The times., 1899-02-19
THE PASSING SHOW

At 4 quarter of eleven last Wednesday
night The Liars" had been acted and a
eoodly crowd swept through the open doors
of the Lafayette. Some 600 persons were
there and they wore low-cut dresses and
ermine cloaks claw hammer coat tails
and high silk hats. spotless gloves, and
pleased expressions. One old lady stopped
in the vestibule to answer gentleman who
had asked her opinion Of the performance.
Enchanting" she said. And from back
of her came yolley OF just such eXcla-
nations, descriptions, delight
full " so cleyah" gorgeous. and even
"deuced good" John Drew had played and
a characteristic John Drew audience had
sailed forth TO greet him.
The class of amusement seekers who go
to see the late leading man of the Empire
Theatre never faulters or varies 1t is a
gathering won for n social lion and for the
representative OF a great family-a gather
ing as persistent as is the star himself and
one that changes no more than do his offer
ings. And the John Drew vehicles are al
ways identical in their scope and in their
lightness and in their limitations. Last
week the entertainer ceased being an old
ish chap in love with a youngsh girl and
became the confidential friend of everyone
concerned-a sort of personifed providence
with the virtues of all his neighbors and
the wisdom they lacked. But the piece was
still the very kind of thing that we have
been having from Mr.. Drew since The
Butterflies" and even before the time OF
that admirable effort. The gentlemen did
not wear white wigs as in "A Marriage OF
Convenience" but they powdered their
temples and affected exquisite foppery;
the ladies did not don patches and high
WASTED gowns as in Rosemary" but they
said foolish things in shrill falsettos and
got into trouble to permit of the hero help
ing them out of it. And all the while both
sexes talked epigrams that might have
been taken from THE Green Carnation
or possibly from THE Dolly Dialogues, y
and did things so clearly and transpar-
emily artificial as to make one think of the
puppets which ingenious showmen pull
about their stages, not naturally, but most
prettily.
| Considering that John Drew is present
| ing II, the most novel circumstance abou,
! THE Liars" is in the fact that it is good
| play and a clever one. Because ii is diff
! cult TO write story without plot and
I to achieve interest without action, the stal
has really had but one able bit of work
manship since he began heading his OWL
! organization. and hence Henry Arthur
/ Jones production came in the nature of
relief. MIR. Jones is an Englishman who
/ has provided several wonderful examples
/ in the art of constructing something ou
/ of nothing. and who. if he has invariably
set his creatures at the congenial occupa
I tion of talking against time has giyeI
them PiDero's satire and Wilde's bon mot!
to deliver. His efforts have never failed
/ to resemble what an affair like the Ladies
Home Journal would seem in dramatiZet
form. but they have appealed to the sens,
as well as TO the senses. and have possess
ed stamina and infexibility that were alto
! gether lacking when even SO brilliant
builder as Augustus Thomas set out to imi
tate him and furnished The Meddler.