New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-11-07
THE DRAMA-MUSIC.

-. taken the shape OF P0fiidS "iSu' WIN W
srothed 10 Bassani0--the wish to eAceeo "ooo"n'
IN virtues and beauties, to be treoed twenty ti's
hsrself and in particular, to be " thousanu '''''
,nore farn She was coming forward lndeeu' as
an actress; but, of course, she was Ho'
ignorant that her fame Win 'he A
e. nublio IL the fame of her beauty
- tha stage her career has been neither
long nor distinguished In all her life she has NOT
'.cted hall-a-dozen parts. The performances given
NV her in England. If praised for personal DENOTE
,nerts have been censured for mental limitations
ga technical faults With professional recoru 81
,,i0bt and thin as this an unknown performer az
costing this public artistic grounds atone co'N
not have drawn half house in any theatre VI VIC
land. Mrs Langtry, favored by many adventurous
circumstances attracted an audience that ocouPiou
every seat and every foot of standing-room wl'h'n
Wsllack's Theatre and great was the inuIlituuo
which sought admission that had the mouse peen
three times as large it still would nave ooe"
crowded in every part
wasnot a common audience. neither. III was
not the yearning thrOng that dlia'oS VIZ" Dr.,
speakable emotion over dados add hre-ScreehS nu'
a. 90 %, ossonhlaye composed OF many OF the pest
claimants of our society. Such company can oii'9
.a-on,llod IN n New-York theatre ot the hrS'
go he a great and genuine theatrical atTacton'
on nv social magnet of exocptlonai aiiuion'"
The former of these Mrs Langtry may perhaps
become AS Cassias SAYS, to A"tong tDe poS'uIo
of your blows yet unknown I"e i"'v
long ago became. The welcome aecoTuoo ~
her. therefore was accofueo NV
~ r,slisb Actress but to the English Beauty.
inst have perfectly well understood: and
{, 10 Easy 10 fancy her rejecting. before sho
.toved in 40 prettly upon the sweet, rural, open
,no sceue of An Unequal Match" that not heieh
trey herself could entirely fulfil the expecta-
.,ore ~ sneb a moment. There is, In fact' soiue-
thing almost pathetic land tins was felt las' his'F
an the bravery with which this fair young creature
50 delicate and so slenderly equipped comes oai ing
IL forwara ioyous. hopeful, and perhaps H''e w
FAINT. to throw herself into the serried r"i'Ae
of a formidable and not over-inehuS P4o-
fessOn, and into a pursuit 50 DUBIOUS "S
nermapent success, so inevitably promo u '"i'
and trouble.
Her persoual triumph last night, however was
uneguivocal The public was glad 10 see her' 'n"
IL expressed ITS gladness in resoundlng anu pro
&racted applause. Mrs. Laugry is IN some respects
IN uncOmnonly handsome woman Inc sy'"i'"'iS
NJ her little head and long, oval face. the pure ana
bealtbiul whiteness of her compleXlon' inc lhho-
eence and candor OF her large gray eyes. The rch
and pleasnc quality of her voice. the winning man
ner of her address TO others, and the grace
nf her carriage and demeanor. not 10
mention her taste in dress, winch appears
10 no faultless are the principal attributes
10 her loneliness. 1t was easy, pcrcelVhg theSe u
understand the public welcome. Mrs. Langtry
seemed touched by this greeting which she received
with tremuious earnestness and simple dignity,
and thereafter she passed through critical OrdeaI
with the fine tdOroug h-bred courage of a suscepl-
bic but resolute spirit Her success was fan more
conquest through personality than a conquest
4, lace n
cess Her physical fitness for the stage was seen to
be extraordinary and such as entirely Justiies her
entrance upon theatrical career She has mobility
of presence, a tall and sufficiently shapey figure,
countenance generally composed and cold,
but susceptible of animation, clear,
smooth aud flexible voice. good
instinct as to posture and gesture graceful and pol
ished manners. tne unsought repose winch Is the
slrest denOtemen of selfpOised character and good
breeding and a distinct faculty of intelligent and
appropriate action. Furthermore she can at times
move and speak III character, and she knows how
t. ls,en.
These assuredly, are some of the essential quail
fcations for a dramatic artist Her manner of
"orossimg" aud OF taking the stage" showed.
among other signs the wires of the old school mech
nnism. 1t is a good method but, of course. II
needs to be yelled and softened by dream-lke ana
drifting atmosphere of apparent spontanelty. Mrs
Lsngiry's talents were clearly enough revealed
She has sense as well as beauty, and artistic
faculty as we'll as personal charm. But her ia ents
were TO be-when tested BY artificial conditions
embarrassed by the seliconsciousness that Is OBJ
Vious instead of being controlled by the selt-cOn-
seriousness that is hidden aud 10 he tinged with that
hardness OF effort and that artificial glitter which
are universally characteristic of beginners in act
ing. and which denote either a lack Of experience
or lack of deep sensbty. The revelation of per-
sOnal attributes, all the same, free, cOmprehen
sbe, tangible, and OF an interesting character
Mrs. Langley was not consistently identified with
the character, such it is, of
Hester GrazebrOok much more than half OF
the time of her presence upon the scene but Mrs
Langtry as herself-as a cold, stately. and polished
lady. trying TO be by turns rustic, passionate, and
wretched,-ex erted positive and agreeable tasci-
Daton This Is the pOjent force that has enabled her
TO make good practical of the circumstances
and incidents of advantageous social celebrity.
Without Ibis her suddenly prosperous public career
would have been impossible With it.-and with
her unmistakable capacity energy and self-knOwl-
edge.-she can win her way to high, legitimate
rank upon the stage aud thus satisfy the desires of
an ambition not less rational than sincere.
1t does not seem possible for judgment to 90 far
astray ia speaking of such matter. The facts
display themselves upon the surfuce AS an actress
Mrs Langtry is uneven. frigId and technicaities
sometimes crude. AT moments-as in Testers an
tagonism Of her female enemy, and in her assump-
ton of cool Indifference toward Arach0e-she be-
comes merged in the part. At other moments she
lapses out of it. She has definite designs and
tractable powers but she has not yet acquired per-
feet aud uuerring control of either. On the
other hand. she has attained TO remarkable ex-
peruess considering the brevIty of her professional
experience She did not reveal attributes Of
tragical genius There no hint of Imagination.
exalted spiritual passion. or melting tenderness in
any action OF word of hers throughout this perform.