The Washington times., 1902-12-02
The Wild Rose" a Charac-
teriStiC Medley of Com
edy, Costume, and Song,
Is Well Received.

"The WILD Rose" connection OF di-
uted opera which typines the whole ar
ray Of musical comedies" and consti-
tutes the weeks Offering at the New
National Theater. was heartily received
last night by an audience of marked
brilliancy as far as II went. The out
look is that those 20 whom such enter
tainment is congonial viii patronize
"The wild Rose" literally. For every
one else. TO quote tho melancholy prince
whose impressive and noble personality
is held up TO ridicuIe in one OF tine
songs. the rest is silence"
tt is to be said the performance is
good Of its kind. There are the usual
ingredients; a chorus Of about ten men
and forty comely women. who take
deep breath two notes before -hc end Of
every choral number; half a dozen prin-
cipals. who atone with eXaEgeration Of
gesture for occasional insunciency or
voice; q man dressed I'm a bears sEjn
who dances clog; a program Of songs
which consist of one part Of melody. one
par OF spoken words. two parts OF
business not necessarily appropriate
10 the words. and three parts of dane
ing exceptionally bright dialogue by
Messrs. Harry 3. Smith and George V.
Hobart, graceful music by Ludwig Eng
LANCER; acceptable stage settings AMI in
Vulnerable costumes. The plot is evil
IDENTIFY designed only to CONCEAL these
elements Of vaudeville or burlesquc. and
neither singers. nor auditors care 81 the
overCoat ensemble finds it incomplete.
Finally. Edwin Foy. a comedian who
has for many years been received II
Washington with unaffected fayu-. and
Miss Irene Bentley, with the help OF a
fairly competent support. lnfuse into the
mixture a favor OF true humor and rtn.
uine fun. Miss Bentley disclosing
charm of personality and resource Of
action which agreeably surprise every r.
one The judgment Of last nights audi
ence was distinctly favorable to the o.
fering
Yet sight Of this Monday night gath
ering must have excited the specula-
tions Of any student Of present stage
tendencies. Gallery and balcony were
comparatively empty. The orchestra
alone was well patrcnized and there ev-
cry seat was taken. II was manifest.
then. that compositions like The Wild
Rose obtained their support from those
able to purchase whatever form OF en-
tertainment they might desire Their
desire for the past FIVE years has pro-
duced this anomalous creation Of medic
Gre music. suggestive words and situa-
tious. and opuient costuming. and has
supported IL so Loyalty that seven such
performances are now on view in New
York city. and az even dozen are in
cluded in the seasons program ior
Washington.
So far there is no fair sign that this
attitude is uansltory The Passing
show" occasicned only half the scnsa-
tion which has after led the progress Of
more recent musical comedies" New
York not long ago permitted Henry Irv-
ing TO play before lighthouses in The
Knickerbocker Theater and res. rived the
seating capacity of the entire building
weeks before his successors assumed the
stage 10 exploit this same form OF en-
tertainmant The play has evidently
ceased to be the thing
The end 90 this dominion Is more like
ly to come through a surfeit Of TOO
much rather than through starvati )n
from too little An overfed appetite IN
theatrical affairs, as elsewhere, is worth
a whole world OF critical admonition.
Meanwhile the stage is under the control
Of those who 20 to the theater to laugh.
and those others who regard Il as a
means of public instruction auI enter
talnmcnt of another nature can only re-
joice that THE Wild Rose tie latest
concession. is a notable advance over
the similar productions Of last season
and two seasons ago. A. ID. A.