The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-10-15
"cap,aln careIessv pleased.

captain Careless" a new musica
romance" it is billed, although we are
inclined to hesitate to accept the term
was the attraction at the Cambria
Theater yesterday, matinee and even
ing.
Mr.. Whitney doubtless has his owl
reasons for jumping around among the
second and third class cities with this
attraction. They must be good ones
because ordinarily show like Cap
tain Careless does not visit the pro
vinces until 1t is in its decrepit years
Mr.. Whitney does not have another
show that compares with Captain
Careless" Johnstown has not seer
lin recent years show that com
pares with 1t. More than that, New
York has not seen during the last
three years a musical production that
possesses the merits that are so evil
dent in Captain Careless This last
! Whitney show is the best attraction OF
its kind upon the road to-day and this
statement is made with full knowl'
edge of what it means.
1t is not that the music of Captain
Careless" is of such transcendent mer-
it. The score and the lyrics are not
at all striking in their originality.
The book is clever but 1t is not the
best book ever written. The merit of
the Whitney production lies in this:
It is the result of an idea grasped in
its entirety. Captain Careless is well
rounded and mature. There is nothing
hapha2ard about 1t. Its effects have
been carefully calculated. Its bal
ances are the result of discrimination.
In short Captain Careless Is SYM
etrical. 1t rounds smoothly to its
close as naturally as carefully
worked.out comedy. The usual musical
production nowadaysjis full of awk-
ward breaks and abounds In unrelated
songs, monnIogues and incidents. Peo'
Dle rush upon the stage from the wings
for no cause whatever. Before Cap.
tain Careless musical productions
were in much the same strait as
that in which the drama found itself
in the days when the resources of
scenery were unknown and castles and
rocks had to be labeled.
The effect attained in Captain Care
less" is the more remarkable when
the means employed are considered.
There is a bit of everything in it.
The operate idea has been employed,
the traditions of light opera have been
followed, the best has been culled from
musical comedy, vaudeville has con-
tributei a dash of its spirit and from
| the drama has been drawn the inspir-
alton that made the unity of the pro.
duction possible.
We take occasion to point out these
facts because we believe Captain
Careless" is an indication OF a tend
ency that will become more and more
pronounced. We are nearing the time
when musical productions cannot be
of clap.trap construction and find fav-
or What we are going to require Is
a production in which there is the
sober worth of strong music well sung
by principals and choruses Of worth,
the lifting lyrics and the careless
moods of light opera, the effective
massings Of musical comedy as well as
ifs feminine possibilities together with
the merit OF the vaudeville specially
naturally introduced, all closely knit
together by a mind capable of grasp
ing a production instead Of scene or
an interlude.
Much of the merit Of Captain Care
less" lies in the staging Of 1t. In
this respect the production Is splen'
did. gorgeous even.
OF course the piece is well cast. We
all know Henshaw, the ever remem-
bered. Forrest HUI. Alice Yorke, May
Ten Brock, Sol Solomon, Frences
Golden, Harry Lane and EEfreeda Bus.
ing are an in their happlest vein In
this production. Added TO the worth of
the principals is the fact that there
are many fine singing voices among
the remainder of the cast-voices that
one can pick out and follow with real
pleasure throughout the excellent
chorus.
The little ladies of the pony ballet,
as 1t would be called In mere musical
comedy, must not be forgotten. If
they are all as nice as they looked
you could take them to church or in.
troduce them to your grandmother. in
fact the production as whole had
a clean, fresh, well tubbed, wholesome