Life — April 18, 1901 — page 12: what you’re looking at

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

Z Qe 4771S A Casino Piece in a Fireproof Theatre. IFE has never devoted any space to the plays produced at the Casino because {t has not wished to put Its readers tn the way of a possible panic or fire in that theatre, It is permitted now to xee atypical Casino production —" The casino Gir.” at the Knicker bocker—withont danger of being crushed to death or grilled alive, To the deeply reilgious and serious minded element tn the community, “The Casino Girl is not likely to appeal very strongly. It is lighter than a bag of feathers, and frothler than Coney Isiand beer. So far as plot tx con- ed It might quite as Well begin with end of the last act and end with the beginning of the Grst act, It is neither ennobling uor clevating. The artists engaged In ts performance are unknown to fame outside of the Johnny portion ot humanity—if Jobunies may be consid man beings. 11 involves neither the sympathies nor the emotions. It makes no ‘LIFE draft on the Intellect and does not quicken the Imagination. Bat “The Casino Giri ts amusing—simply that and nothing more. Its color, lights, and the beauty of Its women dazzle the eye. The nimble feet of its dancers satisfy the sense of rhythm, and {ts tunefal music pleases the ear without demand- ing that (he auditor sball previously have had « moasical education, ts fun ts elementary, but 30 tugious that even « Johony can catch It. this, as tn all the Casino pleces, the main at- traction Is the collection of pretty young women in the chorus and the way in which they are costumed and uncostamed, It 1s & frankly sen- sual and sensuous attraction, and conseqaeutly the audiences are not made up of philosophers, sctentists and mathematicians The continued vogue of these pleces shows that they please the average New Yorker and, strange ast may seem, considering the nature of the inducement, they appeal almost as strongly to women as to men, The libretto ts attributed to Harry B, Smith who has written some clever light opera books, ‘uls one f4 very commonplace Indeed, and what- ever fun there is tn It is made by the people who interpret tt. The music by Mr. Englander ts not remarkable for catchiness, originality or tech- nical excellence, but it seems to serve its purpose. Of the people tn the cast It may be sald that Misa Katte Seymour is a most graceful step-dancer tn fact, her dancing ts very well worth seeing— wud Mr. James E. Sullivan, except’ when he imitates the German-American dialect tnvented by the Rogers Brothers, 1s that rare bird, o THE ORAMA’S DROWSY CHAMPION. comedian who Is reaiiy comic. The chorus girls are very pretty, although none of them possesses beauty of the classic or pensive type. The dramatic ability of the ladies In this company ts Measured In inches, as applied to symmetry of form and the distance they can kick above their heads The box-oMice price of seats to see this perfurm- ance Is at the customary Ogure of two doliars. The desirable seats may be bad of speculators and at the hotel news-stands for two dollars and ®balfeach. Better entertainments of the same Kind may be seen for far less monsy. . Several persons with originallty, imagina tion, some sense of humor, fair command of the English language, fearlessuess of falve tradition, a knowledge of the ordinary decenctes of life, and an acquaintance with the usnal amenities of socal Intercourse, to write plays. To the right persons handsome return will be assured for their efforts. Address Tuk AMERICAN PUBLIC, through any theatre. HE New York Sw has become a humorous publication. Here is a sample joke from {ts issue of April 7H The readers of the Svn always get the truth about every play produced on the New York stage. ‘Metcalfe. comicbooks.com