Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1878-04-19
CARSON THEATER-HAMLET.

created a parsonage in the whole range Of his
dramatic literature, in fact there is no char
acter in the broad field of fiction, with as
deep, or pleasing, or as universal an interest
as Hamlet The tragedy has been played i'll
almost every written tongue; it has been crit
icized in perhaps every printed language, and
every tyro in matters dramatic knows, or
thinks he knows something of Hamlet. And
vet a distinguished Shaksperian critic says
of this wonderful creation: Entertaining
the thought | do of the tragedy of Hamlet, |
find myself approaching ito say with diff
dence would feebly express it, but with con-
viction of the greater or less inadequacy of
all criticism for the exposition of its sublime
imaginings." Charles Lamb thought it i'm
| possible for any actor to give Hamlet as the
author designed, as most of the Prince
transactions are between himself and his
moral sense" Critics have been divided on
the question whether Hamlet's insanity was
real or feigned, but the majority favor the
| former theory. Insane asylums are filled
with subjects sent there from lighter causes
| than Hamlet had. Robbed of the throne Of
Denmark, 50 to speak; firm in the knowledge
of his fathers ''foul, unnatural murder;
stung by the moral degradation of his mother,
the once ''most seeming virtuous Queen it
would be strange indeed if Hamlets mind
was not, as the King phrased it, in a ''Gis-
temper The obtrusive and loquacious
Polonius called this mental condition
''Iunacy;' the philosophising grave-digger
speaks of him as "Hamlet-he that is mad
and sent to England and Ophelia, whose
rude treatment by the lover Prince can only
be justified on the ground that he was crazy,
piteously says:
'See that noble and sovereign reason.
Like sweet bell, tangled, out Of tune and harsh
Taken as a whole, the evidence of Ha,ntt's
real insanity is Of the strongest kind. Every
stage interpreter Of the character has his or
her (for there have been female Hamlcts as
well as female Romeos) conception of the
character; and while there are differences,
they are not really striking, and can only be
detected by those who study such differences
closely and critically. Adams, one Of the !
earliest and best of American HamletS. gave
some original interpretations oi the character,
but after all his Hamlet was an English coy. |
Murdock, one of the finest clucutIonists of the |
American stage and good actor withal, Dor |
rowed much of his Hamlet "busiuess from |
Adams Hdwin Booth, who has devoted |
many yeas Of the closest study t. the char
actcr invests Hamlet with really little that is |
new or start ug. Fcchter has probably done ,
more in de way Of departing from the tradi-
tional stage 'Iamlet, both as to readings and
situations, than any Of our modern actors,
and yet the character rs rendered by him
comes in the unquestlonable shape Of an old
acquaintance with very thin disgUise3, In
fact, We are unprepared for real original
Hamlet until some sensation-hunter totally
forgets the advice to the players, and either
introduces Il comic song, trapeze act, or
does clog dance. ''Ihere is nothing new
under the sun is an old aphori5m, the force
Of which particularly applies to Legitimate
acting. Mr.. Pope last night gave us an ad-
mirable Hamlet. He has evidently analysed
the character as only a true Shaksperian
student can, discovering the finer points Of
the tragedy, and, like true artist, as he is,
taking advantage of the discoveries We are
not going to fatter Mr.. Pope by pronouncing
lim the finest Hamlet we ever saw, for we
,hink we have seen better, and we will not,
n the stereotyped phrase, say OF his perform
lnce that sit was above criticism" We think
portions of it were open to criticism, but we
nave not the time, nor have we the inclination,
o perform that labor; besides, the gentleman,
ike all sensible members of his profession,
his weak as we'll as his strong
points The familiar soliloquy, from which
We are satisfied that Hamlet was not as
strongly convinced of the nOn-eXistenCe of I'M .
comfortably warm quarters in the Great
Beyond Beecher appears to be, was mag
Efficiently rendered, the actor being seated
Turing its delivery. In all his interviews (the
newspapers of late have made that word
,dious) with Ophelia he was as natural as one
II his peculiar frame ofmind could be expected
o be. In that very familiar scene-we believe
t is professionally known as the ''cloister
cene'-he gives the reading in the form of
N interrogatory, thus: Il
soft you. now,
The fair OIheia,-Nymph, in thy orsous
Hc all my sins remcmbered!
And this was undoubtedly as Shakespeare in