New-York tribune., 1913-11-27

FAIRY Love 30 '' ''-.''''>
A great deal has been said about Hop
o. Ny Thumb" which was presented AT
the Manhattan Opera House last evening
and undoubtedly a great deal Of money
spent on it. There were a dozen more or
less elaborate scenes and a great many
! people
Hop o. Ny Thumb and his six little
! brothers were among them, but they
didn't count for very much. Scarcely
| could they get on the stage before they
were whisked off it to make way for some
/ more of the ineXpressibly dull-and at
! time inexcusably vulgar-book. dreary
! songs and still drearier attempts OF the
/ comedians TO be funny.
/ The fairy tale part Of the performance
was Of very little interest, apparently 10
| those responsible for the production. ana
| Hop % My Thumb and his brothers
might almost as well not have been there
at all The greater part Of the time was
/ given ND TO attempts at regulation Broad
way humor-attempts the greater part OF
which would have been regarded as
/ grotesque in any good musical comedy
and almost have got the hook in olr-
( lesque.
| In the first act there was stage morse
called the Kow Zebra, almost II not quite
! as amusing as other stage horses of re-
cent years. nut then he tarried nut
! little while. The final scene in TINS act
! was also we'll thought out and agreeable
/ II represented the Garden of Statues IN
which the wicked ogre kept the people
/ he intended to eat later on. They were
turned to marble and only awakened
when he needed them by sprinSling them
with water from the magic fountain. The
huge stage was covered with these
figures. revealed gradually as a sort or
moonlight grew brighter. all posed Ike
| marble Watteau fete galante
! Somebody disCov cred the trick Of the
/ magic fountain and awakened them, and
forthwith they drifted into graceful
| ballet Even allowing for the sdueakinS
nullcys. torn curtains and nervous back
| drops Of a nervous first night, this gar
| den scene was the only one OF the six in
the first part of the entertainment of any
! unusual interest
| Little IRIS HAWKINS, tue SlAtN -pOullu
/ actress" as she has been called. was, IN
deed most Interestingly small. She was
pretty and graceful, too, and did neat
little dance on a table top, although, as
! Hop o. Ny Thumb. she seemed tribe
| casual and Indifferent, as if she were
much more Interested i'm herself than in
acting like a little boy who was looking
out for his six little brothers. Miss Eva
| Fallon. strange exotic figure from mu-
sical comedy, amidst all the amazons and
rough comedians against whom she
shone. was another momentary oasis from
time to time. She was Mirabelle, the
ogre's beautiful daughter, or rather, the
kings daughter, whom the ogre had
stolen when she was too young TO pro-
test.
I'm the second act. which opened IN
the kings palace. after Hop o My
Thumb had taken the ogre's seven
league boots and got away from him.
Mr.. Hopper sprang into the breach. Mr
Hopper was the king and the lines ne
had to speak must have made him think
nightly Of happier days. An actors
life is. indeed. a tragic one. The audi
cnce gave Mr.. Hopper every encourage
ment they could. and he struggled game
IL. but il was then nearly IL o'clock by
that time.
And the task was too much for any
man 4. r.