The Washington times., 1908-10-04
Much Promise in ZangwiIl Play
Which Comes ID Columbia;
End Of Week Theater Review

are 70 measure against new Adrieuue
I-BernharLt. Bcjdne. Duse. and the
whole range of lesser cuotiou1lists who
/ imagine themselves posse ssed OF Capac-
ity 10 play q brisk comedy on the key
board Of the emotions.
According 10 the London reviewers
Miss George energies from the test tri-
umphaHt. There is much that is signlf-
cant i'm that verdict The management
does we'll TO advertise it by every
means. including folders in the program
OF the week preceding her local appear
ance. The British capital has passed
criticism upon every CyUTienne since
Sardou wrote the play. Its critics are
not given 10 overpraise OF Americans
When they accepted Miss George there
was proof in that fact alone that this
earnest little woman. whose acting has
improved measurabIy every year since
first she essayed "a leading role, has
earned her way ahead.
Some Butterfly Criticism.
Enthusiasm is one of the best quail
ties I'm the world and i'm criticism of
dramatic performances it is so rare that
il ought 10 be cherished tenderly. II
! t. her outdid itself. however in some
Of the reviews Of the new DeKoven
! opera. The Golden Butterfly"
AS a matter OF end-of-the-week judE-
ment, this work is brilliant chiefly as a
| spectacle for the eye. Manager Brad
/ ley has produced it beautifully It is as
/ well sung as the average light opera of
. the better class. but not better than
/ that. Mr.. DeKoven. composing for Il
/ with more ambition than discretion. has
/ done his best work in that department
which the public is least likely 10 APP
/ preciate-the choruses; otherwise the
music is practically without distinction,
/ Last Of all, the comedy is miserable.
It was good TO see this composer strike
away from the old mannerIsus as far
; as ne could. from the over-frequent
( pauses, the laborinE over counter melO-
dies. and the almost incessant use OF
4 the French horns TO give his orchestra
ton color; but there was also food foI
/ reflection in the fact that the two most
popular members were the sCTEs-Cu-
riously juXtaposed-at the opening OF
the third act. There we had only e
close our eyes and let our memories run
free. and we could imagine ourselves
hearing any OF the earlier DeKover
works from Robin Hood" through
I "Happyland." with The Fencing Mas.
/ ter Rob Roy The HIChwayman. o.
and 1.-The Mandarins" as way stations
Um-la-la: um-la. Ia. um-la. IA. so they
go, whether In Sherwood Forest, China
( Venice, or ancient Greece. The hes
of them was the frst-the Grow Song
and the best opera. the only one witt
Il atmosphere save Roy Roy" was Rob
in Hood"
We hope good things for this Iates
composition: they will probably come
and when they do. the credit Will be.
long with producer and star rather
than authors.
A word as TO the plot Of The Golden
Butterfly" Many people OF last weeks
| audiences found il familiar But they
must not do Mr.. Smith an Injustice
| They had followed it's development in
/ another existence. so TO speak, but the
! credit was all Mr.. Smiths. He wrote
q play not long ago. The Second
! Fiddle" which was put on at the
| BelascO by Louis Mann and Clara
Lipman. II did not succeed. though
various critics rated Il the cleverest
thing he had ever done 10 get rio
OF the prima donna, in order TO give
| the understUdy a chance. Now il comes
forth as opera, with a second-act set
ting so like that Of the non-musicaI play
that one wonders II tne memory ISM
a nuisance, and its recollections an at
Fiction II is, and they are, If Of them.
selves they hamper enjoyment in a per
Torrance otherwise diverting or inter
esting.
What Road for the Critic?
OF the new Collier play. one Of n
1T IS structuraIIy weak: its events
strain credulty; It IS a mfnce pie o.
comedy and not a play"
! Which road should a critic talze2 Ha,
he two standards? Does he exact Z. con
sistency from the author Of a serious
drama which the authors Of a comed7
can Disregard
The critic will answer for himself
Mr.. Winter fires the same ten-inch gum
at a farce that he trains on tragedy
He has an humble follower in Wash
inEton who calls himself content if p,
can make his reviews reflect the charac
( | ter Of the performance. To the mind O.
the latter IT is vastly less notewortb,
that a play built out Of nonsense shOul,
here and there stretch things a littl
than that a play designed to trace tn
/ --'-Iile'' oie SL VI human events SuOul
put forth a counterfeit The second i
bad portrait painting; the first may b
good cdricature. The critic Will serv
his readers best by telling them whethe
either is good Of its kind. His function
is TO help his audience TO appreciate
b. good as well as bad-farce as well a
romance Mr. Winter to the contrar
Notwithstanding. that will continue t
be the earnest land comparatively light
20 hearted purpose OF.
et ALLEN D. ALBERT.