The New York herald., 1875-11-02
ADJUSTMENTS.
EDWIN BOOTH AS RIcHELIEu.


ssaichsBeu,i a the most pretentious OF Buiwer's
plavs and in some respects il is the best He became
n dramatist more by reason Of general intellectual
mower than By any special aptitude for the art His
earlier productions, 'The Duchess de La Nalliere"
and the 'sea Captain which Thackeray rdiculed so
,ustly and effectively forgotten. "Rcheeu" the
.Iadv Of Iyonsn and Money" have always been popu
lar therd elects Buwer does not grasp
subiect powerfully and character seems especially TO
eude him Even in his novels, which are mmeasuraby
mis- finest works his personages do nothave the air Of real
ity which is possessed by the men and women Of Ger
vantes Scott Dickens and Thackeray They are fine,
forced studied descriptions ofcharacters not living peo
plc who seem as real to the reader Napoleon Dr.
johnson Claude Melnotte little more than
the kind Of hero a novel reading young
ladv inarines al boarding school In
..Richelieu, however Buwer dealt with great his
torica character and attempted create II for the
stage His theory Of the character is given in his
preface the drama and whether i be true or not u
IL certainly imperiecty carried into action. Richie
lieu, according to Bulwer, was "a man OF two charac
ters, y great statesman who loved his country and
was unscrupuous in the manner in which he served ~
and weak man with foibles and vices and personal
vanity of his literary works THIS abstraction = PROD
ably true but the union Of these contradictory eie,
ments in the character OF the play y crudely ana
rudely managed
The stage Richeleu Is an impossible and unnatural
being His intimacy with Joseph, his vanity in
describing his play, are coarsey expressed Dy the
dramatst But the very faults Of Bulwer help make
the drama successful His genius enormously
theatrical and these strong false colors, these
foothght contrasts OF light ana shade, are
powerful on the stage Shakespeare suffers sometimes
because he is theatrical enough, but Bulwer has
always glitter and dash, and moon on the Lake Of
Como for has lovers, Williams that villains indeed
and the most heroic blank verse possible for his heroes
these merits to certain point and beyond them
are many real merits which cannot be denied. His
plots clearly constructed, his situations effective
his characters boldly contrasted and his verse IS hed
with passages of magnificent rhetoric and genuine elo
quence. These qualities the public does not fail
20 appreciate But just Bulwer indebted greatly
10 Aacready for advice in writing his Dramas he
now much to the actors who produce them great
actor often supplies character with the reality and
force which the dramatist himself was unable to
bestow.
Edwin Booth undoubtedly renders this service to
Richeheu He makes the character appear consistent,
far the play will permit him is nearly fifteen
years since Mr. Booth first played the role in New
York, and he long ago established IL as one OF his
standard personatIons
His temperance as the Cardinal last night was well
coined by another crowded house and he wss enthusi
asticaly called before the curtain at the end OF each
act The only standard with which the Rchelieu of
Mr.. Booth can be compared is that Of Forrest
Iememoered FORREST gave more empnasis 10 the
dignity and command Of the Cardinal, more gross
reconcile the physical weakness with his ire
mendous bursts Of passion and wrath. Mr..
Booth develops more strongly the subtlcty OF the
politician gives the humor more delicately and pre-
serves with equal tone the leebleness he assumes
the beginning There passages in Act III. which
Mr.. Booth rendered finely, and the comparison
OF the sword and pen, the interviews with Huguet
and Joseph were especially natural The whole Of the
third act was admirably acted, but il not until the
climax in the fourth that Mr.. Booths full power
shown Bulwers melodrama is at its best the
with Baradas and Julie and Mr. Booths lightning like
passion and intensity superb
The scenery was suitable TO the play The general
performance was not as good as might have been
desired. Mr. Barry more vainly tried to be tragic
DeMauprat, and Mr.. Harkins as Baradas
was nothing but tragic The King and the Court were
imposing and those who have not yet visited
Europe get a very fair idea OF the de-
OF monarchs and courts by visiting this popular
theatre. As Julie, Miss Jefreys-Lewis appeared far
better advantage than she did ophella and Marion
de Lorme was pleasantly rendered by Miss Mary
Nunez