The Washington herald., 1908-04-19
The Blue Moon. .

The Blue Moon"
Musical comedies are divided into three
distinct classes. The first comprises
those which by originality of conception,
cleanliness of ideas. and intelligence Of
cast, rise above their kind and offer
acute bat passing amusement 10 the in
telligent observer as well as the less dis
eliminating masses. This class is in
small numerical proportion to the two
other kinds. The second class is com
posed of about equal quantities of good
and bad material. and sometimes with
casts of mixed capabilities They do not
descend 10 e0arseness or vulgarity, how
ever; there is nothing TO offend the ordi-
nary sense Of pOliteness. ana there is a
suficieney of frivolous. # not exhnarat-
ing, amusement This is the character
isuc example Of the species. and there
are perhaps too many of this kind tour
ing the country in respect TO the eleva-
ton of the general taste. The third and
lowest kind is that which takes unto it
self all the proc,yities of cheap bur
lesque and uses every device of sensual
an abomination 10 the stage and a dis
grace 20 those who glory in them, and
they have no place on any stage of high
traditions or aspiring future. Although
the past few years has shown a diminu-
ton in their popularity, there is yet far
too many OF them in existence for the
good of American theatrieals.
ssrrhs DI.s. No. 4t~
ond mentioned class Of production. 1t Is
d simple and characteristic musical COM
edy, with all Of the usual dramatic faults
and a large number OF good points which
tend to redeem these things from at .er
damnation, the strongest of which is the
absence of broad vulgarity or even dou-
bic entente. II people viii still call for
musical travesties and still further insist
on nothing mentally exhausting. they
must be content with dramatic medioc-
rity and be satisfied If they are simply
lightly entertained for a few leisure
hours. AS this play certainly fills the
bin in the latter capacity, we can dis
cover no cause for complaint on the part
Of those who go to see 1t with a full
from its name, advertisements, and sur
roundings.
Then. again, the production. has the ad-
vantage of the presence of two excellent
entertainers in their sphere, Mr.. James
T. Powers and Miss Clara Palmer. The
first is q clown with numerous flashes of
funniness, and the latter exceeds in clev-
erness, personality, and spontaneousness
many of her more hlridly advertised RI
vals In fact, it is difficult to pass the
subject without commenting strongly on
the power of this young woman to seize
upon the interest from the start and
hold it throughout the performance when
her presence upon the stage will permit,
which fortunately is pretty much all the
time. Why she has not been fixed upon
10 figure as a star in some top-notch pro-
duction is a mystery, for she certainly
equals in comedy power, and just as GER
tainly surpasses in attractiveness Of face
and figure, a great number of the wo-
men who have been lately brought TO the
front by exuberant advertisements
EIIery Band at BeIasco Tonight
The Ellery Band. which will play al
the Belasco Theater this evening for the
benefit of the fund for Rough Riders
national monument. is no mushroom
product of yesterday or the day before,
but an organization with eight years of
honorable life to its credit. It has never
before played in this city, for the simple
reason that It is so much sought after
throughout the entire country to the
west Of Pittsburg that its time has been
fully occupied in those regions. It's pres
ent visit to the East is the first one in
seven years, and It may be quite as long
again before it returns here. The pro-
gramme which it offers for this even
ing's concert is sufficient OF Itself alone
10 stamp the organization as of a very
high order. for no ordinary band could
hope to DO justice to such compositions
as Schubert's Unfinished" symphony,
LISTS Les PrelUdes." the entire fifth
act Of Gounod's Faust" and the grand
duet from the first act of Lucia di Lam
mermoor." This last will be played by
Messrs Antonelh and Croce on the
trumpet and trombone, and for an en-
core the great sextet from the same
opera will be given. The complete pro-
gramme will be as follows:
PART ONE
March ''Tanuhaussr'' Wagner
Overture William Tell l''................ Tossiui
Past0Tale by Signon Caramel and Giampaolo
Adagio Csntabile from Sonata Patetica" .....
Beethoven
For reed instruments only
Les PrelUdes, symphonic POEM List
PART SECOND.
Unfinished" symphony. Allegro Moderate.
k......-...--.-.- Schubert
Grand Duet from ''Lueia di Lammemo0r Donisetti
Sign0ri Antonelh and Croce-
Selection from The Merry Widow ..........LehaT
Incidental solo by Sig. Codipetro.
Faust Act s. Entire. .Gounod
The prison scene ending With the famous THO
signoFi Antonelh, Croce, and De SAINTS.