New-York tribune., 1882-04-23
MlTSIC AND II HE DRAMA
,,.,x poorus PERFORMANCES.

m, ,os oorsorated five of the characters IN
si' ''a ronor,orv dnr,ne the week Just ended.
nd he will add three more to TINS Hst III 'uo Wv"
",a .osont yeek He has acted Riclelica, Othe'-
y Mocs,t5 Rcrtuccio. and Idgo: he Will now oo
seen as Hamlet, Krg Lecr and htchdra H.
His most astonishing effort, last week was maze !"
,,aol,h The sustained frenzy and electrical p"''
sion of the scene with the imagined spec'io " nd
ouo.-a scene which, in its wLirlwlnd oil ho',''
furv was vet controlled and maze apSo' ,',; -; ,ho
metrical-created an image oil tertl"o ION sur
world OF the Imagination. which mas '' os our
nassed by himself. and which DO o'''i s ,t,s r,cat
time has cQuaed. The term'n'''o" beautiful
scene likewise lives in memory a. nfr, nathos
pio'''' VI ,saur in hopeless ruln II ever ohaho
vi "'"' ~ he,b was seen he was seen theh' !"
eP 80 ,be hauntrd King, hend-driVeh anu uU-
I'll, 1orIorn holding his crown III MS manu- an" e"N'
;, n,on il with woefu eyes IN when was inc s0N
oing consciousness of all that tins banpe h"u ooe,'
This has usually been remarkably me poln' WIZ"
Ar Booth. but il was reached now WIN cohsuin'
mate ability. The hurried entrance-aimost run
o, - our knocking has awaked him. mpresSeu us
as novel. and certainly it had an exceIeh' ei'ece
And still another admirable touch was the pause
after Abide within I'll call upon you sua'gho
;,resolution. repentance agony. and the prompting
NJ an
and bslefnl moment. 1t only remains to De added
mot Mr. Booth has made his Macbeth more brawny
ono sinewy than it formerly was and that in this
;dool as in Richard ILL.,, he strives to give due
on,phasis to the humanity that is allied with the
,rickcdness in order that pity not less than terror
may be among the resultant emotions of his art
In Otkclo Mr.. Booths acting. though occasionally
,nadeouath is always pOetcal and always correct,
and now and then it is magnificent fulhlment oil
Sbakespeares design. Last Tuesday night, IN pay
;,, tbe Moor he gave the stormy passages OF the
third act with prodgious power but the rest OF the
nerformence was not a level with this strong ana
snendld portion Mr. Booths Othctt0, we have no
douht-comparing personal knowledge with histcri-
cal tcstimony,-is as powerful ana as patheVlc aS
over that of Edmund Kean was but this is only
when il is at It's best the actor being then IN exactly
ihe mood for an exceptional effort. Mr. Bcoth
should be seen often in each of his characters. the
observer would really understand and appreciate
him and in no other part that he plays Is be so va
,;ors ~ in DfbefO On some nights the performance
,s only conventional. On others 1t is prodlglouS,
ptartlioc and brilliant The American play-golng
community has OF late. become saturated win
stranre notions about the play of Othello' derived
from observance of the Italian view OF the Moor-so
vividly presented here 10y Salvini ana hoss'-"h'ch
makes nm snorting animal in his love ana ZERO
ciors beast in his Jealousy concluding his career
with a kind of murder such as Bill Sykes commits
when he mashes" Nancy. Those persons VINO rel
ish that kind of an OthClO Will, naturally, C9hstr
Mr. Booths performance quiet ana tame ne uTrs
not sit upon DcsdenOnas stomach nor Hoes ne '4ho
her scalp. But he fulhls a Just ana ilSnt Nhdhc-
eneareon ideal OF pure gentle, ana holy love- sue
ccedod by a tempest OF Jealous frenzy, ana eiiHeu
with terrible act OF Jusilce-a retrDuloh aDu au-
onst socrlire-by "A mar whose great ana over
Ihel1iug misery has hardened into stony de-
spair: aud his elocutiOn throughout this character
No stronger proof of versatility could be given than
the fact that Mr.. Booth is equally perfect III Itch
tI, and i'm IagO His embodiment OF the latter chdr
accr long since passed into the record ol our STAGE
as a work without flaw aud without an equal Inc
soldier like ease. the bland gO0d-dumoT, the devil
ish coolnees readiness and ingenuity, the VEN OF
1mpla,ahe NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. only IN lonely mo-
ments and sOliIoquy-the lghtnng-ilke Transitions,
and the quiet hend like enjoyment oi sheer wicked
ness for It's own sake all these elemeiH1 ana Others
blend in it, with perfect dressing, and all things Ight
and lit as TO mechanical treatment, to make III the
living reality of Shakespeares design The acting OF
Mr. Booth in the dark-sireet scene-the showing OF
the sudden Impulse to murder both his Victims at
How silent is this town "-could not lie surpassed
for its horror; ana the horror is used
mot for its mere theatrical effect, but TO deepen the
lines of cbaTac ter and heiGbten tie cOlOrS OF trag
edy. Mr.. Booths treatment of this scene, when
adopted by his great contemporary, Mr.; Irving was
singled out. we remember 10y he London Times, tor
particular commentator, for originality and brll-
tanuy 1t undenably is both original ana orliilaho.
As 10 certain points Mr. Booth adopts the TRADITIONS
of the stage. His delivery OF She that was ever
fair etc for example. follows the model that was
establi shed hundred wears ago by John Henderson,
But AS other points he has invented new method
-of which this street scene is a chief beauty.
Neither RichcIieu BertacfO requires particular
romment As the poor Jester, 50 cruelty wTonged
and so terrible In his scheme of vengeance Mr.
Eooth plves an embodiment of hOrrd yet pl,iable
deformitv mental as well rs physical: His demo
Mac qee after the abduction and his hysterl
cal onthrst of suppcatiOn before the doors of the
ban0uet hall are remembered among the most
thullng and wonderful achievements IN acting that
are known to the modern stage. Mr. Booth intro
duced this character to the American theatre nearly
twenty years ago and he stands alone III II now.
Seven additional performances Will close Mr.
Booths engagement and he Will almost immediately
90 abroad for long absence. Those " no see his
impersonations Will store up for themselves
such treasures of memory no future industry IN
reading could compass, and i'll know, of their own
knowledge. the best cmbOdments OF tragic acting IN
the pres ut age. Ii is common privilege that Is
now at hand The time viii cOme-and 1t IL not
very far of neither, in the natural course OF things
when of this generation, remembering Ed |
win Booth IN Hamlet. and Eicheiiea, and IdgO, will
feel the glow OF pride. and the same sense OF
true scholarship in acting that the fathers feel now
when they recall Cooke in SIR Gales Edmund kean
in 0theiiO and The Stranger, old Booth in Rickdrd
Brooke in Master Uditer Forrest in EdmOr, Ma
crcady in Tell or UerRer or NGcbeth aad Waack in
ShvlOck The works of Edwin Booth are no longer
On trial they the classics of their period in the
American theatre.
THE WARD TESTIMONIAL.