New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-02-27
ANU EN- EN- rs.
Macbeth and The Tempest.

reason of the production at our theatres, In
| yery fine and elaborate manner, of two OF
| shakspeares plays =" Macbeth and the
Tempest" Both had been for long time in
course of preparation, and both were finally
| produced with entirely new scenery and proper
ties, and with the best casts Of which the two
houses were capable.
| The tragedy of 'Maobeth was brought out
| at the ST Charles Theatre on Tuesday evening
| with Mr.. Anderson as .hac6eth, Mr. Jamison as
| .Macduf, Maddocks as Banquo, Mrs. Potter,
| as Lady Macbeth, Mark Smith, DeBar, W. P.
Smith. Mrs. Bernard and Booth as the witches
There has been no piece produced at the St.
Charles for a long time with so much new and
| appropriate scenery, with such carefully pre-
pared properties, with well considered effects,
| with so exact and commendable attention
| throughout to the wants of the piece and the
reputation of the house. For all of these rea-
sons we are inclined to commend the production
of g Macbeth" It shows the spirit of the
manager and eyinces his determination to build
up, out of the rags and refuse of what the
theatre was when it came into his hands,
house worthy of its old reputation and place
| of amusement corresponding to the size and
| wants of the city. -....
| But though manager may, by his hberality,
be able to procure good scenery and put play
| fttingly upon the stage, he cannot by any effort
of his own cause it to be well played by poor
| players; and the more notable the piece, and
the more brilliant the manner in which it is
produced, so much the more bald and unde-
serving seems the representation of those who
30
formance. The first apparent thing in the play
ing of g Macbeth was Mr.. Andersons absolute
unftness to play in this utter -compre-
hension of what was wanted, and his entire
inability to do it any sort of justice Perhaps
this, as much as any other reason, caused it to
be withdrawn after run of only four nights,
during which the dress circle dwindled from
state of plethora to q state of atrophy- from
having every seat taken to having only sixty or
seventy persons scattered through it. Every
one has some taste and idea of what is good
acting, at least of what is bearabe. The pub
lie taste has doubtless been greatly Initiated and
depraved by bad acting, but never 80 utterly
ruined as to mistake the absolutely bad for
the positively good and unless such were the
case we do not see how any individual could
soberly sit through all the imperfeetions of Mr..
Andersons Macbeth. Most bad things are
saved by something in the nature of compensa-
ton but there was nothing good to compensate
the badness of this character. All the COM
bined wretchedness and rant of second and
third-rate English and American actors seemed
to have been collected on this occasion and
poured forth for the benefit of the audience
| ~, IT.
speech perhaps we should call it Macready-
ISM which Mr.. Anderson affects, was put on
to an increased degree, and if he did not speak
as if he were engage in psalm singing he spoke
very differently from any white man whom we
ever heard out of conventiele or asylum, He
pronounced with the tone of child reading
poetry, but without the clearaess of childs
enunciation In passages not emphatic but
common and conversational he was more slovenly
inarticulate and indistinct than any supernu-
merary would dare be- and when engaged upon
the great points of the play he tore passion to
tatters--rayed, roared and ranted like o bedla-
mite 1t has been our fortune to see some con-
siderable acting, Of which portion was bad
enough in all conscience, but I'll eur deliberate
opinion that We never saw any thing worse in
its line than Mr.. Anderson's Macbeth.
Mr.. Jamison played the part of JHacduf
strongly and forcibly, with far better taste and
judgment than Mr.. Anderson did Macbeth
Maddocks rendered Banquo with that correct
appreciation of the character which marks al
of his playing, but with some of the faults which
we have before Notwithstanding it super
dramatic and more tragical than the tragedy
! Jtcal Mps Dnt+a TpJ, botb
nest and imprisoned; the minutia and making
up of the part correspondent with the part itself,
and the delivery was excellently good.
The piece was revived last evening, on the
occasion of Mrs. Potter's benefit, and by means
: of the benefciary's popularity, drew fail
house, though not equal to the usual attendance
} on Sunday nights wv"
The play of the " Tempest" taken uncor
, rupted from the text of Shakespeare, with bu
slight omissions in parts unessential to the in
terest of the representation produced a
Placide's Varieties on Thursday evening NOR
completely, elaborately and admirably in ever,
respect than any standard play we have eve
seen. In the course of the performance Their
are fourteen different scenes, painted sx
pressly for this piece by Hillyard--probabl,
the best scenic painter in the country-and G
j. Smith. The curtain rises On a ship, con
structed after the fashion of early Mediter
ranean naval architecture, laboring in heav,
storm: and there is such perfection in all tn
accessories of the scene that it almost appear
| to be real. The interest of the spectator is a
: once awakened and never relaxes to the close Q
$ the play. One scene of great beauty AM
t elaboration follows another SO rapidly, and tn
story runs in such an easy and comprehensive
current, as to illustrate one another in man
ner very rarely seen. If any fault whateye
can be discovered in this grand picture-play j
8 is that the scenery is too gorgeous for Il lionel
and haunted isle: and yet that objection ma
be deemed fairly set aside by the peculiar char
acter and circumstances of the piece, where
spirits and monsters and divinities mingle lik
; cd acquaintance.
The part of Prospero was excelently wei
; played by Mr.. Lynne who seemed to have
just and accurate conception of what is re
: qunod in that very difficult character. MR.
: Howard managed ,4riel with much tact an
judgment; bringing out the existence of tn
, imaginary spirit n manner calculated to en-
4 courage belief in his actual being, and yet ne