The times., 1898-01-02
ON THE STAGE In
GOTHAM TOWN.

New YORK, Jan. L. ifher because thl
City has become surfeited with goo,
things, or becau the pace had become
too fast for playwrfghts, things siowet
| up considerably this week, and genuine
/ decided successes, like ..The Devils Dis
/ cipla" and .'The Swell Miss Fitzwell. wert
1 not entered ia the great theatrical haDdi
cap. Charles Coghlan has father impressed
/ the identity Of his, new play ON us, and
the merry matinee girl has been out in
force at the Fifth A venue, but the critics
have neither been unanimous in their
| praise of the piece nor the way it is acted,
! and so there is room for considera BILE
Doubt about the matter Yet.
/ II is good to record that a troupe bear
ing the name. and carrying practically the
same people that the Castle Square opara
Company hae in Washington has made
the bestkindo Of an impression Mt tue Arna r
lean. This theater las never been count ed
a money maker, and there were sraveand
open ,ioEbts al . change in affairs when
il was announced that its manager, Mr..
Zbrowski, aud Nh. Savage. of the EoS
ton, Washington, Philadelphia and Balti-
more Combinations, were to unite in bring
ing the corapany 20 ga New York. Opera
in English has always been considered With
4 smile here, ard the sudd en- breaking up of
tie so-called Mac-son Square Company
did not Improve the condition OF tue pes
simists one whit. Those who had seen
the perfcrnaHces in the Capital City " ere
further alarmed by the announcement that
The QueeAS Lace Handkerehief'' was
To he the opening bill
These people had dismal remembrances
of productfan at the Lafayette, where il
took the a ulieuce just three and one-quarter
seconds to5decide that the performers, in
tiiyiduall. and collectively, had missed
their vocatiors and ia that way robbed
some philantiappic employment bureau Of
an honest dollar, The enthusiastic news
paper Dt tices on, the day following the
opening relieved my own apprehensions
somewhat, but, nevertheless. l eonsid-
cred it advis able on Wednesday afternoon
90 slip around AMI see what Joe Sheehan
had 10 say about things In general and
business, in particular.
Upon nearaI1e the house my course was
stopped by a procession not unlike that of
q female ORPHAN asylum or first-claSS
ladies' seIainary--tS40o d year and no
young mel allowed -whichcloSer inspection
proved 10 he the line before the box
office. And best of all between the two
main pillars Of the theater was that mode Il
friend, The Standing Room Only sign.
This has kept up all the week, and now
those who krow are wondering if The
Queens Lace Handkerchief draws SO,
what will happen when III Trovatore''
is prod uceG tile day after tomorrow.
'lh Nancy Hanks" produced for fhe
first time in New York last Monday At the
Gardei. Tbea;er, by Marie Jansen, cannot
be Hen Tuned in the same breath with
the famous race-horse of that name, and
local critics ha We given il such roasting as
VIII prevent its claiming to be a rare show
for some time. Calling SO slow comedy
afte: a race horse is about as sensible as
naming parrot after the minister. zoe
Cawthorn bobbed up in Miss Phiiadel
Phi;t'' this week and made q clean
legitimate, praiseworthv effort to revive
the reil;, ins that Willie Collier had LETT in
disgust yeaf ago. As a matter OF fact,
turning Miss Philadelphia into a sue .ess
is snme what more difficult than turning
water INTO wine. and ii VIII take more than
genial Joe Cawthorn and SNOWY pa pee 10
d. it. Edgar Smith, Herbert Perlot and
Frederick Ga gel are responsible for the
piece. No one holds il against them,
however. It was more their misfortune
than their fault-the old, Old story OF too
MANY cooks spofl the BROTH" The lines are
pucriIc and the music infantile, though
Some OF the latter is decidedly catchy.
Written uver, tTa ced upon an old copy of
"Puck,' - well padded with good vaude, iile
people and pretty girls, and with Cawthora
az the head OF an entirely new cast, aIiss
Philadelphia" should be delightful for the
poH,.Iar-price'l houses.
Not having seen The Telephone Girl, it
wculd be difficult to tell of its real
worth. People say that IL is very bad |
but when you come down to the fine point
il means nothing. II is in vogue just |
now TO abuse plays. and a critic vino |
casiunally praised would have a fair |
chance for success from the very novelty |
of the thing. Perhaps the piece ouly |
needs brushing up a bit. 1t seems hard 70 |
believe that Gustave Kerker could write /
anything but airy, graceful, sensual music /
ard, while We are not quite SO sure of I
Iuef Morton, we feel that the application.
'dail'' can hardly fit his writing. In New |
fCFk just now anything that is decent is
lul, and perhaps il Morton built up on
scene he has in which an admirer fits n
carter to his best girl, engaged Mile.
-TaTmon for .'cha SER and Little Egypt
of desert, we should see THE Telephone
iir:'' branded with the sacred red seal
Il L Casino success-Libretto by Hugh |
by Gustave Kerker-Staged
y George Lecierer.'
But of T. E. Rice's BALLET Girl there
an be but one opinion she is too young
o be out OF q convent yet. There are .j,lsg
hree real laughs in the entire performance |
Ind the property man deserves credit for |
hese. The condition of affairs OF the first
light may be given in three Words -one for
ZACH houl boom, gloom, room, Anyone
oud safely recommend the humor of
The Ballet Girl as a substitute for the
ebellious choir AT funeral. It is rumored
hat Mr.. Rice is going TO amend matters |
lfter next week by furnishing laughing
-as with tick cts TO the performance, bat |
Up TO datethe report has not been verified.
The plot Is teo Involved and too cumber-
ONE for recital, the music a tlelibera ate
teal frorr everything, from "TannhauSar"
o santa Maria;' the lines are lpps in |
very Way, and the best criticism yet writ
en- about the whole affair appeared in he
Dramatic Mirror, where George Taegart |
aid; There We're two pretty scenes,
nd an excellent imitation of steamboat
whistle" The people do well under diff
icultiesi David H. Lythgoe, Louise Willis.
iepner, Ailene Crater, Edouard Jose,
nitZ Edwards, Fred Solomon, and one
r two Others lalDoring hard for a chance. |
Aid speaking of people the most wonder
n thing OF the season is the play bill a
ieier and Fields cosy little house, Which |
i'll tDt seat hy fhe way enough paarIe |
, make a coach ride pleasant. And yet.