The Washington times., 1904-01-05
THREE LITTLE MAIDS"
CAPTURE WASHINGTON
Sing and Dance Into Favor
at the National.
GENUINE MUSICAL COMEDY
Bright Words, Good Singing, and
Capable Performers Distinguish
1t From It's Fellows.

The three little maids who tripped so
lightly and sang so sweetly i'm The
Mikado" may find gleeful associates at
the National Theater this week, if old
Pooh Bah will give them leave of alb
sence from Full Yama: and If that an
cient dignitary should defy all prece-
dent SO far Yum Yum and her COM
panions viii be copiously rewarded for
their journey. These new little maids
are English They wear garden frocks
with big Gainsborough hats and Dutch
Costumes instead Of kiInonos and little
fans in their hair. Moreover. they spend
their time in pursuit of young men in
golf costumes or hunting coats, instead
OF signing your poets. But all six sing
of the same theme, and the applause
Showered on the newcomers last night
indicates that that old. old theme has
never yet been sung quite through
1t so happened that when the three
little ladies from Japan made their bow
In Washington they came well intro
duced. but found numerous company
already here. Everyone. in those days
might hear good opera at random All
he had to do was to walk to the right
theater and pay blindly for a seat If
he missed aida" he encountered Pa
heard ''Pinafore" or THE Bohemian
Girl" Like every period which only a
few may recollect. that was the time of
real appreciation for art.
A Musical Landscape.
But the modern trio comes into an
other life. We in America have no opera
today. One week or two, maybe, we
hear few bars of real music, and once
or twice in the season we hear some
comedian whose comedy makes us
laugh. not his gyratiOns. But the music
and the comedy are never interfused. So
il is that these little maids Are much
more lonely than their predecessors
which is right hard on US. but certainly
fortunate for them.
The substitute for opera (which the
intervening years have brought is called
musical comedy. 1t consists usually Of
costumes. ten parts; beauty girls" nine
parts; singing voice, one-half part, and
plot and music one-half part. The com
edy is often so bad that, insignificant as
IL Is in comparison with the costumes.
it permeates the whole entertainment
like the smell OF cabbage The sur
prising thing about these Three Little
Maids is that they are made out Of
exactly these materials-costumes, beau
tiful girls, singing voices. a plot. and
music. But COnSLaDle ana the sign
painter do not produce the same re-
suits. although both use canvas. cOloTs
and brushes. The one catches and in
tensifies the atmosphere of some beau
tiful side of nature; the other catches
the crowd. Musical comedy. these past
ten years. has been written by theatre
cal sign painters The Three Little
Maids was done by a theatrical Con-
stable.
Done by theatrical Constable''-that
phrase ought TO suffice TO identify this
new work. Some curiosity may remain
however. as 10 the subject this Con-
stable has chosen In this case the
artist is Paul Rubens-a great name in
another field of art-and his subjects
are three daughters of an English vicar
These little maids meet three young
gentlemen who have journeyed into the
country from London with their three
fashionable sweethearts Then the
wears daughters go 20 London to sup
plement the reverend fathers income
with their earnings as mattresses in "a
fashionable tea shop. Lastly, the young
fndustriaIs go back TO the country to
attend a dance in the neighborhood.
That is all there is to the story-cx-
cepting that the young men also make
these journeys and at the close there
are three disappointed young women IN
London fashionable society.
A Strong Cast.
Any such story as that must be either
nightly interesting or dreadfully duh.
In this case IL IS nightly interesting
and those who make IL so are Madge
Crichton. Della. Mason. and Elsa Ryan,
as the Wears daughters: G. =. Hunt
ley, Maurice Farkoa. and J. Edward
Fraser as the three London gentlemen
Maud Hobson, as the aristocratic pro-
prietor Of the teashOp. and about twenty
others who are exceptionally capab BILE.
Without this cast 10 speak the dia-
logue. sing the songs and dance the
dances there would be very little to this
work by Mr.. Rubens. At these hands
IL is distinctly the musical comedy sue
cess of the past several years Mr.
Huntley and all three Of the little maids
are particularly good.
IL Is unhappily certain 50 strong a
cast will soon be cut in two-all the more
reason why this one should be enjoyed
while IL lasts. For week at least we
can lark with these unspoiled young
country girls and laugh at Mr. Hunt
ley's picture Of an idle. young English
lord. For "A time. at least we can for
get the modern girl show" And at the
end OF their visit IN Washington maybe
these three little maids viii have taught
us very valuable Iesson-that there
no a..