The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-05-05
Keene Tonight.

Tonight the great young ira
gedian Thos. w. Keene, makes his
first appearance at the Theatre with
his own company. He appears
lin Bulwer's grand production OF
"Richelieu," concerning which we
have published several extracts al
ready. Below we give an excerpt
from the Chicago Times of the Sth,
regarding his Hamlet, which he
plays on Friday night, and which
will give some idea of Mr.. Keene'e
genius.
Mr.. Keene in Hamlet gives sharp
and clear evidence of the. good that
is in him. Deepest and most difficult
of all the characters he has thus far
acted, it is his best, and shows most
promise of greatness. OF all his
work, it most abOundS in evidences
Of careful and intelligent study and
of independent thought. 1t is unlike
other representations of the same
character. 1t is, in the first place,
a rational representation, appealing
less to the eye with minute action
than to the brain by strOngly-sea-
'sOned Saliencies. Mr.. Keene strikes
his master-key in Hamlet's warning
to his friends not to marvel or look
wise if he should pat an antic dis
position on. From this onward he
makes the finest and clearest dis
tinction between Hamlet's two
faces-the natural face and the
mask of nsanity-in such manner
as to make perfectly lucent the
operations of that noble mind and
loving, honorable heart under the
torture of an awful doubt and the
impulse of an awful duty. The
episode of 0phelia is freshly treated.
Into the scene with 0phelia he
throws whole tragedy. In the
flaming shafts of Indignation thrown
at those behind the arras, the ten
derness for Ophelia, and the anguish
Of his soul that his love must be put
from him. the breaking of a heart |
is shown in vivid colors The cry
with which he parts from 0phelia |
at the conclusion of that fearful |
Interview ITO a nunnery, go" is |
the cry of a man who pushes the |
spar that floated him from death |
The scene with the Queen in her
chamber is acted with quiet in
.enSity that falls little short of the
,errible. In the passages with the
King, the bitter, barbed irony that |
Hamlet shoots under the license of
is given with an icy
,OOlneSS that doubles its effect. The /
Joldest innovation of all is in the
amOus sOlilOquy upon suicide. In
he reading of that speech Mr.. Keene
walks upon the stage with the alb
'uptneSS of one who wanders in
profound meditation, and dropping
lis arm across the arm of a chair
which st. nds close by the doorway,
alks as though his teeming activity
# thought involuntarily sought
orm in words. His eyes wear the
irrespective look of one who COM
nunes with himself unconscious of
and after the silence
which follows the last line, his wax
ne to the presence of Ophelia is like
he sudden arousing of one who has ,
nwittingly slept. Throughout the L
lay Mr.. Keene keeps his auditors
live to the scholar, the philosopher,
he man of resOlute action, the
over, and, all in all, the sentient
Instrument of that most dreadful
tribute of orthodox divinity, :
To do this clearly-to I
make the lines sharp enough so that
II these phases are separately dis
yet held in Il harmonious ,
nifty, is a task which many have
ssayed and few accomplished. The
York marks the man.