New Orleans Republican., 1873-08-31
Communicated
THE HUNCHBACK.
Fifth Performance of the ShakesDear
Club.

OF the many attempts to cater to the
| public pleasure, none are SO fraught with
| the power to work out good or evil, as the
complimentary performances of our lama
| teur dramatic clubs" It is not so much
| the development Of an appreciation OF good
| acting and good acting itself, as the engen-
dering of prediction for the lasting beau
| ties of our dramatic literature in persons
| whose traditional dread Of the stage, pro-
! voked in an age when theatres were justly
| in i'll repute, can be removed by no effort of
| the press, no reputation Of the actor, but
solely by the efforts of our amateurs"
who. with the moral guarantee Of their
names, cam secure their presence. and In
the production of our standard plays. ridi'
eule so causeless a prudery.
Working out an intellectual philanthropy.
with them it rests to regenerate our stage.
to decry that meanest level of an uniformed
taste which revels in the imaginary enjoy
ments of sensation plays: TO reprehend
tina: senseless intatuation after rant, gilt
ter, new readings. and mechanical effects,
that have married the pleasures of the
theatre: and to revive the palmy days OF
sound Wit and robust poetry tina. paint
mems humors and passions.
The popular craving after novelty is hot
SO deeply rooted as to resist the force ex-
erted by judicious selection FROM our
standard dramatists, and surely, if the pub
lie have tired of our Knowles and our Bull
wers, there is much from Beaumont, and
Fletcher, and Massinger, and Wycherly,
and Congreve, with the ring of the true
gold seven times tried" that has grown
unfamiliar to player and play-goer Tie
experience Of the past, however, has by no
means provoked such apprehension, for if
the Shakespeare Club has secured any spe-
cial hold upon the public favor the secret
| must lie in the judicious selection that has
| marked the entire series Of their perform
ances; and certainly it is purer ambition
| in the actor to find his triumphs linked
with the memories of "Don Cesar de
Bazan," CLOUD and Sunshine or the
"Hunchback," than to excite amazement
| by successes achieved despite the disad-
vantages which proceed naturally from
'The Fools Revenge" or dream Spectre"
The "Hunchback," notwithstanding an
exceptional imitation of the Elizabethan
| manner in the language, and noticeable
| elumsiness in the workings IF the plot, has
ever proved an admirable acting play, and
| operated as a test that blots out the illu-
sions of max ed acting, and brings into prom
| inence every flash of true genius. At the
| Varieties Theatre it has put to flight the de-
| lusion that scenic melodramas could alone
charm the public, established Miss Haw-
| thorne as an actress of true mark, and
| brought out Miss Mcclellan in delightful
| piece OF acting
The Julia of Miss Hawthorne will no. be
easily forgotten, for rarely has been exbib
| tied wi.chery Of voice and look, a poetry
! of gesture. and a wondrous power 70 stir
the heart, such as marked much Of the
character: . representation not of the per.
fections of acting, but enriched in every
part by the glowing touch of genius. In
| the first scenes of country simplicity :here
was lack of spirit that bordered on dull
ness, and caused the lines to fall as dreary
| and monotonOus as the patterine Of rain.
| But from the moment she has felt the intec-
tion of the city. and begun TO map out tho
| heartless. hollow brightness OF her future,
come the glimmerings of that greatness
| which grows with each succeeding effort
| The expressions Of her face when Clifford
| SO cruelty wounds her pride, and the weary
misery and touching pathos that goes forth
cba ho
vous. restless impatience with which
she listens to Helen scoffing a. her
fallen lover, the mingled Teproach,
warning and threat conveyed by Eer
interpretations of Helen!' and the quick,
| passionate bitterness of the succeeding !
hate you, Helen r are full of the deep sense
of her part, and she seeks to triumph only
/ in her marvellous expression of its poetry
When she turns upon Modus. forgetting
her contemplated vengeance and reInem
beriDg only her love for tie slandered
Clifford, all the golden past seems TO surge
up in her breas: as she pours rapidly into
| his ears the ecathing rebuke and whitening
scorn under which he covers. In the scene
! with the Earl's secretary, the mingling Of
hope and dread in her face when she hears
Clifford's voice, the inward struggle which
seems to rend her very soul as shs slowly
turns to face the envoy, the low. quick,
| painful cry of recognitiOn-ail are lost in
the wondrous magic of the words, Clifford,
| why don't you speak to mel" 1t was =
confession for the past. an appeal
fo1 mercy and love. the a2onizin:
wall Of a bruised heart. and when. later,
he seeks to put his arm about her waist, the
rapid eloquence of her rcpreach. The dig
| nifty and strength of her appea! :" her
honor, harmonized with .he matchless con-
eepticn Of al! The workings Of her heart.
When che sits in solitude, and strives 10
unravel the tolls .ha: bind her, the bitter
clashns Of love and honor. her promise,
Master Walters commands, her dead
fathers behe.,, al! y;se unbidden, unit! her
mind, tortured by its weight of woe. so:t.rs
on the verge Of darkness and helpiessness.
her face mirrors every Thought. her voice
pictures every passion. So. 80 her sceae
with :he Eunchbdeh. the quick play OF
thought and feeling, The bitterness of her
omplain.. the warm sio9uencs OF her aV-
peal. the tenderness OF her love. are al: exc
cutsd with so much force and feeling - to
seem aiuos: miraculous.
Miss McC.elian's Nlca. though il fa;,e! 20
picture The child-wOman, and TO heighten
tho .iyiish abandonment 20 exquisite
delight. ari 9hc careless. thoughtles. joy.
ousaess of be: nature. with touches OF a