Life, 1906-02-22 · page 15 of 24
Life — February 22, 1906 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page critiques the controversy over Gilbert and Sullivan's *The Mikado*, a satirical operetta featuring a fictional Japanese setting and characters. The text defends the work against critics who claimed it misrepresented Japanese culture. The main argument: a Japanese theater once performed a play mocking British tourists with exaggerated stereotypes—yet no one objected. Therefore, it's hypocritical for New York critics to attack *The Mikado* for satirizing Japanese politics. The author argues both are legitimate theatrical satire. The page also criticizes theater producer Herr Conried's production design for his National Theatre, particularly his confused and historically inaccurate Temple of Solomon set for *The Queen of Sheba*. The illustration titled "ELEVATOR" and captioned "GOING DOWN?" appears to be a separate satirical cartoon, though its specific target isn't clear from this context. The remainder is theatrical listings for various New York productions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: the bit of genuine Japanese music introduced by Sir Arthur Sulli- van, Mio Sama,” was not the Japanese national air, as certain learned critics claimed, but a popular tea-house ditty, similar in character to some of our own music-hall favorites. This case might be paralleled if some altruistic Japanese should take his countrymen to task for liking a play in which the author had taken an impossible English King and some of his subjects as characters with which to satirize Japanese political absurdities, In fact, the present writer remembers seeing on the stage of one of the popular theatres in Nagasaki several years ago a play, admirably acted by a native company entirely forthe amusement of Japanese, in which a British tourist: was faithfully portrayed as having not only British stolidity, stupidity and selfishness, but also as being moved by some British vices rather foreign to Japan, No Japanese ever felt called upon to resent this as at calumny of the down-trodden British, and it is amusing to see at this late day an advocate arising in New York to defend the Mikado of Japan against the defender's own mistaken ideas of what is perhaps the most enjoyable of all the enjoyable things which Messrs, Gilbert and Sullivan added to the treasures of the English speaking and singing stage. |' the scenic and realistic effects in Herr Conried’s new inter- national National ‘Theatre are to be on the same scale of mag- nificent extravayance as the lone palm and the dust storm in the last act of his prize production, “The Queen of Sheba,” at the tan, the subscribers to his new enterprise will have pplaud his managerial economy. These features and the curious squawking of his incompetent stage trumpeters were serious blemishes on an otherwise impressive production, This impressiveness was largely in the megatherian ignorance or carelessness shown by Herr Conried in the ridiculous jumble of ectural and other decorations in the Temple of Solomon, If Herr Conried shows the same scholarly accuracy in the settings of plays at his National Theatre, there will be a fine education for the contributors to his endowment. Metcalye. Music.—Last week of Mrs. Leslie Carter in repertoire, in- “Zaza and“ Madame du B. 1 of the Golden W with Blanche Bates, Mr, Fran Keenan and admirable company. Interesting and thoroughly American d Bijou." The Music Master.” David Warfield and excellent com- pany in delightful serio-comedy. Casino.—" The Earl and the Girl’? Mr. Eddie Foy and others in diverting musical play. Empire — Peter Pan,” with Maude Adams in the title part, Delight- y of child life. Garrick, -Mr, Charles Richman and company in Mr, David Gray's ““Gallops.” Notice later. Hudtson.—" The Duel.” See opposite. Hippodrome.—* A Society Circus" and ‘The Court of the Golden Fountains.” Good in every particslar and in gorgeous effect Lyric Mexicana.” Comic opera. Tuneful music and well staged. Manhattan.—" The Triangle."" Notice later Proctor’s Fifth Avenue.—Stock company in weekly change of bill. ey. =" Me. Hopkinson.” See opposite. Weber's Theatre.— Twiddle Twaddle.” The usual melange of music, fun, and female comeliness with the laugh-making of Herr Weber and Fraulein Dressler strongly in evidence. ELEVATOR NS GOING DOWN ? comicbooks.com