Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-21
THE THEATER.
BS01h as . BertacefO,- in The FosPs
Revenge.


BsRTUCCIO. Court Jester. ......-... ELWIN BOOT
serafno def Aquila. ...-..---.Nill A Mhiteei
Guido MaIatesta ID c. Anderso
B1ldassare ToIelli Robert Patema
Bensrtio ASeoi5i Mason Miche
First e1iami,eriaiIi Newton Chisne
Second Chamberlain. Niilet Carpents
FIORDFLISA -.. ........ Miss BELLA PATEMA
Francesca BentiyOglio Mrs. Charles Calyel
Brgitta. Mrs Louisa Eldridg
No higher compliment could be paid eve
TO Mr.. Booth than the presence last night a
the Theater of 80 many OF the cultivated an
intelligent people not alone of Memphis, bu
of all the towns within radius OF one hun
dred and eighty miles of the city. Bravini
the most inciement weather we have had 10
years, cheerlully encountering delays il
travel, the result Of the storm of rain whicl
has been almost incessant for the past tw,
weeks, these ladies and gentlemen came tc
do honor to the greatest of living English
speaking actors in three of the best charac
ters of his repertoire. Every seat wa
occupied and every iBch Of stand.
ing room. 1t was a crush, jam, aud yet
the utmost attention was gwen TO the aetoI
aud his company as they unfolded the plot
of TIE Foo's Rerenge, play new TO our stage
AMI widely different in its construction from
the or iinsry modern drama. "B.rtuccio,
the character assumed by Mr.. Booth, is de-
ribed in the opening scene as a mis-
shapen imp, gibiug devil, jester who
laughs vitriol, king of tongue-fence who
knew every weak point 10 the armor
Of those about him and could hit
it. Under this mask of cynicism,
j=st and folly there lay concealed
a deadly purpose OF hate and revenge
for the loss OF his vile, stolen by "Malatesta."
It would be impossible to select greater
contrast to tue lean, crafty, ambitious but
loyal cardinal OF Thursday night than
the deformed "Bertuccio" of last night.
Wide as the poles de-cribes them best. The
inhexible will and dominating power of the
great minister OF France seemed still to fill
the Theater until the curtain was raised and
revealed the opening scene OF The Fools Re-
renge. But The vision of the willy but faith
full statesman vanished before the reality Of
the deformed hunchback, whose sharp and
biting wit, it was found later on, con-
csaled the pathetic despair Of despoiled
husband, the love and tenderness of an
idolizing father, the sweetness and strength
of gentle guide and protector, and the pas
sious Of an iron-willed man who could pa
tiently follow his duty for years and die to
revenge his honor. No character that the
modern drama has produced will compare
with "Beriuccio" in the wide range which it
covers from "lIvelv to severe" A fool by
profession, deformed by nature, with mind
morbidly sensitive to his misshapen and
ghrunken shanks, and provoked TO prefer
natural activity by the crooks which for
those he jested for made his foolishness
more FOOLISH carrying the secret Of the hor-
rible violence to his wife and the sacred life
of his child, burdened with a contempt for
his calling and disgust for his companions
and bearing the burning hope of his
reverge-there il, indeed, in all these
q combination OF intensely dramatic
trait and motive on which q great
actor like Booth might worthily set his seal.
Such a man, thus furnished, and with the
additional incentive OF danger to his daugh-
ter which comes to him as result of his
own craft and cunning in furthering the con-
summation OF the ends of villaiDy, could
well take the SUI iden and awful leap from
low comedy to intense dramatic fervor-
from the airy play of rich and varied
fancy, tinged with gall and colored with
bitterness, to the profound and abysmal
depths of awful tragedy. The alternating
of IL h.
at the close were as the black and
awful storm-clouds that succeed upon
the glorious sunshine OF a summers
day, following as it did upon all the
previous hilarity and gaiety of the
Duke and his friends and the wit and
fFoIicsomeness OF the fool. The rage of
"shylook," the declamatory pitch OF passion
of "Hamlet" with his mother, or the launch
ing Of the curse of Rome by "Richelieu"-
these all are reached by graded stages, are
climaxes Of characters set 10 high key; but
the quick transition from fool TO father, from
the willing a.d esger tool of reckless rpass
TO the parent anvious for his child, trans
formed upon the .4-ountain of his love; from
the accessory of libidinous humors to the
avenger of the purity and honor that made
his child the jewel of his eyes
was as startling aud vivid as reality.
1t is great character. Personated
as it is by Mr.. Booth, it viii go down in his
greatest ever essayed by him. As "Bertuccio"
describes himself, hate ranked underneath
his motley, scorn barbed his wit and bitter
ness grinned behind his laughter; his pur-
pose was revenge, which, once achieved, he
would spurn his chains, fool il no more, but
give what was left of life to thoughts of her
he lost and love OF her that yet was Ieft him.
There are only threo acts in this comedy OF
errors and tragedy Of woes, but they are full
Of action and marked by the free play Of
storm and sunshine. In the first act "Ber-
tuccio" subordinates his passion and his
purpose and Plays the fool to the
.op of his bent until the close when
ne confesses his vengeance. Booth was
warmly greeted as he came in with "Fran-
,escl, who jealoasly follows in the flotst ps
II her husband and "Gnevra." His first |
words second his appearance, apparel and
action ani proclaim him fool. Moon
Nanfredi-moong" he exclaims, opening the |
scene 10 which the plan is developed that IS
% end in his death, foiled of the revenge h.
lad patiently plotted for so long, but saving
ais daughter from spoliation of her virtue.
Nothing could so well advertise the
purpose Of his life "a his ready consent to
ierve Francesca" az il sympathy with her
vas his only aim. At the close OF this scene
ie uncovers his scheme to the au1iencs while
with himself, and again at the
lose OF the act, when, after his banter with |
'Torrelli,, "Ascolti" and "Ordelaffi," he |
lurIs curses among them AMI avows that |
vengeance swsIls out his veins and lifts his !
lead and makes him tremble. These solilo- |
luies furnish the audience with the key OF his |
master passion, but to those about him 1t is !
,till secret only guessed at by "M1nfredi"
rhe transition from this venomous fo1l is
Iuick and sudden az in the second act "Ber- /
ucoio," with the exclam alton "My own!n
m braces his daughter "Fiorde isa" For u
moment or two the audience was at fault.
They could scarcely reaiizs that the father
had been the jester, the transition in mien
md manner was 50 complete. His tongue
vas tuned to a softer note, and the jest and
yibe gave way to the tenderness and
,athos of The anxious father weIlinS