Life — June 4, 1891 — page 12: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

- LIFE: SUMMER THEATRICALS, “is the best comic opera Mr. De Wolf Hop- per has given us for some time. It's music is at- tractive, the dialogue is clever, and the situations are funny. The royal elephant is a monarch of his sp and Wang himself is a rascal, in whose rascality the spectators, so far as sympathy goes, become accomplices. The piece is well staged and well costumed. * ° * I “Wang” Mr. De Wolf Hopper is considerably more sedate than he has been hitherto. Sedateness in a light opera comedian is not generally an attribute to be desired, but in Mr, Hopper's case the increase in this quality makes a decided improvement in his work. His exuberance of vitality, his athleticism, and his muscularity have in other parts been So pronounced that several people have been known to tire of his fun before the performances were over. In“ Wang,” however, he has toned himself down to the point where his fun is not marred by ferocious horse-play, and, therefore, Wang may be set down as a thoroughly funny character. Miss Della Fox is an attractive little body with a voice ex- cellently adapted to the requirements of light opera. Why she should make the Crown Prince of Siam such a rowdy young person we don’t know, but perhaps she has numbered among her acquaintances more Crown Princes of Siam than we have, and is therefore better qualitied to say how such a person would look and act. We will confess, though, somewhat different in carriage and manners from a very tough District Telegraph messenger. that we thought the Crown Prince wi The support is fairly good throughout, but the number of le and female, is rather small for a metro- his is especially apparent in the march which look decidedly thin. On the whole, though, “ Wang is a very good summer performance ind auxiliaries, both politan sta: MAN L is an actor in a radically ¢ of work, but it is also difficult for him to Mr. Mantell’s motional than the muscular kind, and for its display he requires a play with tremendous situations. Such situations as are to be found in * The Veiled Picture” artificially provided that they belittle rather than intensify Mr. Mantell's efforts. The playwright not hesi- tated to avail himself freely of all the dramatic license within his reach. R, ROBERT different li keep his vigor within conventional lines. strength is more of th are so The result is a picce which calis continually on the credulity of the audience. He makes his hero a fool who suffers to the extent of delirium for a murder whose mystery he might clear up in two minutes by the exercise of a grain of common sense. Everybody knows from the start that the hero can clear himself of the charge of murder if he wants to, and the emotional scenes are marred in the mind of the spectator by the constantly recurring thought that he’s stupid to suffer so much and make others suffer when there's no necessity for it. Enlightened playgoers to-day are tiring of that kind of emotional agony which playwrights used to drag in by the heels. They want their stage suffering to come somewhat in the course of nature and a little within the bounds of probability. The old scheme of stirring up the animals at regular fifteen minute intervals will do only in provincial theatres, but the author of “The Veiled Picture” has not realized that fact. It is a disappointment to the admirers of Mr. Mantell that the strong play he needs has not yet been found. Metcalfe, Mr. Pulliam original A “ ] “Sometimes Pulliam says very original thin, “ But how do you know when they are original and when they are not ? I know they are original when I hear everybody going around disclaiming them.” THE TEST. REVISITING THE ‘“FOUND ANY LANDMARKS 2?” “Yes; and I WAS THINKING HOW YOU MUST HAVE EXPANDED SINCE THE WAR. HERE'S THE TREE YOU STOOD BEHIND DURING THE WHOLE RATTLE, AND IT COVERED YOU WELL, THEN,” BATTLEFIELD. comicbooks.com