The times., 1898-04-03
FRIENDS OF LAST WEEK.

All things are limited to a certain pc
riod of usefulness and any grown-up
who sat through performance of Tn
Gle Toms Cabin" last week at the
Grand Opera House would be willing TO
swear before a notary that that of Tom
Taylors play has passed The drama
served a great purpose during the war
and was enjoyable long after but when
its construction became too ancient for
wear and its power only ridiculous it
should have been neatly laid to rest with
a headstone of black ivory and an in
scriDtion reading, "In God We Trust"
The idea of asking a civilized and edu-
Gated modern. troubled with insomnia, to
sit through a polyclassic performance
with twenty-five scenes, a tableau and
specialtes between the acts is infamous.
A performer who will wait to let Uncle
Tom be whipped to death instead of al
lowing the old gentleman to live until he
has done a clog. should have his salary
doubled There is not on the stage to-
| day a farce comedy half so ridiculous as
this work of a great dramatist. With
| its five syncopated acts, filled to the brim
with pistols and bowie knives. its thir-
/ ty-four threats from George Harris and
| its conglomerated building, one cannot
| discover how it ever gained prestige But
when a play of that kind loses its inter
est it is nothing less than shameful to
return it to the public by means of
mingled band concert dog show, dime
| museum music hall entertainment ne
| gro minstrels and Bowery vaudeville ag-
gregatiOn. Such an imposition cannot be
| too heartily condemned. especially when
| the whole performance has been falsitied
! and the company filled with amateurs of
| the worst sort. There We're Just three
good actors in Mr.. Martins troupe last
week and they were Aiit Barlow and two
| bloOdhounds. The one fOrgivable thing
was the excellent manner in which the
| title was played. but even that could not
save it from artistic failure as great as
| its financial success.
| There may be some truth in the old
! proverb that versatility does not make
| greatness, but it is equally true that
| greatness sometimes makes versatility
| Certain it is, that no one could think OF
| the variety of work done by William
| Gillette without the heartiest admiration
| for that gentleman as an artist. To be
| as excellent an actor as he showed him
| self in Secret Service" is in itself
| enough to place man well up in the
| estimation OF his contemporaries espe-
cially when the play has emanated from
his own brain. There are few farceurs
| in this country capable of dong the
quality of work presented by him last
! week in Too Much Johnson" To have
! written two plays of character so di-
| verse is surely not small achievement.
but when one realizes that the man who
| plays the grave spy in Secret Service
also does the part Of the imperturbIy
| careless Billings in Too Much Johnson
| he is fairly aghast. Such difference in act
ing and writing has probably never been
| seen before and Il places William Gill
iette even higher in the minds of his ad-
mlrers than did the success of his war
play Only it is TO be hoped that, af-
ter three years of popularity in America
Mr.. Gillette will not take his comedy to
England, as he did Secret Service and