New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-11-05
THE DOVE Of PEACE"
A DAMROSCH OPERETTA
Universal Peace and Women
Suffrage Amiably Satirized.

Is necessary 10 make SucceSS1ul opeE-
eta. Old observers know this and even
the careless listener realizes IL, though
uninterested in the technical elements of
stagecraft. Vulgar humor and musical
commonplace have brought the entertain
ment which is called operetta TO low
plane, but the more thought and pur-
pose have been degraded the more have
handicraftsmanship and attention TO ex-
ternal elements been advanced. holster-
ing fun makers, gorgeous scenery pretty
chorus girls in picturesque gowns ana IN
genious stage management nave uhhap-
pily become Of greater moment than
comedy with a purpose and music winch
does not offend good taste. The more
sincere the attempt TO give artistic aim
to musical comedy however, the greater
the demand upon technical skill IN crea-
don and production. This Is the great
obstacle which confronts novlces IN lno
field. as was brought home to the a''en-
ton of the amIably disposed friehds VI
Wallace Irwin and Walter Damrosch'
who saw and heard the first performance
in New York OF THE Dove OF Peace AT
the Broadway Theatre last night
There is much to enlist the honest sym
pathy of people of good taste In tne
operetta. It's aim meets the good olu
classic definition Of comedy. lls pun
pose is 10 chastise manners with shl''0'
Its elements are national ana OF Io-aa'
Its dramatic concets are drawn from
cort.mporary history. One OF the silly
eI.ments of q sociological, economic ana
religious fad exploited widely ana sue
cesstully for little while unoer 'he
mama Of Dowieism contributes an anus
ING element in the shape Of q young man
who remains a hero so long as nc re-
Trains from kissing woman Inc eon
zeal incident OF the capture OF the islaho
Of Guam in the spanish-American war
without the firing Of q gun because the
eovernor had no powder TO return what
h. thought was the friendly salute OF
on American war vessel is another. The
theory that the happiness OK manhinu
will be attained when warfare ceases ls
snother. and the notion that woman SUI
frage will bring an abiding benson 10
humanity is still another All TINS Is
fair game for the amiable satirist' anu
II is pleasant 20 imagine the oehS'A
use which Mr.. Gilbert would nave thaue
OF Il. But to put II all into coHeoy
IN which dialogue, action ana SONG sha"
bs brought into successful cooper ALVIN
oaIIs for much greater skill and expert
ence than Mr. Irwin possesses ana niuoH
more stagecraft than was eHnlolteo w
tho two authors and their technlcai COL
10 borators and performers.
A hint OF the possibilities In the fuhoa-
mental conceit OF the piece can De con-
vsved by an outline Of the plot. The peace
a, mankind lies within the gift OF col
legs student who Is head water Al
summer resort hotel. A fairy soonothe'
In Elizabeth, y. j., who, Ike Wellington
Wells. was a dealer in spells, has put II IN
h,a mower to end warfare among all the
man OF the earth, by kissing a woman
before his twenty-nfth birthday. but no
ona wants the blessing except ference
Donnybrook, peace commissioners from
The Hague, a wild Irishmsn, who Is resay
n asht for peace at the drop OF nat.
War e. brought about between the United
sts,ss and Spain by a newspaper eager
for a sensation. Maids and walters at the
nurses and marines in tiny ana
whisked off TO Guam. which is captured
without a night. But the aborisines are
brought in to kill the lovers, Willie Feo-
kns and Hlldegarde Tyler, who are per-
suaded by Donnybrook to kiss each other
70 save their lives a moment before the
sxpiratton OF the period OF probation. In
q twinklins Guam is transformed into
Arcadia and savsges. soldiery and inVao-
era IN ArcadIa's classic deniZens. But
now a frighttully irksome placldity rests
upon the men; while the women. exempt
from the spell. become militant suf-
fragettes. quarrel about their lovers seize
them as traitors and drag them on 10
washington, where the United states
Senate has sunk into deep somnolency
The women usurp the Senate chamber
and Hildexarde is about to pronounce
s.ntence upon the men when Donnybrook
bursts in with the news that Willie was
born In New Jersey and kissed In Guam,
that the difference In time had been
overlooked, It was all too late for the
fatsful kiss to become operative and the
universal truce had all been a delusion.
Return OF tne olu slstuS efS
all around.
Good Gilbertian paradox this, though
bunglingly handled. However Mr.. IT.
wins lyrics are more than ordinarily
clever Qn the reading. at leasD, and
there are some good. breezy strains In
the score, with a native tang to the
marches and some sentimental music
which is pretty and graceful, even II not
strikingly original IN idea nor always
happy in structure. Spanish rhythm and
color give effective local color to the
song of an Andalusian maiden, the mu-
steal brogue Of Ireland Is heard In Donny-
brooks songs, there is a stirring lingo"
chorus, Anglo American patriotism speaks
out Of q six-eight variation of God Save
the King" conceived to illustrate the
sentiment that blood is thicker than
water" and the tune OF The Star-Span-
gled Banner" is made TO do service for
space as cantus drmus TO resounding
final chorus. There are other evidences
OF ingenious workmanship In the orches-
tration, and, OF course. an all pervasive
waltz, which called for many perform
ances last night, though nice taste may
have preferred hornpipe and Spanish
dance as less conventional and more
piquant.
1t seems to be easier TO begin an
operetta than TO continue II. In this all
plays are like poems as every schoolboy
knows. The chief charm OF "A Dove OF