The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1903-02-17

At the Providence Opera House for
three nights with matinee tomorrow af-
ternoon THE Wild Rose" a musical pro-
duction
AS the feller complained after seeing
and hearing Hamlet for the first time, "it
was full OF things he d heard before" so
the auditor OF and the visitor 10 ''The
Wild Rose" will be impressed with the
unusual number OF bright bits OF song
and speech with which ne is already fa-
miliar. But as IL Is surely not Mr.. Shakes
peare's fault 81 the crowd has made his
Hamlet gags familiar TO the ear, In many
cases before that same ear has listened
to them as they drop from the mouth OF
the melancholy dane. 30 folks need not
complain because the authors OF The
Wild Rose" have been quite unable TO
carry their show around the circuit on as
swift wings as many OF It's airs and fi"-
bits fly on.
Indeed, there is probably never any dis
position to regret the circumstance OF
listening TO a good deal in stage show
that Is already familiar. on the whole ii
rather adds a zest 10 an entertainment 10
see a thing, already famous. done in the
original. Especially when so many OF the
things are 80 good thai even the wide
spread repetition that they have enjoyed
has by no means yet sufficed to make
one wish to discard them from our roper
tory.
THE Wild Rose" has the distinction OF
having been selected to make a midsum-
mer holiday for the guests of Mrs. Corne-
Illus Vanderbilt at Newport, last sum
mer. Our humble guests at the summer
capital were engaged In hot contest at
the time, to beat each other at the great
American game OF doing something that
nobody ever thought TO do before and
when Mrs. Cornelius brought over the
whole wild Rose" Opera company, seem
cry, props. and everything down 10 the
boy that peddes the words and music OF
the opery." and had the production on her
lawn, that was the limit apd they had TO
70 back and begin the game all over
again. The inference was that, OF the
sundry and several musical performances
then going on in the mad metropolis,
Mrs. Cornelius judgment was that THE
Wild Rose was tho best and so she
bought II outright for her one night only.
The first nighters I'm the audience at the
Providence Opera House. last evening
were disposed to endorse Mrs. Cornelius
Judgment. This is a season OF the kind OF
thing that the wild Rose Is. Next sea-
son . or the season after or some fine
there will be a big revulsion and Nancy
Browns and Bamboo Trees and Tootsey
Wootseys will be drug I'm the market.
Then we shall all be quoting the legiti-
mate. good many OF US will feel sorry
when that day comes and will talk about
the halcyon days when all you had to do
when you went TO the theatre was to lis
ten TO music and mirth and enjoy your
self But there Is no need 60 despair be-
cause OF the future. so long as the musi-
cal thing Is so numerously with us as II ia
this season, and all the bright minds OF
wit are enlisted TO give the same an In
finite variety. And as for "the Wild
Rose" IL is TO be said, without mention
T.. tkat ,tsrht n
compa rison, that musically and mirthful-
iv nothing in It's class so far has excell-
ed II and we recall only one or two that
have been anywhere near up to IL, good