New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-01-08
MIR. HENRY IRVING.
p,s REAPPEARANCE AS DIGBI GRANT IN
THE TWO ROSES"

M the MANY 1rst nights u NHV ~
,rbicb p,ay-goers cherish in their memories .uo
"n0' ~ -. LIT remarkable Mr.. Irving has
hoen starring it in the provinces TOT noai'y ~
IBIS during which time, a. he quantity ooSeINeu
a.; "a. baud little specch at the close OF yes'eI-
- r,ocoodir0s the theatre has been closed eN-
- ~, i rvas omen The opening was only Aoi
. br;of md disastrous season oI opera uhu0l JIM
noapacement So long AL eclipse Is uapreoouon'cU,
80. e. ,rutb &c that Mr. Irving finds provincial
audiences quite as ready 10 part with inc" money
os +b,se Of London. The Lyceum' moreover HAS
baen undergoing alterations, enlargement IeueC''
ton has BEEN IN fact, pretty much pulled 10 p''Co'
and mt together again. The PIT ana 'he e''iH'' GO
froyn floor 10 roof have been made more capacio"s'
and the approaches, the entrance hall and the loyer
recopstructcd should say the main STAIRS oy "Al0n
s-oll hoxes anddrcss circle pour into the street
r. +,v;co a. wide as before which in these Gays OF
panic-a very wise pauic-about ire ADDS vastly 10
The ponularity of the theatre - extensive are une
s+ructural changes in the buildipS IhaI IL ooN
Irae weeks 10 shore up the roof and exterior walls
merely 20 prepare for the actual operations ana the
s+ Of them i not much less than the cost OF new
,aotre Inside the auditorium. the scheme of
1oooration is much what it was before. The en-
trance hail. starcascs, the galleries and balconies
srro,ndinr them are Of a harmonized brilliancy
b,cb nroyes that the much berated iesthetiCism Of
+bo day has had good influence we'll as bad.
The long vacation and the new pa Mt and gliding
counted for something the interest which the re-
oneoinc of the Lvceum aroused. What counted Tor
mich more was the personal enthusiasm when Mt.
IRWIN. has excited, and which he keeps awe or
,ybirb mas vitality Of its own. and never talls 10
hrc,k ont on such occasions As these. lie mas Ne-
+a1 admirers of every social position. Year after
,.ar and several times year you may see the
,a,ne groups IN the more arlstocrauc part Oh the
- II Won look closely enough You will also
GO the same faces this year the PIT as last year,
o,d in the upper gallery. They would he there,
1rbatovcr MI Irving chose TO bring out as op nIng
,5ece But last night had peculiar excitement OF
itsovn. MIR. Irving had determined 10 play Dpby
Grant i'm MIR Alberys Two Roses He has. be-
heye Injudcious friends who think his dignity
lcssened by the assumption or rather the resump-
zion. Of a character in eccentric comedy. such
people would have hum play nothing but Shakes
peareln tragedy. Mr.. Irving shows good sense by
disrecarlng advice of that Sort aud he may well
take counsel Of his pride a dramatic artist by
making the range of his art as wide as
rossible 81 gle-string performers are IN less
vogue than formerly. Mr.. Irving has already
gone round the circle, touching, at any rate,
and touching for the most part with sure ana
strong hand the most important points IN the cir
conference Tragedy, drama, melodrama aud those
,liar nroductlons of the theatrical muse 10 which
I ca
drama have in time brought HIM triumphS;
trinmphs of varying completeness and splendor' no
do1ht hlt stlu trumph- be the least admirable of
.hese performances. there was always something 10
respect. Long before be entered upon tragic roles
Mr. Irving had essayed those Of comedy, and there
have always been those who thought that III the
most famous of his serious Inpersonatlons-ln ham
LET for EXAMPLE. and in Rirhard Itrd-the hghter
,,arts Of his acting were not the least perfect But
a ID haop Tfeo.l i aaId
this morning by some Of the critics with good
memories. that fifteen years ago there was no sign
of Mr. Irving's powers as a tTagedlau-that at the
81 JaJness Theatre and the Queens tie was thought
10 be respectable actor of shady char cters-the
rentlemanly villain of domestic drama, and the BuI
>,Ees of the late Mr. Oxenford's adaptation of "Oh-
yer Twist" He played in The Two Roses" in 1870
and then il was that he gave the public the hrst
glimpse of those powers Of perception and dtHnea-
ton of character which have since been illustrated
in plavs of a tragic and romantic character at the
Lvceum.'
fresh performance OF .he same and still familiar
character ven years later, and after all that has
happened in the interval, offered a singularIy Ia
y,rablr opportunity OF measuring the progress MI.
Irving has made Culuckily for myself / am not
sale 10 compare one with the other. never sa"
Mr. Irving at the Vaudeville. where Mr.. AIoerJ
comedy ran some hundreds OF nights. can only
borrow the Judgment of others, from which Sc" no
reason 10 dissent that Mr.. Irving- powers in this
kind of deineation have ripened and strengthened,
md that hi- Digby Grqnt of to-day is much more
s5hd and brilliant piece Of acting than was the
Bi,by Grapt of so winch laid the foundations OF
his fame.
ON the merits Of the acting saw last night
considered by itself there hardly be two opiu-
IONS It's ch eff fault sprung from the excess OF ITS
merit. Ii was too good Tor the piece and for the
vest of the actors " he Two Roses is play OF
which II is easy 10 explain the popularity, bur when
al l. SAID and done II is not good play IL ahounds
in faults Of construction and proportion. Ii Is con-
fused IL action often batting often at an absolute
staudstin at times quite uumtelligbe. az times
overloaded with dialogue which has little 10 30 with
the matter IN hand, and Is plainly logged m Tor the
sake Of mere verbal suartness. At the Vaudeville
a. saw il after Nh Iryings departure, II was even
~ acted and It's irregularities were not painIuIiy
ropspicuous Mr. H. j. Montague as Jaok Byat,
Miss Amy FavcetJ as Lotte, Mr. ILorne as the
blind Caeb Deie Mr.. James oW Hr Jenkins,
bure each a pu share OF the burden
9t The piece. The pretty love story
and rbe comic side business-for the jenkins family
T. .i.odica and could be left out with small loss to
the plotrlu their allotted course, and had the due
measure of importance the author meant them to
have. Last night they were nowhere. DgJy TraHt
filed the stage when he was on H. and when lie was
eli there was nobody TO take lis place Mt IeIflSs
a,Jl.k Watt staggered and stTaddlcd and scoWled
through three acts in painful contrast 70 the gentle
manner and good humor of poor Montague. Nj. y.
Alexander, a new man to London think was
abruptly hard and bitter as Cde6 De,tc missing
altogether the key note of the part. The two girls
were well enough, but devoid Of charm, and lacked
the talent 10 bring out the contrast meant by the
v.lg rly % !