The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-21
INCIDENTS IN STAGELAND.
PAUL HERTIEU's "Lks TESAIILBss
PERFORMED IN ENGLISH.

of IOhn bIntT'h ErouuCttout ~ tho
Carnegie Lyccum-.w What 10 Put Into .
Play of New York Life for the Multitude.
A problem play was enacted last night at the
Carnegie Lyceum by John Blair's "independ-
ont company" The subject was wife's con-
,roal ain. The question asked and discussed.
iut not answered. was whether she or her
husband was the more TO blame for her be-
hoylor Les Tenailes." by Paul Herveu.
was first acted four years ago at the Coincide
franchise The translation used by Mr.
Hair in his series OF occasional performances
was called Ties" and had been made by
george Peabody Eustis and Paul Kester. The
caso set forth to illustrate the chosen thome
was that OF an Ill matched marriage. The man
was incapable OF sympathetic love. and the
woman yoarned for II. He was cold. hard and
selfish. but he dema nd cd OF her quite as much OF
loyal devotion as though he had been an afIec-
n nate husband. He did not get II. He held
bsr hand only. She gave her heart and more.
tna secret lover. Before that. however. she
tried to escape from irksome wedlock by di-
y,rcc, but the husband would not consent to
the scandal OF legal separation. Hor unsus-
pectrd paramour died. and she went on with
one man as u wife while mourning another
man ike a widow. The catastrophe came
ION years later. when the pair disagreed
about the schooling OF q boy. The woman In
re,aliatory anger avowed her adultery. in order
10 let the man know that he was not the father
Of the child. Thereupon he does not cast her
cut. being deferred PARTLY by his dread OF pub
I!ci,y, and partly by a haif-hearted conviction
thst he was us blame worthy az she for her in
rlelity In that state OF mutual misery. but
with forecast OF possible comfort In recon-
collation.. the final fall o. the curtain left them.
This was a play Of intellectual excellence.
The rertinenca Of its matter to the socially
. nj lNyn nj 10 f,,t
marriage made 1t interesting. even absorbing.
n an illustrative study. In which the
tights aud wrongs OF an unhappiiy welded
i.,r were expressed with impartial
,horoughness. The husband was an arrogant,
domineeriug. hateful man. whom his young
wife had tried in vain to love. but he was
true to her in conduct. and he might have been
tender. also. II she had not given up too soon
all efor; to soften his asperitIes. The wife
was repellant. whimsical unbearably cantan-
Isrous and ready TO throw, herself into the
arms OF n congenial man without urging. or 40
much as all invitation; but she might not have
qsaso ai "T The reas m Why Les Tenalll"s
SSS Se, WHY never w hSSs am in New
YORK. is that neither Of the nuarrall"rs can win
ne TGs sssqs pa whsh the
her son Is Of itself DRAMATIC. and y Was acted
epIendidly by Florence Kahn and Mr.: Blair.
But II had no emotional potency because the two
had equally earned their suIeriug- and neither
was too severely punished for what he or she
a 80 Frederick Lewis as the outside lover. and
L. Augustus Anderson and Alice Harrington as
-uhs a AIRY persons was thoroughly enjoyable
10 a fine large audience of professi oual and
amateur dramatic experts.
The title Of Under the City Lamps" tells
rainiy enough the class Of plays that the piece
a. The star Theatre this wees belongs TO. IL
couldn't be anything else than u follower In
the l.le Of the late Augustin DAYS Under the
Gaslght. ike which there have been a great
many; but It is not often that so etiectual an
Example oi local melodrama as this one IL put
o. tho s'ace. Lrafler Richardson made O.
and doubtless to "rler. under stlpu-
laton that IL should appeal directly to the null
titude. He was permitted 10 try no eNperi-
rnents In stage fiction. to present no new social
probrms and to indulge no aualms OF literary
conscience. The Job was well done. II we are
to look at It from that point OF view. The
people who crowded the theatre yesterday. at
the 25-cent bargain matinee. would have
called T. 'corker," n they had nut their
enthusiasm into one word. Probably the man
agemont regarded II rs winner" As TO the
uuthor. lie may not b. proud OF his
work. but he need not be ashamed
for Il is rot easy 10 rut together materials at
once safe and fetch nR with the populace. Il
cannot pc st'l tNht Nntn ne TOOK MS pen IN
hand he used pair OF scissors also. There Is
10 plagiarism. Nevertheless. there Is In his
pay kidnapped blind girl as pitiable as the
one in The Two Orphans" young stranger
who falls among thieves as badly az the fellow
In The Ticket Of Leave Man" a rustic father
seeking his offspring in the city IA resoiutely
Us the farmer in The Old Homestead" apd a
quaintances. But they are assembled In q
rev Combination. they talk originally. and
'T Rss ev are o them
telore, But they are not taken far enough
isa ROOF garden for them to meet by chance in.
aFive Points den ri thieves In which TO mall
irnat ne e. eighties s5l shs Lutte Church
10 front Of and the Fulton ferry slip for the
10 n into srS eFs the
and vice are In a rough-and-tu bic fight from
the start ~ the action to the finish, and vice is
on TOT most OF The time until the fnal encoun-
ter. when virtue throws 1t down hard.
In the deep-sea scene OF The White
Heather" II will be remem Dered. big fish are
seen swimming In the water around the
descending divers. This effect Ia produced by
placing glass tank containing small Ash 40
that their shadows are thrown on the thin
cloth on which the view Is painted. This re-
c"ptacle broke in Plttsburg. letting out forty
gallons OF water and the hnny actors on the
stage
London IL slowly losing It's liking for the old
fashioned extravaganza, which It calls panto-
mime. and fewer OF such entertainments will
be brought out this Christmas than usual
They are costly and last year most OF them
were Improbable.
James X. Hackett writes 10 THE SUS that NJ
hTerre Haute hotel actors are not permitted
TO write their names in the register. The
land ord Ia willing TO let them board In his
house provided they behave well. but he doos
not wish to have any record OF their visits.
ho-telry.
German version Of La Poupee" ls to be
sung nj the Irving Place soon. twill be Inter.
estlng to watch it's fate there, In English II
trlumphed In London, but failed here at the
Lyric and DAYS., In French i has had success
hSeveral Of our Southern cities.
The women Of Weber and Fields company
executing only Lillian Russell. have Just gotten
6GIa fidgety" Is the fret burlesaue &c
give u them PARTS with possibilities,
and they show themselves quite equal ia
tGe requirements, Irene Perry 10 pretty AZ q
frederick girl with a delicious Southern ac-
cent, The manner OF speak ing seems to come