El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-04

a musical comedy, by Franz Lehar
produced at the New Amsterdam thea
ter OF course, Lehare is at a disad-
vantage by reason OF, having set VI
for himself a standard of excellence
in the writing Of the Merry Widow
by which his later productions must
inevitably be judged. Leaving this fea-
ture of the proposition entirely aside,
however, it can not be said that Eva
has naught to recommend it save the
reputation of the author.
The action Of the piece is cast in a
place in Belgium called Montarlier,
and in Paris. Eva IS a maid in a glass
factory; she has nothing in the world
but a guardian and a desire to Tive
the life" Though she must dress
like a working girl, she loves jewels
and fine clothes.
Octave F1aubert is a manager of the
glass factory in which Eva works. He
IS young, rich, and appreciatiVe. He
is also attracted to Eva and acts the
blast" as he later describes it. He an
nOunces his engagement to her before
everyone in Montarlier and then in the
next minute sings to her that It was
lie Eva unclasps the pearl necklace
and, clad in the finery Of one of Oc-
taves prOteges, fees TO Paris, there to
seek an honest living.
Octave, repentant, finds her in the
last act working as a milliner's as
Sistant and earning 20 pure francs a
week Eva's guardian then OppOr-
timely comes in to tell her to trust
Octave, for, as he says, q reformed man
IS better than a naturally good one.
Thus does everything end happily.
Neither Lehar's songs nor the
renditions by the members of the cast
were particularly pleasing.
@CHeer Up"
An attempt by Mary Roberts Rine-
hart to fOist upon an unsuspecting
her lame and fortune in Seven Days
as the fundamental pricipal of Cheer
Up which had its premiere on Mon
day night at the Harris theater, failed
dismally.
In Seven Days" Mrs. Rhinehart seq
reSated her cast in a town house. use
ing a plague quarantine as a conven-
lent means Of illuminating them from
I tne OUTSIDE world In Cheer Up" she
mas changed her locale to a sana-
torlum, on mountain top, and has in
troduced blizzard to cut off all com
munlcation with the outside world. To
make conditions worse, the house ply
Slclan mas run away with the head
nurse The patients are also CRYING for
the doctor and are threatening 10
leave The hOusekeeDer endeavOrs 70
staVe them off until the young owner
arrives-in fact under his p-raDdfa+b
er's viii he must take possession nv
o'clock or lose his inheritance The
alternate heir has already arrived
The comedy Is largely provided nv
the action Of the loyal housel<eanar
in persuading two stranded actors vThC
have drifted in with the snow 70 i'm
peTsOnate the expected heir and tho
aecamped house physician No sooner
have these impOstors begun to NAV
their parts than the real owner ar
rives, accompanied by his wife with
whom he has eloped only the dav he
fore She is a daughter of a million
aire, who, as a matter of course e
even then taking treatment at the
sanatorium.
The husband, of course, must be hid
den to escape the wrath of his father
inlaw and to add zest to the sItua-
ton an actress enters, who is suing
him for breach Of promise.
This abundant material for rat
Ting farce is maltreated to such an
extent by Mrs Rhinehart that its
proved most disappointing. The large
cast did its best with the lines pro
vided for it Walter Hampden gave
a deboniar sketch of the actor resort
manager. and Alan Brooks's imperson-
alton of a man on the verge of delirum
tremens was a warning for the drink
ing mem bers of the audience.
saThe Drone.o
The most miserable Monday night
failure of all proved to be "The
Drone," which was produced at Days
theater Throughout, an attempt has
been made to initiate the Irish play
ers who recently created such a Juror
in America