The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-05-07
ENGLISHVS.GHEUICGN COMEDY
As SEEN IN SERGEANT BRUE"
AND "THE ROLLICKING GIRL"

A inference OF taste In JOkes-Dense
HritOns and BOisterOus Americans
why Our pays Lack Character
and Ratire-Ade, n. y. smith, ~ Al
II was George Eliot twas II nOtO who
remarked that a difference Of taste In jokes
Ia a severe strain on the affections. The
saving must be borne In mind In contrasting
the humor Of English and American musical
comedies-for example, Of Sergeant Brue
and The Rohioking Girl Many things
have been forgiven, and all but forgotten,
by the two kindred countries. Enlightened
Britons now proclaim the signers OF the
Declaration Of Independence as the true
fathers Of the modern English Colonial
pollcy-they made It so abundantly clear
how mistaken had been the previous treat
ment Of dependencies. And We, in turn,
have Rpne In for Imperialism, the white
mans burden. and all that. Let US not
sever hands clasped across the seas win
disputes about the comic spirit, musical
or otherwise.
Is the orchestra Of the pieces We export
loud and bra zen1 It only adds to the
International discord TO ask US TO send
over Yankee earmuds for Yankee music.
Are the choruses that hail from Broadway
overload Of working their smilesf Pa
thence, John Built It was q witty critic,
perhaps, but far from a polite one, who
cried down those golden smirks as an at
tempt to advertise American dentistry!
Is there, on the other hand, in the shows
we receive from the Strand an overabun-
dance Of sledgehammer puns and rib
digging joculartyl Punch, Brother Jona-
than punch with care, the old Punch jokes
Of the Britishairel
There is some reason, no doubt, for the
popular belief that Englishmen cannot see
a joke. But never was a poor half truth
more inexOrably made 10 do q full days
work in the wells Of eternal verify Mr.
Howells. who was among the foremost, il
he was not the first, to proclaim the great
ness Of the genius Of Mark Twain, has
nevertheless pointed out that he earned
his popular vogue by virtue Of the least
interesting and valuable side Of his humor-
the grotesque eIaggeration Of frontier
popularity. Thousands have reared over
Tom Sawyer" for every one who has
recognized The Man Who Corrupted Had
leyburg' for the monument Of Satire
irony and tragic pathos which II is. And
In like manner those Of us who are most
sconful Of the density Of the Briton are
least likely to relish the satiric sparkle Of
Gilbert the humorous satire Of Barrie,
the intellectual farcing Of Shaw.
The plot and the main character Of Ser
geant Brue" are built upon a comic idea
Of such genuine force that il would only
have 10 be treated in q slightly more re-
sponsible spirit to form the basis OF a
legitimate comedy. il is the van ity OF
mortals to think that they can accomplish
by their testameBts after they are dead
tasks to which their living Wills were I'M
equal. A lax but smiable London bobby
is bequeathed a fortune OF $40 900 a
year on condition that he will cultivate
tho spirit Of diligence and efficiency
which his character sadly lacks by re-
naming on the force until he has earned
his promotion TO the rank Of an inspector
One after another the good mans efforts
to rise in the voIll go wrong and in the
end put him in danger OF being discharges
which, Of course, means the forfeit Of the
legacy. turn Of the wheel Of fortune.
however puts the magistrate whose duty
il il to sack him in an equivocal position
and TO save himself he gives the sergeant
his promotiOn-and his much coveted dis
charge. The net result Of the teststor's
finger in the pie Of destiny il that the SER
sant's vury ileh1oiency enables him 10
phi out the plum. Never was there a
better theme for the elaboration OF comic
incident than the sNrgeaEt's dial life as
millionaire and bobby and his futile efforts
70 make q record Of efficiency
That the author has taken full advantage
Of the possibilities Of his theme, even in
the sphere Of musical comedy, am very
far from maintaining. II he had done
10 the result would have been a MASTER
piece in its kind The adventures Of the
Sergeant are somewhat BADLY imagined
and crIdely worked out and the denoue-
ment savors altogether too much Of graft
20 serve for the pointing Of a moral in
human conduct But the fact remains
that there is an idea at the base Of the play,
and that il is an idea which finds its natural
expression in a highly comic conception
Of character. Amiable, droll and ludicrous
as Frank Daniels is in his own person,
much Of the fun that nightly convulse5
his audiences IL the result Of the invention
Of his author.
Refinement and good sense are the key
note Of the whole. The music is gratefully
subdued, without Icing for a moment
mono tonous; the costumes are at once
splendid and in good taste. and the scenery
is rich and atmospheric, Even Miss Blanche
Ring has, 30 TO speak. moved from Avenue A
to Park Lane; and never has shs been
prettier, slenderer, more tlnoful and more
&C full. Sergeant Br,le' ia, in fact,
typical Of English musical comedy at its
best 1t lacks something, perhaps, Of the
sparkle and vitality Of The Geisha,T San
Toy "Florodora' and Three Little
Mazda but il has all OF their negative
virtues and a good measure Of their fun.
In "Ths Rollicking Girl the critical
surgeon could not disclose an idea of satire
OF Of character with tho aid Of all the re-
sources Of X-ray and scalpel. Charles
Frohman has in fact, dlsclaimed all high
intentions. He has entered the field Of
the summer show, which, az all the world
knows. is 10 provide horse laughs for the
dog days. The metaphors are somewhat
mixed, but not more so than The Rollick-