The Washington times., 1915-05-30

tinklinz music that gradually absorps
the merriment into its own melody ehu
then swells to sonorous chord tha'
stops Just short of seriousness 10 ne
succeeded by the gentle ripple OF an
other budding laugh that gathers I'M
petus until 1t is full blown, and hearty
when one hears this one may be 'ure
that the spirit Gilbert and sullivan
breathed into the affairs of the world is
again abroad!
Most of the words and music OF
human emotions seem to have been
written by this pair of masters Of verse
and melody. And the secret of its I'M
mortality lies largely in the fact that It
deals With elemental human nature. 1t
has been said that If The Mikado' or
'Pinafore" or "The Pirates of Pen
zance" could have been composed 10y
Cain and Abel prior to the historic
tragedy In practically their present form
they would have been as topical OF the
doings in the Garden of Eden AS they
were of the rest of the world when
Gilbert and Sullivan turned them out
forty years ago as they are today under
present conditions. and as they will be a
thousand years hence-.so long as men
and women remain human
1t Is to be hoped that after the sample
OF the great masters work the Aborn
company gave last week. there will be
company's season closes. Patience
was underlined for production and a
change made at the last moment which
substituted The Serenade" While
every one Is glad to hear the Victor
Herbert composition is included in the
repertoire, 1t is to be hoped that Pa
uence' will be presented also, later on.
ana why not "Pinafore" and THE
Pirates" likewise?
Naturally, the recurrence of Gilbert
and Sullivan in season when the fire of
handmade amusement had died down
almost to a spark, brings to mind the
fact though the real genius of enter
talnment may seem to be dead, 1t is al
ways there and only needs the breath Of
opportunity to blow into a blaze. Some
such idea as this is suggested to the
friends of Mabel Kip in the announce
ment that she is about to return to the
business of acting after five years
Of retirement.
Miss Kip is one of the young women
Washington has watched nature fashion
into an actress. She has been an
actress actress-a young person who
had the ability to step into the shoes of
this or that star and keep an audience
from feeling disappointed when the star
was able to appear. She Is to return
to the stage BY way of the stock route
In the Poll production of Kitty Mac
Kay" next week.
Some five years ago the late Charles
Frohman is credited with having said
that Miss Kip had the ability to become
great. And he gave her the very best
evidence of his faith in her by making
her the understudy of no less a person
than Maude Adams. 1t was Miss Kip
who took up the burden of Miss Ada
productions when, for any reason. IL was
impossible for Miss Adams to act. Size
began her stage work here in Washing
ton in company with Miss Adams as
the cf'ild in The Little Minister" Later
Cf ~ md OF nd In
"Peten Pan" and in the other works of
the Adams repertoire. Still later she
was with the Talaferro sisters, in turn.
IN Polly Of the Circus" She left the
stage to return to her home in this city
and now she returns. This time she is
to appear in the character part Of Mag.
the Scotch country girl who. was Kitty's
dearest and quaintest friend.
All this has been written of various
kinds and manifestations OF genius and
yet no reference has been made to the
artistic temperament The artistic tenn
permanent, which the public invariably
associates with genius, does not really
belong to the pure type. 1t IS rather a
sort Of sport, as the botanists would
say, from the parent stalk. In order
that all the conventions might be OBJ
served, however, it might be just as we'll
to insert a little artistic temperamental
storm right here.
This tempest has to do with the per-
sonal conductor of large ana useful
horse fiddle. Perhaps one shouldn't call
1t horse fiddle" right out in public. Ike
this. One should always be respectful
and refer to it as a viola or some such
foreign title But for the purposes of
this episode horse fiddle seems to suit the
thing better, because it baked. 1t hap
pened last Monday night at the Colum-
bia Theater. Owing to the unusual num-
Der of people who have sought entrance
to the theater during the season of musi-
cal plays 1t has been necessary for the
management to install number Of extra
seats.
Last Monday night an entire row of
new seats was placed in front Of what
used to be the front row of the orchestra
The eighteen musicians who comprise
the Columba's orchestral equipment
were much cramped for space under the
old arrangement and with the new row
of seats they were positively crowded.
The man who PLAYED the trombone
and the horse fiddlist. were the great
est sufferers. BY aiming the business
end of the instrument under the stage
bonist w as able to develop the neces-
sary volai of sound, although it was
not acco moanied by that delicacy OF
techniquI which enables the expert in
strumenf hist to shoot the slide
straight Cor the top of the nearest spec.
tator-sN "ad-and miss the head. Horse
f1ddling Is not such an accommodating
pastime, however. One cannot pick
music M ding can be done. When the
horse fd Hist sets his bow to the
Htrings he must have elbow room
Hence when the particular horse I'D.
list who exercises his talents over the
" lume OF the Columbias orchestral
sound worked his way into his allotted
pl 20 at S:B last Monday niGht he found
th' re was culy room for him to get q
short grunt out of his fiddle rather
Il an the lOng-drawn series Of moans
the score called for. And rather thar
sacrifice art to commerce the horse I'D.
dler declined positively to perform. He
emulated tho Arab. folded his music
rack. and quietly stole awav
Director Frank Vaudeville begged
and plead and threatened But ir
vain. Throughout the evening the yer.
satile director was forced to initiate
the thunder of the viola with his tight
hand on the piano Which brought OUT
The Interesting fact that when a direc
tor has learned TO conduct a chorus
ard orchestra with his left hand as
MandcNille does, he cannot bring II n
SUCH uses as humping the bass note,
on piano. And as the right hanL
wasn't dcsten"d to play bass the di
rector's troubles may he imagined
However, the production was given. anC
Tue esdaY morning new horse fiddler
absolutely without temperament wa,
secured to play through the remainder
q the week