The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-05-01


tended TO amuse during intermissions In
this, however, 1t fails utterly. Despite
the fact that a weekly change of With
cisms would involve the expenditure of
little trouble and no money, the jests are
seldom altered or substituted for new
ones. Week after week regular patrons of
the house find the same ancient bits of
humor waiting and throw the bill away
in disgust. In many of these periodicals
the column mentioned has not been chang
ed III two years, and the result to the sto-
ries therein is sometimes as funny as any
thing could be. This is especially true of
a certain bill in the city in which is a
tale of a talk supposed to take place be-
tween two bicycle girls. Charlie is a
model young man, says one, and the
other replies "A Sc model ] trust, from
which it is to be supposed that the joke
is over two years of age 1t might be out
of place to tamper with it now, and re-
spect for its long service forbids IL remov-
al, but out of regard to the feelings of
enthusiastic wheelmen it would be a
good idea to have the SO changed to 9S.
And speaking of old humor. could it not
be possible for some one to write some
thing new in a farcical line or would the
result be inevitable failure? The exist
ing line of farce has stood by us for
nearly a quarter of a century and it
might be worth while to consider the adj
visibility OF giving one something novel
once or twice a year One can tolerate
a little conventionality, even in a comedy
but when it comes to enjoying such a
piece as THE Man From Mexico" ii oc-
ours to one that the limit has been reach
ed. We had been lead to expect SO much
in this play that the result was a sad
disappointment. Not only is The Man
From Mexico" Anticipated in plot. situa-
lions and handing, but it is not at all
funny. OF course people laughed-people
will get part OF their moneys worth at
a theHtel-but then it was laughter with
out reason and those who were apparent
Iy most amused neither returned nor sent
their friends to see the piece-judging
from the houses attracted during the
gagement. AS much applause resulted
from the discovery on the part of the au-
dience that by a scheme older than any
incident in Shakespearian drama, Schmidt
had mistaken FitZhugh for Majors as
from any of the really bright lines that
were the only redeeming portion of the
production.
What little humor there is in THE Man
from Mexico" is forced and hackneyed,
while every point in the construction is
so evident that each well planned detail
loses interest before it has been reached.
Useless questions are put TO bring forth
bright answers, and the greater part of
the entire farce is stupid and exceeding
ly dull. The second act is really a nov
city, and as such delightful, but that is
all the farce contains, and a presentation
that compels three hours of attention in
return for thirty minutes of amusement
cannot be called success. Like a fire
cracker, the farce is devoted mainly to
burning TO the powder and burning after
ward, brief explosion being the only
desirable thing to be gotten for ones
pains. The first and third acts are among
the poorest ever seen in Washington.
Neither relied on anything more substan-
tial than the ancient material, while a
feeble effort to carry one by the comicaIi-
ty of a deputy wearing his hat in the
house and being continually and operatic-
ally asked 10 remove it was a dire fail
ure. Constant repetition and long epochs
of horseplay did not aid in the least what
is undoubtedly simply poor play poorly
played.
AS to the conventionality of the plot lit
tie need be said One may give the story
of farce-any farce-and If it can b
distinguished from that in The Man
FROM Mexco- the lucky solver deserves
prize. There may be something unique
in man getting into trouble during his
Wiz > dbHNllNtf SOliS " IL concert nan,
being arrested and imprisoned but Wash
ington admits its inability to see it. Do
mestic infelicity and unfaithfulness. mis-
taken identity, police interference ana
cheap love stories have been used in
farces seen here before. Stolen charac-
terizations do not improve the play and
every portrayal in the piece from the
Sni5z Edwards ippsrsonation of Schmidt
to Miranda. the maid, has a prototype in
some other work of the kind. The Man
From Mexico is simply the usual thing
and very mediocre at that
H. a. Du Souchet is the poorest ana
most. overrated playwright in America
bar none. His Friend From India
made money more because of good man
agement than anything else and would
have won him little credit had ii beer.
Otherwise, The farce was originally put
together in such manner that no sane
manager could have under AIKEN II ana
few sane men would ever have written
ii. After Smyth and Rice accepted the
thing ii was practically rewritten and re-
constructed by a young author whose
name has never been mentioned in con
nection with the piece. New ideas and
new dialogue were put in before it could
be sent out at all. Then it was a fearful
failure until s-iH more work had been
put on it by some members of the cast
and careful labor had built out of a
worthless lot of tangled skeins a passably
poor farce of which only a small part
had been written by Mr. Du Souche.
His My Wifes Step-H Husband" did not
live to reach Washington, and but for
May Irwin one would have wished it pos
sible for the same fate TO have overtaken
The Swell Miss Fitzwell," nearly every
portion of which was merely hackneyeG
horseplay, even the name having been
suggested by preceding comedies Few
more worthless. bits of dramatic writing
have ever been seen in this city And
now comes wretched adaptation of a
wretched play. given only the bright dia-
logue denied Miss Fitzwell, and a clever
second act, said TO have been almost en-
tirely written in by Willie CollierA laugh
able tragedy of the Du Souchet brand has
just been produced in New York, with
the usual result attending Du Souchet
productions before some one else has
worked them over Altogether it seems
difficult to imagine how the author of
The Man from Mexico" could have so
far succeeded, and one cannot help trust
ing that his success will not last much