The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-10-28
TWO new PLAYS INTRODUCED,
"THE SILVER SLIPPER" AND
"OLD LIMERICK TOWN"
thsunccy OlcOtt In q New Irish Drama
ny Augustus PitOu--The Latest Of
the Owen Hall and Leslie stuart Tx.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Other Diversions

VtucT UNerSlOns
The famous and almost unprecedented
success Of "Florodora' was a help and a
hnderance to the extravaganza that was
new to New York at the broadway Theatre
AL night. The fact that the composer. the
ihrrti-t and the manager of the -sextet
play had Joined in making a successor. and
had engaged many of the same actors to
play in H. drew brilliant audience TO see
the revelation Of The Silver slipper" a
multitude 30 DESTROYS To be there that IL
had ordered its seats weeks and even months
IN advance. That is what the success Of
the predecessor did to help the new play
But il set "A standard that the audience was
loath tc confess had been equalcd. In some
ways il was not duplicated. But what il
lacked in novelty it made up for in spec
tacular grandeur. in laughable gayety and
IN sprightly If not such odd tunefulness
Much Of John e. Fishers profits at the
Casino must have gone into this production,
which in elegance and beauty dazzled even
faded New York.
The subject of the extravaganza had
been used over and over in that class Of
plays. Visitors from other planets have
hccom" familiar in such entertainments
The circumstances vary. however, and in
this case the strangers were girls from
Venus. One of them had broken law Of
her world 10y throwing her slipper to Earth,
and had been sent. with a bevy OF COM
panlon maidens, to recover II This sur
pr>ng party dropped into the garden
% an old astronomer There they raised
sJma connection and were later sent to
Pari, To he exhibited al a suburban fair
The lively curiosity aroused by the fact
that the Silver slipper" had been written
ny hose Lnndoners. Owen Hall and Leslie
Stuart, whose -Florodora" had been greatly
To the liking of New Workers, crowded
the theatr" with expectant people. some of
whom were eNuberant with delight and
most Of whom acted As though they were
well pleased. There WIS much ado over
Edna Wallace Hopper, partly due to a
popularity previously acquired, but more
han that attributable to what she did on
the spot. Good material had been in
trusted to her and she delivered clcverly
4 long about -the baby with the dimple
and the smile might have been made
rNprssly for her. and another concerning
four and twenty little men, was also
Directly in her line Of knowing naivette
Mrs. Hopper was furthermore nice little
thing to look at. At one time she was the
noatest OF boys in knickerbockers at an
other sh" was the daintiest Of bellies in a
hall gown. and there We're still other cos
tunes that she wore jauntiy. Her voice
was as small as her person. vet she made
II reach Ia the back Of the big house, and
her acting was in miniature. too, vet it
saved her from being belittl led by her bigger
companions. She is a condensed kind of
an artist.
sam Bernard was the leader in the fun
a. the fakir in whose show the girls from
Venus were exhibited. Clay NJ. Greene
had adopted Mr.. Halls libretto for III,
American stage. and part Of his job had
been To turn Mr.. Bernard's role into Ger
manized English. He was the Sam Bernard
81 old, no different because he was a gem
~ral iakir, instead Of a bunco man focusing
l. talents exclusively on Weber and Fields
II was his presence and what Mr.. Greene
had put in the librc,to because he was going
70 b" there, that went far toward changing
London failure into an American success
A. for Leslie Stuart's music II is not a.
striking "a -Florodora." but it is never
'heleHs delightful. II is in some places
more pretentious. which is in a way a fault
\ musician would probably put Mr.. stuart
several pegs higher up for this admirable
core, while listener out for a jingly
'una might let him down one. But many
''hRs IN TINS w!ll be popular as more than
40 already are. The up-to-date public
which in New York is usually a little ahead
~ date, have been singing Eyes of Blue"
and "'iass' some time. Both are excellent
dittie-. The first was fairly sung by Mac
k"n2ie Gordon Josie Sadler made much
"f he latter, which. a. done brilliantly
IN London, was the success of the play.
MAJ dc Nllliers, a newcomer, sang re-
'narkablv, far better than j. usual in comic
"p"ra, 50 unusual vocalist had probably
"""n "ngaget 50 that justice would be done
~ Mr.. StUart's Invocation to Mars"
dramatic composition far superior In
s"rious worth 70 ANYTHING in "Forodora."
Which Miss de Nilliers and female chorus
sa'ig with fine spirit.
cyril Scott was a reminder from "Floro-
dora, who did a little 50 cieverly that the
audience almost forgot its pleasure in that
IN reRr"tting that he had so little to do. 4
less agreeable reminder of "Florodora"
vas second seNtet, "A rather weak affair,
mat called up memories without satisfying
them People who go To hear another
Tell Me Pretty Maiden" will he sorely dis
9ppointed but those who simply to be enter
uned' irrespective, of anything. that went
triore, VAL have big time. Mrs, Hopper
and sam Bernard at their best, "A production
that ranks with any ever seen in New York
and music worthy of Leslie Stuart make
an entertainment that il short of only the
highest standard in musical extravaganza.
The curtain did not fall until an ahsurdly
llausa oung and insstent after every song.
But early in the evening success had been
assured. The only possible question was
Whether just great big success or an ex-
iraordinary one.
II would be An on year that did not bring
thaunccy Olcott to the Fourteenth Street
Theatre in a new Irish play by Augustus
fitou. Those two makers of Irish enter
tainmcnt introduced "Old Limerick Town"
at that house last night. Neither the
artor-singer nor the author-manager had
done as good work before for the character
that Mr. Pitou had written and the per-
formance that MIR, Ocott gave Of it were
better than any of their prior joint efforts.
The Ned TRrion of this fiction was gallant
Young lrshman, rich at the outset, but
such a carclessly frce-handed fellow that
he became poor pretty soon. and so reso-
lutte when he undertook to turn from the
errors of his ways that he rccouped his
losses. So there was a good lesson for
spcndthrfts in this piece.
But the people who crowded the theatre
were there to be amused by Mr.. Olcott,