Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-02-26
A Boston Criticism on Mary An.
dersOD,

Saturday Evening GaEette.l
Miss Mary Anderson began an en-
gagement at the Boston theater ON
Monday night, appearing as Evadne in
the play Of that name. Since her last
appearance here Miss Anderson has
gained something in base, and has
overcome, to some extent. that tenden-
cy to reserve her chief efforts for the
purpose of making points" which
formerly characterized her acting so
strongly. But we fearsh has become
more artificial in style; that she has
not studied nature as closely as she
has studied stage effect. Her poses
are picturesque, but they are too fire.
quent and too deliberate. Then. too,
her consciousness of the fine qualities
in the lower tones of her voice causes
her to use them in and out of season,
and often with an abruptness that
shows both lack of skill aud of iudg-
ment. Miss Anderson has still many
crudities to eliminate from her
method of acting, crudities which
should have disappeared longago with
the experience sue has had. Some of
these suggest in their very nature
that the studies Of the young artist do
not penetrate below the surface. The
great and in a large measure wholly
deserved success that has attended her
hither, the ease with which she can
draw from her audience their demon
strative and discriminating approval.
may possibly have made her careless
in c%onquering the more pronounced
difficulties and the deeper reGnements
of her art. Be this as it may, Miss
Anderson. at the end Of two
or three years as a star,
has not yet progressed beyond
the Threshold Of her profession, a
result which, in the view of her
strong natural gifts, her fine stage
presence, and her other advantages,
and intellectual, we can only
attribute either to indifference in the
artist to any higher achievements
than mere success, or to a deadening
OF ambition owing to complacent sat
isiaction with success easily and al.
ready Won. There is much to admire
in her Evadne, especially in the ear
nestnesS of feeling, the womanly grace
and the deep dramatic fervor that
often distinguishes it, but these beau
ties are more than counterbalanced by
staginess Of elocution and of gesture,
and the general artifciality and i'm
maturity Of style that continually
force themselves to the surface. The
same good qualities are apparent in
her Julia in The Hunchback, but
they are neutralized in the same man
ner by the shortcomings men
toned. In this part we think
that Miss Anderson has refrigerated
in several essentials since she last
played it here. The sweet and i'm
pressive naturalness that marked it
as a whole has given way before over
elaboration in effecl, and its former
simplicity has been misplaced by
studied and ~unpleasing artifciality.
We trust that Miss Anderson will see
in time whittier her present course is
leading her, before what are now
on the service, easily remova-
bic, become ineradicai %mannerisms.
Shortcomings that are inevitable in a
novice, and are freely eondoned in
view Of brilliant promise such as were
hers at the outset of her novitiate.
are not so considerably overlooked
when they remain long after expert
ence should have removed them. 1t
entirely with this highly-gifted
young artist herself whether she real
ICES or disappOints the great eIpecta-
tions to which her advent gave rise.
She has everything in her favor.