The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-02-11

MIA, Lander made ntf hccOnu mp
peamncc last night, the plNy chosen
being Shakspeare's "Antony and
Cleopatra" n large house having as-
sembled TO enjoy her magnificent act
ing. Az "Cleopatra," Mrs, Landergave
u very remarkable and brilliant evil
dcnce Of her versatility, The qualities
which ARE required TO make n great
"Ellaabethn are hardly called into
requisltion In CLEOPATRA" The first
IL better suited TO the development OF
Mrs. Landers strongest dramatic
points, while the latter shows us the
ravishlng subtleness of u young and
lovely queen who IL all passion, II crea-
ture made up Of heart, fierce tender
ness and semi barbaric sensu0usness.
Her cleopatra" is warm and buoy
ant, with all the elements of Oriental
ism-a whirlwlnd Of loving beauty ut
one time, and as deadly rs the Upas
tree at another, in her powers of fasci-
nation, She practices all of the wiles,
Establishments and coquetries of her
sex, and piques and soothes by turns.
A very tyrant to "Antony" one mo-
ment, ana u slave the next. 1t Is sell
dom the wonderful armory of wo-
mans weapons for destroy Ing or bless
ing men, maddening or ennobling
them, Is seen. After seeing her, you
wonder no longer that men are the
puppets they are in the hands Of q
woman bent upon reigning or running.
Mrs. Lander makes cleopatra" n
strange, passionate creature of words,
who has in them all but one thought,
aud that love, untrammeled, supreme.
The very heart Of Egypts queen is
laid bare in all of its terrible capacity
for suffering and bliss, love, jealousy
and constancy. Her relations with
"Cmzar" are mere episode, her whole
life and being IL boundup in Antony"
who Is all in all From the moment
his misfortunes begin, she is woman
in devotion and loyalty. Her capri
ciousness and waywardness vanish
and the spoilt petted queen is changed
into the woman who loves. The char
acter is purified of all of the dross of
sensuality and her great spirit rises to
the highest capacity of womanly 10y
atty. 1t has been niue: the fashion to
picture Cleopatra rs II mere imperial
wanton, practising her arts and wiles
to entrap "Antony.n Mrs. Lander very
properly cleanses the part of this init
nation by giving us first "Cleopatra's'
wondrous power of pleasing, then
her whimsical and bewildering coquet-
ny, and last the woman rs she is when
her heart becomes touched indeed.
Then it is that all lightness vanishes,
and she stands revealed in all of her
strength of devotion. There is no wa
vering, no experimenting, no probing
of "Antony's" heart just to try her
power.
No comparison can properly be
drawn between Mrs. Lander's Eliza
beth and her Cleopatra. They are both
great and original conceptions Of. dia-
metrically opposite characters, each
drawn with master hand and with
that breath of life genius alone can
breathe into them, animating them.
Mr.. Taylor appeared rs "Antony,"
and the rest of the troupe appeared in
the cast. The costumes were distin-
guished by the same richness and APP
prOpriateness as those of "Elizabeth,n
and il is to be regretted that the late
ness of the hour and our limited space
will not permit of an extended notice
of the male characters, and particularly
Mr.. Lawlor's manner of describing, as
"Domitus Enobarbus," the barge and
voyage Of CLEOPATRA"
The visit of Mrs. Lander and her adj
mirable troupe has been a welcome
intellectual and dramatic treat, and
1t is to be hoped that when next she
comes there will be proper theatrical
accommodation to receive her, and
audiences who are not afraid to up
plaud or who depress artists by an
unintentional GOODNESS of reception,
when, in fact, they are amazed and de-
lighted.