New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-04-05
TIE DRAMA-NUSIO
MRS. PLAYFAIRS READING.

A violent easteTly storm poured so much
cold water upon Mrs. Playfairs reading last night that
further baOns by the press are needless We may as
well state, however, that cold water was entirely IN Or
der. and that have disposition to make tins Jour-
nal an ark Of refuge. Mrs Payfar represents class "
entertainers for which there nothing sautary rs the
slowerbath Of Indifference. She is intelligent, without
possessing professional aptitude aud she is experienced
without possessing professional knowledge She knows
the obvious meaning of what she reads and she can nod
it In memory repeat it and because TINS Is 80 size
makes mistake OF supposng that she is able 10 give
IL dramatic Interpretation. she is not alone III TINS
error she was not alone it last night; for two per-
sons named Morrow and Baralt, forward with her
In the same delusiye persuasOn and made even moro
signal exhibition Of incompetence. Mrs. Payiair -
large and rather handsome woman, whose personal aI'
pearance is remotely suggestive OF Madam Janaschek
Her advantages Of aspect considerable Under good
and sufficient training she might become useful actress
in heavy businesswhch 1t wOulu not be worth Der While
To do As reader she is very little likely To attract at
tenon Her voice, last night, harsh, shId, ana
strange, from nervous agitatonj but We shQud go
that II is metallic at It's best, and wholly unframed Tho
only merit OF her reading intelligence in the utterauCo
OF the words The salient peculiarly .! it was its
obvious endeavor-entirely abortiye and comi,-t1
initiate Charlotte Cusbmah In action Mrs. playfar
constrained and feeble. The probabilities that she did
not do Justice her taste, sens 5iy and mental worth
These BIZ the way, are not much in question in such
cases. The endeayOr - to exercise, without baFins
learned IT, which yet was successfully cNe
cised without having been learned We do no.
wish TO be understood as dspaacng Mrs.
Playfar She Is, no doubt excellent person.
She did not however. succeed Ia pylr- queen hGthfr
iethouyh she dressed '0r tie part and though 80
spoke the lines Of the Queens coCqUy IN the li scene
The question merely OF fact II an acToba tiles 10
turn summersault and light on comrades shoulders,
and instead OF doing So falls into the bass rum there is
no reproach In stating tie tact that Dc li lis eAo
Mrs Payfar mean to say, landed on the bass dfui-
fguratively speakng-and disappeared within IT, Many
another eocutionary Icau has plunged INTO That same
popuIous chasm. The moral we suppose, Is obvious.
No persop should undertake 10 read 10 others unless he
or she-can read superlaiyely we'll and as 20 a'S'
IL cannot be put on like pcarpowdcr. Mrs Piayiam wa
very unfortunate i'm her surroundings. Mr. Morrow an!
Mr.. Barat were dreadful The one, BrVttS. asked has
hearers TO "bul!eve" him. and the Other Whenever Ae
WAS understood at ali-wbich was not oitcn-"il
understood TO misprOnouncc almost every Wod tN tx
uttered 1t was only Shakespeare that was boheA'
but the English tongue and M Baraits friends would
do well 10 prevent HIM, even by Incarceration uom
repetition OF this folly He appeared, by the way ~
Mark Antony and copied the incorrect black dress d
Mr. Bangs. in the part. lately acted at Booiha
Theater-a lamentable style OF apparel for wLic.
there is not the least good authority; ana TINS
he eked out with a pair Of dubious whlte ughUs'
49, world TOO wide for his shrunk shank selccuons
ware given from Julius Cesar" and Henry VIII,
which VIC heard and from " Hamlet" and Macbeth"
which we took care avoid Tie hit Of the evening was
made by the SOLICITORS usher who thrice returned upoe
the stage OF Chckering Ta,a bad hall TO speak in bj
the ay-to arrange chairs with scrupuous and mathe
NAUTICAL nicely for Cardinal Wolsey and Campeus Th'
attendance was small and the spectators had the gai'
antry to applaud and the good sense to manifest ase