, 1877-08-19
Mr.. Stoddart as Moneypen-
ny at the .Adelphl.
Items of Dramatic News In
Chicago and Other
Cities.
The Operas Of the Coming Sea-
son---The Apollo Club and
Beethoven Society.
Some Choice Extracts Regarding Theo-
dore Thomas-Mrs. Riye-King--
Musical Gossip.

lara MORRIS As" MISS MUTTON"


THE DRAMA.
CLARA NORRIS Is MISS MUTTON"
Miss Clara Morris has afforded enjoyment to
many persons thik week By her acting OF Mtss
fulton She Is generally conceded TO be IN TINS
part more successful than in any other- her
triumph is all the more conspicuous from inc
fact that It is hardly earned. Suffering from
tu-health and laboring with an unprom'slng
rfcce. she has nevertheless shown at all times
pcrfect command of her faculties and has 'nFa-,
r{ab1y brought order out Of the confusion that
surrounded her. Her physical difficulties have
becu widely noticed In the ncwspapers,-per~
hans more widely than good-taste would always
dictate but the obstacles presented i'll the play
itself have not received the attention they
deserve. The fact that Miss Mutton " is
associated IN the popular Imagination with
.East Lynne'' is bad token, to begin with
The drama founded on Mrs. Henry Woods
uoycl is a lachrymose production. appealing
more or less to morbid tastes Persons VINO
nayc been guilty themselves, Or who nave
thought OF beng guilty. have delighted most IN
its represcptation It introduces on the stage
in rross bodily form the betrayer of the heroine,
and The skl|flrl arts Of seduction are piled IN
nublic view, 4 sombre tone perrades the drama
from end to end, and every ono who has tears Is
required to shed thcm profusely at various
critical points. Now, the act OF weeping for its
own sake is not to healthy minds the keencst-
pleasure that can be imagined. Whoever
is dccoyed into it may sy1npathize with the old
couutryfnan. who on seeing Mrs Siddons in her
rrcat part Of Hrs. Hdlley, left The house and ex-
tla,med indigpeutly: land ye call this diyar-
sion. &c lope-nosed cheat!'' From the common
and natural preiudice against grief has arisen q
nublic apathy, painful to behold but interesting
tn chroriclc. with regard to "East Lynne " aud
its sjckly scptimenta1ities. This feeling ex-
tended at once to Miss Mutton" when that
piece was known to be drawn from common
oripln, Miss Morris consequently had to con-
tend With public disinclined to attend tho rep
resentatfon Of her play. She had also to en-
counter and remove defects in the construction
Of the play It was too short for an even
tpe's entertainment, too gloomy for modern
tastes, wanting both beginning and an ending
that could be made effective. and trenchtug con-
stantly on the border-land OF The lalf-knoTn
and half-imagined but seldom wholly spoken.
of dramatic construction better play than East
lypne" It assumed the fault, anu pictured
only the repentance. The seducer was an axiom,
since be was a self-evidcnt TACT. He could not
climaxes of 81 Miss Mutton " are finely arranged;
those Of East Lynne are, ty comparison, clumsy.
ttAtiss Multon' was further improved-we
Dissent from common opinion IN say
Ing so6y and the zq aao,t5Gs Wb;cb onnea OF t%G anG
closed the action less abruptly than in the
original The tirst act is specially useful since
it affords gentle introduction to the story,
aud, by PLAYING de1icately on the theme OF the
] n5 sasua 1ss or aetspns . a stuson 1nfh
in her former home. But in spite OF It's merits,
original and acquired, Miss Multon" F." remains
an unwholesome aud repulsive drama rather
than otherwise Few persons who saw it as
Thompson in this city could have gone away
from the theatre with any enthusiastic opinion
Of the play or the acting. Clara Morris
wcs put 10 the same test and with different
results. She charmed, she attracted. and she
conquered. After tile first night, the theatre
WIS crowded nightly rs it never was before and
the engagement closed amid universal regret
/. : it had been SO short, and With common
sion that Clara Morris, in her own depart
..,tt vi acting, had taken her place at the head
Vi tho American stage.
TIC will-iorcc OF Clara Morris is the source Of
..vr power as Al actress. She resolves to seize
energy she oyercomes obstacles that seem to be
iusuperable- Her yolitious are direct and con-
secctiye. aud consequently progressive. She
advances from point to point without hesitation
anu T1[uOuL IOOk 0ACNW1TQ. 11cT alSLlnct
guides her, and her will stirs her. Tie
movement that follows is as precise aud smooth
as II it were produced by machinery She not
only wills, but she takes the spectators into ler
confidence, and exhibits to them tile workings
II her mind. They may see her overcome emo
Jon. The twitching Uf ller mouth, the lToop-
ng Of her eyes, and the sharp lines drawn about
ire but the outward symbols Of 4 feeling, which
she does not express hut manilests. When she
takes the little child in her lap in the first act
and the ,nothcrs love rises in her; when she
supplicates the old tutor TO keep safely her
secret; in the anxious search for her missing
children, and the suffering That their infantile
prattlc infllcts: in the skIllful defense against
tho examination Of the new wife and
the defiance Of her; in the crushed re-
pcrtauce Which the presence Of the
husband tnvokcs; in the shrinking from the
tribunal Of hcr innocent children's Judgment
and in the last scene Of forgiveness and DEATH
she lays bare the nerves and the living tissue oi
suffering woman. There has been 10 recent
feeling, and to aequaint m audience with tls
fact that the feeling is controlled. Why is it.
then, that Clara Morris has not succeeded as {
trncic actresst 1t is because she analyzcs toe
mnutcly. Her genius Is lyric rather than epic
: The mysterious element Of the sublime is at
sent from all her works. She has the pains
taking fidelity aud accuracy Of Mcssonter, moi
the bold, grand sweep OF Titan or Niche
Angelo. Rhapsody-that poetic disorder Of thu
imaEinatiou-is far from her. VIII dominate:
IN her when she feels the most. She conqucrt
by;ITesolu,ion, Ies pot by genius;
The Indebtedness OF Miss Morris and the peo
Ior their excellent work in this plar can scarcely
be exaggerated. 1t has seldom, II ever, bcci
our GOOD fortune to see piece SO uniformly
a;s CT, aad 50 aellgghttully II acted From Mr.. Par
highest encomiums from ali present-to Miss
Roberta Norwood, who had au insignificant.
SERVANTS part, every actor was fitted to the de.
9'anttoa %ana; Miss s Jewett as NeN.ds wa.