New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-04-10
THE CAST
BY ARTHUR RUHL.

or "IinafOre' at the fllppOurOne may ne
lightly cast. overheard at once. Whoever
went TO the opening performance last
evening. or the semi-public dress rehcar-
sal the night before. fearing that the
well-bcloved old operetta must ncces-
sarily, i'm such a place, be turned into
SOFT Of circus extravaganza, with all its
satire and whimsical favor lost, enjoyed
a pleasant. not TO say rather overwhelm-
Ing. surprise.
Very little. indeed was lost, and a 5000
deal was gained. \ mammoth cave like
the Hippodrome is not an Ideal place OF
course. i'm which TO DC quaint, ana
when the sailor. after that aosuroIy
cllborate analysis of his emotional San
..lia." remarks. Il hope | make myself
clear" and the captains daughter muir
nurs Your simple eloquence goes
straight TO my heart. in characteristic
csllv C;ilbertian moments like this, some
thns OF the true quality was necessarily
lost. The gentle humor could scarcely
carry quickly enough across those vast
spaces.
But il was astonishing thanks to the
excellent acoustics of the Hippodroine'
how little. even III sum 'o-Ntf 49,
Cd erect was dullod. And against any
such occasional misses must oe BALANCED
such broad and splendid musical enec's'
such a scenic picturesqueness ana elo-
,uencc. as. in the first case, Plna1ore
,ss rarely. in the second case, probably
never yielded before.
The choruses-"He is an Englishman'
for instance-and the finale of the last
act. we're really superb. pipe organ hau
hoen added 10 the regular orchestra, there
< = chorus of three hundred voices, ana
with q real ship as a background, sailors
suarminC I'D the rigging, the Union JACK
going aloft. display flags breaking out
everywhere and the smoke and crash OF
the sbip's cannon joining In, the erect
was tremendous.
There are possibilities OF an ASCENDING
scale OF effects in such place Whlch tue
ordinary stage can scarcely touch' II
VAS particularly interesting 70 watch the
skilful use Of these possibilities IN the
finale of the last act. The act had peer'
plaved in moonlight, with night lanterns
glowing aloft from the main and miZzeh
tons and one on the ships boat foatins
alongside; with lamplight showing
through the cabin windows, through which
could be seen ladies Cthe sisters ana couS-
ms and aunts) doing fancy work. taihlhe
with officers and moving about qul'e u"-
concerned-as of course they Woulo nave
heen I'm real life-about what was doills VI
dock When everything had been done
,,o+ could he done. apparently. by Or
chestra and chorus 10 work up the pltc"'
tho green lights which had been piayiiis
ON the stage from the upper proscehiui'
boxes and the blue lights when had DeeH
mourning down from the gallery were
shifted through an ascending scaie VI
brilliance until the final burst or the
chorus. as flags broke out and the snip
cannon began to crash H. Was i'i''O VI
a full blaze Of white.
To understand how effective this all Is
Il, must be recalled that the stage shiI
is for all necessary purposes OF Tue
theatre. an actual lfesized friSate' ahod'
ON real sea water. About half the snip
length is shown. and the audience looh
scroes II from about amidships aft to th'
old-fashioned raised quarterback as
would appear II they were sailing by OF
the starboard side. In the Foreground ID
real water on which. round the stern
Buttercup comes rowing, with other buin'
boats following after. These boats re-
main about the ship during the first scene
their occupants knitting, selling orange
TO the sailors. and so or.
Beyond the frigate a backdrop shows
a harbor mouth, a city coming down TO Il
and, beyond, the open sea. We see rea
ut nd hot ~
blue ocean in the distance. and in front Of
YOU this real ship. with black cannon
frowning from the open ports and sailor,
II work or play behind them, bras
howitzers on the quarterback, practica
companionways. UP and down which PEG
rle 20 in workmanlike fashion. The ship
bells strike. the boatswains whistle walls
delghtfully, drummers thunder the cal
N quarters and the relocated mariner
come tramping in-in short, here we ar
AZ sea, or anchored In harbor. at any rate
in tho good old days OF the wooden WALL
Of England" II the sailors swarm alof
rather more than the sea necessities
the time and place might demand. o
there arc other slight solecisms, IL Is Jus
sycb Il shin. At any rate, a. might hav'
harbored Captain Corcoran, Dick Deadey
and the Right Hon Sir Joseph Porter
X. {. p.
What the Hippodrome people have dom
Is not 10 spoil ono kind OF thing by hitch
Ing circus attachments 10 IT, but insen
iOusly and irnsglnatiyely 10 expand II iht'
quite another thing consistent win u
self.
Two casts Of principals are to snare th'
task ~ giving two performances dally
the number Including such familiar coml'
opera singers as Eugene CowleS and Al
bert Hart and various others who have
sung IN grand opera Of varying degree
u grandeur. The list includes the Misses
Josephine Jacoby. Ruby Cutter Savage
Elise Msrryett. Marie fiorgsn' Heiei
bs'nsmann and Grace Camp ana th'
@ss1rc. William linshaw, Harrison
bfockoank. Earl Waldo Marshall vernon
D~itart, u. Percy Parsons, Harry fair
ie'sh' Daniel Dawson. John BardsIcy
peftrsn Peacock, william G. Gordon
''hn Foster and Harry La Pearl
Ah OF last nights principals were
'@psoiF and Vernon Dalharts tenor
"'h'f unusually pleasing. Miss RUDY
r''br Ssyagc might well permit her
"'D'Dhine few more smiles. the vast
p@''s swallowing up merely gentle
NefEfh 4 . a, g..