New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1877-01-07

Our theatre-goers will soon have an op-
pOrtunity of witnessing at the Varieties
Theatre an English representation of Salvini's
grand Biblical tradgedy of Samson, +" when
Manager Charles Pope will appear for the
first time this season in the title role. The
translation of the tragedy was made by w.
d. Howells, of the Atlantic Monthly, espe-
Cially for this actor. The English version
was first produced in st. Louis, in October,
1874, when the Republican, of that city, had
this to say of the performance:
Ofcourse the St. Louis people were quite
ready for Samson, and our present floating
population were equally eager to see q
sturdy biblical character step down from
the pedestal OF sacred history upon the
boards OF the modern stage. He did it
gracefully last night at the Olympic, and
doing it, he stirred up fresh interest in the
sacred story itself. Perhaps there were
those in the theatre who expected to see
Samson make mineemest of q lion and
WELD the histriOnic jaw-bOne. They were
disappointed; but they saw something far
better and more attractive. They saw q
sublime and very effective drama, most ad.
mirably performed. They saw one of our
own actOrs-heretOfOre highly esteemed
making noble advance 10 his profession,
and give his name to q powerful perform
anoe, which will make it heard hereafter
Doubtless some of the Olympic audience
saw the great Salvini play Samson, but
that was in Italian, and the performance was
little more than pantOmime set to gibberish
Last night they saw an English Samson, and
they absorbed the whole story in presence of
the embodiment. Words throw great light
| upon acting, and these words by Mr.. How
ellis are perfectly attuned to the spirit of
the old story. They are strong Saxon
words, used in the right places upon fine
theme, and the result is poetry. The Ital-
| ian play has been translated into dramatic
blank verse, which bends and sways
| grandly with the storm of the action, and
sings like the wind through stately cedars.
| We commend this English version of the
Italian play as classical, lofty, and essen
TALLY dramatic. We don't think q word
could be struck or changed to better it. So
much for the literary character of the
| drama. Many of our citizens imagine that
however we'll h. may have done heretofore,
he never acted SO well as he did last night
| he seemed almost to put his old self away
as something for which he had no more
use, and build himself up anew in a single
night. His brain and body were filled with
Samson, and he gave US the outlines of d
new and magnificent stage picture, which
|
Mr.. Pope, by his commanding figure and
muscular movement, filled the idea of Sam
son to begin with, and, if we may say so
looked the part. 1t was the poetry of muscle
that children have in their minds eye WheI
reading Of the giants of the old days. L
was the artistic Samson of the play, too, al
well as of the Bible, His story of the lior
Staying in the first act was really mag
niioent piece OF pantomime and speed
| dsReriDtiOn. and aroused the hOuRe Hi
defiance of the Philistines in the second ac
rose to grandeur, and he was called befors
the curtain by the storm in the auditorium
That stamped the play as a great success
beyond doubt. The feat of carrying OF
old HanoGh was handsomely done. Mr.
Pope was also called out at the end of tn
third act, which. in some measure, destroy
ed the illusion OF his sleep from the effect
of the wine at Delilah's hand. Samson
awakening in the fourth act and his ours
of Delilah were among the finest points 0
the play.