The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-09-25
TTHE PRINCE OF INDIA" HERE.
pOMPOUS DRAMA AND GRAND
lose SPECTACLE PLEASE.

,,uddy scenery. GaFish Lights n TuPgld
Acting send tho Cody Public into
srransDOrts-NO Heather BALLET and
No sporting Contest, but . mig Fight.
STbe Prince Of India Cen. Lsw waIlaoes
nompanion novel TO Ben Hur' and CO.
JIgnitarv az forebear OF tho Indiana school
oShistorical fiction, was presented In dram
ATTIC euise last night at the Broadway and
-.oeived a welcome at the hands n voices
~ the non-theatregOing public that to all
sDnearances augured success, though per-
hsna not in the same measure ~ that Of Ito
nredeoessor. Appearance are all one can
t,dge bv. for this kind Of show trAnscends
;bs ken of the habitual playgoer, appealing
intentionally TO the pubic Tor wnicn tho
mere art Of the drama is anathema.
During the prologue and four Of the
Ave acts the production had not much 70
commend it from any point OF view. Tho
scenery was muddy and the lights garish.
The story was by turns bald and bonn
haHtic and the acting turgid. Even the
oIlurement Of heather dancing in bad pick
Fights and the sop Of a chariot n were
Lcking. If the cody want tho Hippo
drome they will have TO 90 to the Hippo
drome.
) In the third act, IL 10 true; Emmett
C~orrioan in the title role OF the prtnoely
indian Wdnderer, reused Q momentary
oltbu rst by cursing the court OF Consdattne
in blank verse. But 1t was not until the
last act, which represents the fallof Christian
Co~nstantinople before the inidel MohAmmed
in two scenes, and the happy ending 10
the love story of the Turk sh prince and
the Grecian Irene in two more, that the
house was reused 10 any real or prolonged
enthusiasm.
Then amid the din OF arms, the sound Of
assault and the dust Of q fallen wall
realistic dust that surged into the audi
torium and clogged the lungs OF the
sholters-the fate OF the production was
settled. war, carnage m low scared
triumphant above the allurements Of dance
and sport.
Bv and large, the story was pompous in
the extreme and the scenic setting grandiose.
That is about the worst that can be said Of
H. and the best. Intrinsically the mtlisN
of the tale is Of historic moment and, even
In the necessarily meagre stage form given
Il byJ. &c. Clarke and the needlesslY heavy
and unillusive settings. it bad 9Ncertain
the historical picture Of Washington CROSS
inS the Delaware on an ice wagon, which
inspires patriotic fervor in the heat Of mid
summer, though it should only remind the
parched how heavy his ice cake
might be, and isn't
Once there was a "Reminiscences of Par
sifal." when a stage storm blew the Gate
Of Blacherene on the Golden Horn, Con-
stantinople, in one direction, and at the
same time blew the fair PnRcees Irene,
The WandereT and his beloved daughter
LdeI in the other-right across the Bos-
porls TO the castle OF Mohammed, where
they appeared in the next scene with gar
ments dry and not a lock displaced. Clearly
that Wagnerian storm worked more than
ordinarily in COLLISION with the author
and stage manager.
Yet with all t. }, one h~esitates 70 apply
the term melodraInatic in its abusive sense.
In spite of its bare. stark outlines the story
Of the loves Of the Christian Princess and
the Mohammedan invader has, essentially,
the nature Of the true love drama. The
characters have real nobility and heroism
In the conception, however wooden the
execution; and the action moves steadily,
irresistibly, from scene to scene, toward
it's end. With a tragic close-the only
dignihed solution-nstead Of the present
happy ending, it might well serve the turn
Of grand opera. Perhaps Mr.. hanmerstein
will oblige US.
Last night it wa the Wandering. Prince
with his futile dream OF universal peace
and brotherhood who for the most part
held the stage. Mr.. Corrigan played the
part with an Inherent dignity that survived
even the violent emphasis requisite to keep
il in key with the whole. The Irene OF
Adelaide Keim was diwi1ed and measur-
ably appealing, though without any great
beauty or distinction.
Mis- Julie Herne played Lasl as oour-
sgeously and az effectively as II she were
not the daughter OF the late James A. Herne,
apostle Of theatric quietism and author OF
pseudo Ibsenian drama. William Farnum
as Mohammed. Julius McVioker "a Mir-d
and Boyd Putnam as Consecutive. were
capable IL undisting uished.
For those who have the taste for real
plays and for the ~Hippodrome, The Prince
o. India" is a good show to keep away from.
But in spite Of the allurements OF the Great
White Way, a very large proportion Of our
public avoids such things, and for them
the present show will doubtless prove
attractive.