bazaar. was heard to
ask a DIR. Brown to kiss her good-by be-
fore sho appeared upon tho stage. She
described to him animatedly an auction
of one of her kisses at the bazaar.
DIR. Brown being the successful bidder.
and when her husband spoke of his weekly card
party as some Of the society she would enjoy at
home she gave a comical description, of that
poker game. With his lines Kent raved wildly.
talked of kill killing In, her S,rd retired d,5 announcing ro1ISdnS
with face chalkcd to do the decd. she
dissuaded him from the river as too un-
s%cription for arsenic. but in giving It to a e
want she substituted her own prescription for
an equal amount Of 6ismuth; With the sup;
until she had to taunt him into drinking
half the mixture. Next, with some fine mock
the two rocked to and fro and Rugged their
p fsS%ashis; ne I xfter P the co onSssd oE That ,t' spoo soe
Brown was a woman and that the mixture
good behavior and the end was easy. In
acting a style OF piece that Is not un.
S sS4~Sn great rs 'hs sdy vantage ' eSsr the S5' n hsnf
depicters of Jealous woe in half hour lots. He
0 %Ss able eDd to start %et In E.s as g great dist mors as Mos tho
gone and maintain a steady rise to the end.
And; Of ,r course u,as the ! ZEN moF re intense hts s,a his s %s;,
ticular process of tanning a husband. when OK
plotted by these two players. will BIO popular in
vaudeville.
Three types Of feminine persistence were
made clear in q new sketch by Kenneth Lee
that was tried for the first time yesterday at
the Pleasure Palace. The three women were
applicants for n position in a theatrical COM
pany, and the victim OF their assurance was the
stage manager of the organization. He was upon
the stage ready to examine applicants prior
to rehearsal. Each Of the women who applied
came with some kind of Endorsement from the
stage managers employer, the notes OF intro
duction being worded for the women's eyes and
intended as q means of the writer for getting
rid of them. The first applicant was a rustic
type. chock full of recitations that she must
speak or die. and with piercing nasal tones of
stationary pitch. Besides "speakin' pieces"
she had a deal to tell about the woes OF her
family. and her xaminer was frantic by the
time he was rid of her. Before he had time for
recovery tho second applicant appeared. She
wss a eE yS@ng "p %pon the be STAGE sasy h msnP been
considerable. but had been confined to
leading marches. She was weak on eIpcutIon.
the drst performance. Without persuasion she
and to the alarm Of tho other. Last came
queen of tragedy and who shouted blank verso
by the yard. The stage manager was attracted
the bearing. of the two speakers lines
grew indistinct,, and in a moment the
OH Sla'o Which w tSo Certain iSsf IN tsii: NJ Ne0H Delam sSRs
was the stage manager. looking II and acting
turn all three applicants. making each one dis
tinct and amusing. Her equipment as a leader
of AmaZons was superior to her accomplish
monts as n vocalist. but the curtain had to be
brought down somehow.
The Castle Square Opera Company last night
sang THE Lily of Killarney" ut the American
Theatre. The opera met with something moro
than the customary enthusiasm. and its
story is indeed enough to have recommended
it to the audiences of the American.
They learned to like melodrama before
they had the opportunity to acquire a taste
for opera and Tho Colleen Bawn." as they
have already learned, is mighty good melo-
drama. So they could have enjoyed the story for
which Sir julius Benedict wrote his music
whether they cared for the music or
not. The Boucicault play contains moro
dramatic moment than the average text writ
A.. o.. T~.-1.aI rrlA I-l a