New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-20
THE DRAMA.
MORAL LESSONS AT THE KNICkER-
BOOKER
WHEN WE WE'RE TwENTY-oNE"

We Were Twenty-one," now current at the knick-
erbocker Theatre. There good things In the
comedy it's exposition Of the fidelity of friendship
is admirable: its suggested Ideal OF a generous
selfsacricing masculine character equally SYM
pathetic and noble; It's portraiture Of the comiI
of love TO the heart OF ingenious girl is ful OF
delcacy and charm; its inventive use OF dTamauc
incident, in the second of its four acts, ds re-
markably adroit; and its llngual quality through
out. is irreproachabIe: but its moral didactcism
(this being the soul of IT'D is mass of eXtravagant
and specious nonsense. the success Of which only
furnishes a proof that you can always beSulIe
the multitude II you sufficiently expert IN the
use of tricky theatrical expedients. The central
theme is the idolatry OF a young fool for no
torious courtesan. and the principal scene IS the
assembly room OF q fashionable London brOtheL
To this complexion have We been led by our moral
lists of the stage. and most edifylng spectacie 90
present. we git at the feet (mostiy NO "
of these gifted teachers. believing our rapture at
the simplest Sunday school truths about garbage
that fall from their inspired lips.
The young fool, Richard Audaine. betrothed
to virtuous and beautiful girl. Phyllis Ericsson
vastly his superior but he had fallen in love
with Kara Gynesk, a painted music hall huzzy
called THE Firefy" whose odoriferous reputa-
ton although it had infected the entire county OF
Mddlesex. unknown to him. The age OF TINS
blooming shrub was twenty-one; he had been Well
nurtured and educated. and he was possessed OF
the faculties of eyes and yet Notwithstanding
these advantages, and in impudent defiance OF four
guardians he repudiated the lady and phshted
himself to the drab. One OF his guardians, Richard
Carewe, a bachelor Of forty-old enough to know
better-thereupon determined to pay a thousand
pounds to THE Firefy" and by that means to
induce her to pretend be his mistress and thus
to disilusonize her verdant lover This ridiculous
and completely needless plan was duly fulnlled, IN
meeting between Carewe and the iridescent Miss
Glynesk at a brothel frequented by that theatrical
Iumnary. and Observation-Disclosures and Au-
dame being confronted, before mob of prohigates
and Cyprians,-when Carewe designated Glynesk
as his mistress, Audaine proclaimed her to be his
wife: whereupon Carewe. begging the boys par
con. admitted that he had lied. while The Firehy''
triumphantly decamped with a beetle-browed
hlackleg named David Hirsch. much resembling the
Jack of Spades. Later the discounted Audalne'
having been repealed and insulted by his disreputa-
bic wife tried to assault Carewe but finally he was
pacihed. forgiven, highly commended. and sent TO
bed while Carewe and Phyllis discovering that they
had loved each other all along, announced them
selves to their friends as affianced lovers
Such in brief outline. Is Mr.. Esmond's comedy
1t shows an episode in the life OF a calow lad who
got into an ugly scrape; refused to allow his friends
to get him out of it. behaved like an asinine cad
and became both contemplate and wretched; and IL
seems have thought that the theatrical dls-
play of the doings and sufferings of such person
is provident OF an exemplary warning to the young
men OF our times against bad women and bad con-
duct Great stress is laid upon the climax OF
Carewe's Quixotic attempt and its failure. but IN
fact no situation could be preposterous, more
rankIy theatrical grossly absurd. In actual
life a sane and sagacious man would never have re-
sorted to such a scheme.-there being so many and
such obvious ways, In such case, OF showing the
truth even to fool--but supposing such a man as
Carewe to have once adopted such plan' II is GER
tain that he could never have been deferred from
it's complete fulflment land never should have
been by any such opposition that to which he Is
made to yield On the contrary, the knowledge that
the boy had been lured into marriage with stuc-
coed moral leper would only have made his guar
dian more resolute than ever in holding the woman
to her bargain and in saving the fatuous young
scamp from lifelong disgrace and misery. 1t seems
not to have been either truth or sense or right.
however that the dramatist had in view when de-
vising this key-bugle and pyrotechnic stage-efect
but solely theatrical sensation. and this he mas
obtafned-wth the result that the audience is Incl
dentaIIy edited by needless spectacle of harlotry
and debauchery, while beguiled OF sympathy With
calf 1t is conceivable. OF course, that ingenious
youth may become infatuated with an unprincipled
woman who besides being beautiful is sufficiently
subtle to appear to be good.-and the finer his
nature the likely he is to think no evil nor to
see Il, nor believe it: but such youth must have
some show of reason his idol must. at least, be
plausible Even Master Slender would have COM
pretended Doll Tear-sheet,
For what reason it is assumed that exemplary
warnings against evil women and evil conduct with
them are just needed in such af1uent album
dance and so urgently required from the New-York
stage that even Nat" Goodwin cannot resist the
piteous public demand, nobody to know;
but plainly enough, the concurrent dramatic opin-
ion is that this town is hungry and thirsty for
moral lessons" MRS. Langtry thinks so. Olga
Nethersoe thinks so. Theodore Moss strongly in
clnes to think so,-for the attendance at Walacks
is uncommony good.-and a Sapho agent appro-
pFiately named Meyer confesses. with tears in his
eyes, that he never knew a time when morals were
worth much they are now. Charles Froh-
man. moreover. is thai the people try to be
good and that is why he has produced ''COralie
& Co." and "The Girl from Maxims.' and 1.-The
Surprises of Love" All these headlights OF virtue.
in fact are Joined to illumine the moral darkness
in which we wallow, and it is a concurrent fact
that there never were so many and such beauteous
half naked women and wholly depraved heroines
on the New York stage there now, to show
what ought to avoid. Meantime there are
a few old fogy observers who venture to surmise
that ardent desire Of the theatre to unload its
superaux of morality is. perhaps. less didactic
than pecunary; that these various exhibitions OF
the moral gangrene OF Paris and London made.
not because they disseminate eftiuvia OF good
teaching but because they allure by their de-
pravity of topic and crafty by their swinish filth
that the purpose OF the whole vile business is TO
get money by pandering to the lowest instincts and
worst tastes OF the multitude; that II the com
munity OF respectable people needed moral guild
it would look elsewhere than TO some third
rate English actress, with a muscular style and
raucous voice; that II never the business OF
the dramatic art, OF any other art to teach;
and that actors, when they set up to be moral
preceptors, run very great risk OF being set
down impertinent donkeys. Who has author
lied requested any Of them 10 supervise and
regulate morals?
The finer aspect OF Mr.. Esmonds play is its Dor
trayal of true love distinguished from false
in the character and conduct OF Phyllis Ericsson
This is lovely girl. and her involuntary denote
ments of the growth OF a natural and beautiful
afYa for ma vyhO ia faxr Of