, 1870-09-11


Amuscments.
A Brilliant Prospect Ahead.
CHICAGO. Sept 10.
~ tht Editor " 1hf Chicago Tribune:
Ipropose to wtite you to-day purely upon
Nj. Edwin Booth al an actor. His great
popularity, and the literally immense crowds
pAich have thronged tho theatre during tue
past week, warrant me in giving mora time to
this topic than is possible after the hurry auu
excitement Of tho regular evening perforul-
apet.. Possibly, in What may cay, sLal
run counter to the porulnr judgment-for All
actors success nowadays is always measured
by the numbers Of his audiencos-and mas
be set down as d heretic. Notwithstanding
these possibilities, It seems to me emipeat.y
proper to nsk:
Is Edwin Booth great classical actor: IL
he not Ameuab.e to criticism? IL he, II his
friends claim, the great exponent Of SAaks-
peaIe?
It woula be useless for me to deny that he
is the most popular trage3ian upon The Amer
ican stage. But does this popularity result
entirely from his drama.ic abilities: Edwin
Booth Las been tiugnlarlr fortunate IN lis
theatrical experiences. He has noyer lad
to endure the atudgery Of climbing
the hill, the long yeats Of alternate
hope and laepa1r, the notifications Of fail
ure, and the tic!sle verdict OF those in front Of
the footlghts. He was born with the theatri-
cal sroon in bis mouth, aud iuhe1ittd SUCCESS
~ a legacy from lis father The name of
Booth was the magical "open sesame ~ to
popular sympathy. Ills father. tho most ad-
mirab1e representative Of the romantic school
upon the stage Of his day. made reputation
by hts abilities ~ an actor, hie ecceniticitles
o1 disposition, and his romantic experience il
atlyt uture, which VAS sufficient to reach down
through his eonH even to third or fourth
generation, just ~ the nsme and reputation
VI the great AIre. S,d1ons made = SUCCESS for
An a1trens who happened to have the saua
same. without any particular requisite Tor tie
stage, except t,ersonal beauty. which perhaps
made her look like the ideal .iuftet and Rosa
itnd, il she did not act like the real ones. Ms.
Eootl! has worked hard, Of courso. very hard,
upon certainty. He Las not worked With
Gut hope, harassed with anxiety lest
his work should not prove acceptable,
| Ho las laLosod like the sculptor,
who chlsels hls marble, knowing tl.at LIS clay
| model ID perfect Mr. liooth's work there
fore has been devoted to the perfection Of de-
tail, practice about Which | may say word
further On. Fortified With this dramatic heir.
lurD aud aided by remarkable physical grace
and1eanty Of person, two traits whicl, must ILL
csitably take captive the senses u tho female,
al.d warp the judgment Of the male part Of al
Scrsally lauded b, the metropolitan prcss, aul
! the rural aH matter Of coueee he sprar. at
| once into b succcs. which 10 has alwa.s MAIN
taincd aud always will. For tlis. Nr. Houth
is not to be blamed. In thi4, he is fortunate,
hut it only tends to show that his SUCCESS il
not entirely based upons.dramatic ability
john Wilkes Booth, with nota tithc Of Edwin II
intellectual power. made 4 remarkable euc-
reee, afro, purely :rouu physical standpoint,
under the magical lutueuce Of lis great dra-
matte name.
Charles Lamb startled tho dsauati: world
ly saying that the playe Of Shakespeare should
never bo acted. There i. undoubtedly reason
lor the assertion. to certain extent Tue
rtarle OF. nearly al Of shakspeare's plays il
,urtlitatiou. There is much IN them wiicl,
in subtle pictures Of passion, in curious men,
tai anal,ser iu eoliloquies. and in dialogue,
between the ntau and hia moral nature, wllicl
! are too subtle 10 bo grasped by action OF eA
pressed by gesture; and the player who cat
| play them with any degree of SUCCESS mu,i
inng to his work rare intellectual powers.
Illcrr IL no room for tho sensational e1emeo1
, | III stakapcarean actton, not even in tia slight
est degree, The great acsor OF Shakespeare
nu-t 10 the possessor Ct tllat rarc quality
relsoee in action; a quality which IL the o.
scntial of all real art. lie must ba tho cxhil,
iior Of human nature-not Of extrs-:,uma,
: nor fupcrhumau nature. II he pazsca tht
boupdary between reality aud romance, ht
i must forget himself aud forget lii
audience in order to comptotel,
identify himself with his part. The mone.i
a that he knows Thousand people are in from
r OF lun., watching his every word and gesture
y and tie moment the audience known II
9 his studied labor he ia aware Of that fact, i
> creates Il gulf between the person ttor aud III
character This complete identity IN no
n u!wa,s demanded IN al plays, bu: it is isnpe.
n a:ivo in Shakspeara'n workr. because neaEl
n every one OF his creations il moro or less n,ei
aphyrica! aud intimately connected with til
\, timer nature. 1t ID the esscntlsl province Q
h all art TO initiate natu1e without showing III
n process by which it is done, and this appeal
=. sncc It reality is tat whjcl. cxcites iii til
~ 1ncrs soreibly in all Representations, gather
lug greater force, Of course. The nearer 1t aT
i. pfoachcs 10 nature, and the Iess it shows q
II limitation or 4tsdy. THIS repose Of action
!c does moi scenl to rue .is. Booth POSSESSES e,
a. cept Al times: aud this appearance ot seatit,
re 10 nect +sarr In telineating shakespeare
or | works, it seems to me, is almost clouded L
b. Raj hae]itiem OF detail with which he draw
f. his icflues, showing .he study through IL
fersonatton+
!AnotEer Obstacle which must aiways pr
'. vent Mr. Booth from being shakspaaeea
u attof without fault IL that he ia rnetodr
III matte acsot-not melolTaMatic til its origin
at 4cls+e ct music allied to tctlon, b8t a. Il
" term ir now quite commonly applied to acto
IN If the romantic school. lie ii thoroughly in
OF l,uct1 with the cnnrentionaIitics Of tho stage
l A%3% avail h3T.f fnt
lie uVon ext1ancous circumstances OF stage e
nr | fects, In Hd1alet he cArtiea th1s rounautlcis
~ 10 the very outcrmost verge Of rea1i-t
~ What can l.e more ridiculous than Udrtl
ir striking An attitude in = glaze Of inae-lish
- when be addresses the Ghost, and then tun
' W ling to the door and wrthiug like wnnnde
~ -nakc. the very last thine that Hamlet WON
Is. l,ass done. under the circumstances. 1t
no melt dramatic for kdn}lfi TO treat 0phelia
rs it hc were cnsaged with her. to sneer aud je
81 At her and to convey to tho audience tho IL
w that he looks down upon llcr with eort
So lofty sco!n from lis eccentric height, but it
ri, not What Hamlet did. 1t is melo1tamatic
H. $hYtxI. when be discovers the flight Of
llis teeth together and epit bis wosds ont.
.,e ding lis arms abou; in Wild disorder, aud
~ 7 Insh through tho second entIance With I
~ s.e1eotyped step and half step Of the sta
a.. ~hieh Ill sr1seai&'s seem to think neeetsa1
a! although no one in real life ever walks in IL
I
70 70 rant and tear passion into tAtteis when
Inc tears the bond. It is melodramasic for Shyle
Is to wl,et his knife upon his sole, in ac.ordat
MI With Gratiano's weak play on the .ws
in melod1amAsic even to tho verge Of brc
1th humor. But would Ghyaock have dc
koe dramatic, undoubtedly, for Ro,
1ae .ne to skip ahont the stage like gszelle, and
~ COO like turtie dove, bnt ia uacre an5 Of
~, ~ paeeion Of this wonderful lore poem in
.as 'A Gooth's pretty ose-ulaGng! It is ne
'nt- dra-lstic for Richk1iers departing from Sh
tue and give it up as useless, and ,hen Indulge
mt \ coughing I'll. But what has all tha. to
ere Will, Kichttitu7 All these effects aud see
IN Of others are for the audience and have nc
rta ing to do with tho characters. They are nj,
as points for appiaase; aud At once sera1
hs- cscatious. And get there are charscters in
o' Eo+ III RI t7teirt sikc Sir t5ilas 0reTTrach,
4'eS 1tts. the .4ro*tate. and othefs which are N
en CT 1rzmatic Of themsclve-. whete such effects
1so- be male with great power and Renedick. ut
and more OF lcss heense, and : certain deEEe.
ap,- expected in comedy
any Does Mf- Booths severe elaboration OF
arcs tail, Or, in \ word, his realism, add to
.trcugth Of his pereonations? It is Alwa,
u.al disn.s.s " sseAs ssn.hn ~ .,,s ~ =
'oa- and let him meet the artist st least half :
te- elpe the creation, whether it be IN literat
IT, painting, r3usic. or the drama. becomes At
on simultaneously retcertible fact, With no MA
for study. The writer who describes b
lake Of erass microeeop,callr, down to its
ecso- scine. IL not great writer, but onls s
II tn observer He can give you no idea Of
/, to beauty Of tho field. llace one Of Clifford
nnst Inpeee landscapes. with their great sugccs
,.av POWER, atYo1dinc room for almost cons
II Ia study. Is the side q one of Ernest Hope