The times., 1899-08-06

-'SN hOAHs aug. I'LL tut Olu QdyS Cl
iron-clad minstrelsy there used TO be one
joke that always brought laugh after
everything else had failed. Unless Col"
Jack HayeTly utilized the qukp last year on
the road one may risk saying that its age
has made it new. This bit OF huraor was
invariably approached with dispute be-
tween the end man and the interi0cutor re-
gaTding the sex Of the inhabitants Of that
planet which lights portions OF the earth
while tho fekle sun is straying @frem his
own fireside." After the argument had as
sumed the proportions Of a quarrel the
comedian. who had maintained that the
said inaabitant was feminine. would always
remark that he was sure there was a
woman Ia the moon-else the man would
not have remained there so long
Not even this convincing theory. how
ever. really settled the question. and the
tenant of Luna has never been decided
upon until recently. Last spring at the
New York Theatre there was produced an
extravaganza in which a choice syndicate
of we'll known writer's attempted to prove
that the being aloft was Man in the
Moon, but failed. chiefly because their
efforts had nothing whatever to do with
the subject And on Monday evening
Richard Carle took the matter in hand
and offered for our acceptance The Maid
in the Moon
Seriously and briefly, The Maid in the
Moon" is burlesque, and there is not the
slightest probability that it will affect the
stay Of The Man" or anything else The
one possibility in the piece is from the fact
that 1t payes the way for something better
than vaudeville for the future on roof gar
dens, Its presentation on top of the Casino
inaugurar1ng novel PLAN In common
with most other efforts turned out by act
ors, the Offering is conventional and hack
neyed in the extreme. being a compilation
OF Just such travesties as We have been
having since the days of The Passing
Show" There is no plot worth mention
ing and no wit that does not emanate from
the house property man. The music, which
is by Fred Solomon. is rather ereditabIe
Strange to state, the best thing about the
production is the cast which renders Il. and
which did not seem very promising on pa
per. Ruth White. Richard earle. Harry
Kelly, William Gould, John c. Slavin. Gil
bert Gregory, Lee Harrison. and Lionel
Lawrence all do well, and are mainly re-
sponsible for the fact that Mondays aud
A--SO oNSA4r0 ~ CAlOI the 4OHScllSlt34AtY
immensely.
Speaking of roof gardens reminds me OF
a decidedly unique scheme which saw car
ried out the other night at the Ariel Mag
nolta Grove. team of sisters had Just
finished its act when well-dressed man.
who was evidently slightly under the in
fuence OF liquor. rose and began app aud
ing boisterously- He was admonished by
an usher looked embarrassed. moved his
seat. and then. at the conclusion OF another
turn repeated his performance. BY this
time the audience was interested. and aD-
peared TO be amused, as il had not been at
the entertainment on the stage II was
not until saw the youth, perfectly sober,
talking TO the manager OF the house an
hour after that / realized that the whoie
affair was simply a clever trick for gaining
the attention of the spectators More than
half of theatrical affairs seem 70 be clever
tricks A man who can be mixed up with
them long and still not be cynic must bs
possessed OF extraordinary mental equi-
Iibrium.
Tricksi We have just been informed
that after all, no one ever had any inten-
tion of tearing down the Star Theatre
Some weeks ago il was announced that the
old building was to be leveled Immediately
and every paper in New York printed col
umns concerning the history Of the house.
Even the conservative Mirror was be-
guiled into running cut OF the structure.
Despite this, bills are being posted about
town announcing the opening OF the place
on August % with "A Soldier of the En-
pre- as the attraction, and the Stars di-
reetors deny ever having had anything to
do with the other Tumor. They also dis
claim having had any intention OF biIkinx
the local journals. Had the denial been
made before talk had died out it might
have gained eredence. But now, ike the
pardon of the song, it comes too late and
the demolition of the Star Will be remem-
bered as an exceedingly able hoax
Edwin Knowles. who controls the Fifth
Avenue Theatre, has finally announced
what he is going to do with the time which
he had held for AuguStin Daily. but refuses
to hold for the estate According 70 this
announcement Mr.. Knowles is about 10
re-enter the ranks OF producing managers,
and will put on at his comfortable resort
r. A. BaFnet's Three Little Lambs As
you may know. Mr.. Barnet is the author
of --1492" and other big hits. Three Lit
tie Lambs was done last year by the
Boston Cadets and purchased for Hse at
the Fifth Avenue. but the success OF "A
Runaway Girl prevented its production,
and so It was laid aside. Now the comedy
is to be taken from the shelf and put into
service.
Although no more theatres are now open
that there were fortnight ago, the RiaIto
is beginning to assume new lie. The pro-
fessional world has begun TehsaTSing for
the season to come and every play house.
ball room and hall in Gotham is in con-
slant use. As a result OF this, Broadway
is once more filed with familiar faces
and blind man no longer runs the risk
of mistaking the city for an enlarged
meets looks sunbuFned. but / have not sor-
gotten the tale told me about Europe. r.
l., and put not my faith in tan and
freckles. More to the point is the fact
that every manager in town seems conf
dent that the coming year viii be a
record breaker. | hope ii will.
Personally. l have seen only two of the
plays now in rehearsal BY sheer luck I
happened to drop into the Herald Square
the other day while Henry Miller was con-
Quoting a reading Of THE Only Way and
do not hesitate to prophecy that the piece
will astouish even the greatest admirers OF
"A Tale of Two Cities" from which il Was
taken | have never seen but one work
which promised better, and that one is
being got ready at the Fifth Avenue rs
title is Becky Sharp and it is a drama
tiZation OF Vanity Fair Harrison Grey
Fiske. whose wife is TO star in the pro-
dUction. tells me that fabulous sums OF
money are being expended for scenery and
costumes, and that the adaptation viii be
much better mounted than was -Cyrano
de Bergerac' From one description of a
ball. given me in confidence. 1 do not
doubt this for a moment.
Dan Daily continues to be the success OF
The Founders and The Rounders con-
tinues 10 be a gigantic success. Despite
the intense heat. the Casino is packed 10
the doors nightly and the best and worst