New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-04
THE LONDON STAGE.
~, DECENT FAILURES AND SUCCESSES.

IriSh
.,iate and the English like English legislation
VI i'' LODI its fair share II is So long since have
N' ', ,.,bing about theatres that novelties h"Nc
' =. Ia novelties Some of them have become
-. ,or.ccrs call gigantic successes; Others nave
.ad gigantic failures one at least oil the il'o,'
',aut j. neither great success nor great i'l'-
' ~" hrt balts midway between the two-l mean the
r.,;.b version of Sardou's "Odette." when came
.,oslv near damnation the first night. some three
- ago hut still keeps its place on the poarus'
and draws fairly good houses, one heats' Sd" IL
81. first night; have not seen II SINCE o"' al"
- .bot mnch has been done to make IL more
'Ianahle rlay Tolerabe on the frst mght IL was
"a e il was tolerated that was out OF good
Ii 90 Mr. bancroft, and, III measure, 10 Mauaihe
,f1;oslo The house was. as Is coh'iiioh On i's'
,;ob,s n very friendly one Mauanlc -ioo
hiSn'., oo,ld not have been more deinorstratlye
;f;, had been organized by lne iuos' '"p'o'I VI
" - o1,o,,e The difference was that such
chNS NC IVY. ,d have kent up the enthusiasm TO
iuhc"u"' - :, fact il was not kept up, but
,nc ,'u' the curtain falling in cold silence
w. III nv a little scattered applause, Ill whlch
,oroI audience had no part. NOT n lew
,anorlc had Quilted the theatre those WHO s'aVeu
,o,ned The piece took four mortal hours 10 pray
49,. 40 conflict one heard given between the acts
INV oil sorts of people was distinctly hostile
Ss.anrcb * the London public to an actress 1t
aaor+od ne \ favorite that the piece came
=; Gov moro censure than Nine. ModJeska. III GER
+oirlv was not a good piece in It's Eng"Sh loI'n II
1otal mistake was made i'll Angliclzhs 'he leaui"s
cborocters Odetc excepted. The play as NJ H'ruou
vrote it. turns on the legal lmpoNsDil'y Vi
- Tho betraved husband and the wife who
drars mis- name through all the cutters Vi HuUp0'
WI, the husband English, the legal impossibity
l. .lt silly
incomn,ehensible personal scruple of his against
I;,orra The audience were both bored and puzzled
s., thonvnlanation So in the last act when NJ.
Sor1ou hrncs everything to a clear end by the
;;1o of the wife in the English piece the curtain
Ius unon 4 half-understOOd hint at catastrophe
,~ft 20 conjecture A great deal has been cut out
,t tbese two capital faults Ibelieye, remain anu IL
cannot he a good play so long as they remain
NJ Mime. Modeska that ideal" Odette which
zoo enthusiastic friends would make out. The
,o+ yros ,laved in Paris by Nile Blanche Person
careful and excellent actress, but not OF the hrS'
rank and it was played far better by her ihdn ny
Mime. Modjoska. 1t must be SAID that the roisu
artist ruined most of her great chances lhe uIS-
covery scene in the first act was taken TOO SLOW as
+bs musical people have it; 50 were the
scenes in tue third and fourth. Nine. MouJeshd
seemed TO distrust the intelligence Of her
once but duplicated her effects drawled them out
and dwelt ON them while everybody was waiting Tor
The next. Never before had she seemed 50 hard and
81 hammered saw Odette y at the Vaudeville In
Paris During all the last act, played as 1t was by
Mile Blanche PierSon with consumnate judgment
the house was in tears. never saw so many people
CRYING aud sobbing at one time and for so long
time. As Nine Modjeska played the same act at
the Haymarket, it left the house untouched, and
throughout the play the limitations of this artists
TALENT and her mechanical method, were more dis
tinctly marked than perhaps ever before.
Far from the Madding Crowd" dramatic YER
sion of the novel of the same name by Messrs.
Hardy and COmyns Carr, after successful tour III
the provinces has been brought out at the Globe
Theatre Ill London. Here also 1t is successful. Its
production has revived. naturally enough, the con-
troyersy about the originality of Mr.. Pineros
Squire" which still draws at the ST. Jamcss
Theatre Perhaps sane human being who has
read the novel and seen the two plays doubts that
the two plavs had common origin, and that both
were drawn from the novel The difference is that
siessrs. Hardy and Comyns Carr avow their
Indebtedness Mr. Pinero denies his. His
managers, Messrs Hare and Kendall continne to
advertise his play as an original play Just as the
most bareflced English adaptations OF French
pieces are proclaimed as original" One can only
infer that the word has meaning TO the minds OF
managers and paywrights different from Its mean
ing TO the rest of the world MessrS Hardy and Carr
have made an excellent play out of the novel; full OF
life. movement and genuine dramatic interest.
There is perhaps less of neatness and ingenuity OF
construction in the genuine play than IL the other
hut also less improbahility and artlhcaity And IL
has this inconteStible superiority over ITS rival,
that the interest advances and increases to the end
.,I,, 81. 1irI anti ina
Mrs Langry'S engagement filled the Haymarket
10 the last, and is renewed for another year
with the commencement Of the autumn season.
Meantime, she is on tour of the provinces with a
company OF her own. and making twice as much
money in an evening she was paid week by the
3aucrofts albeit her salary was double the highest
paid any other actress IL London Hester Gra2eJrOok
in Tom Taylors Unequal Match,' is
Mr. Langtry's new part, played for the
first time by her week before last at
Brighton. Nothing she has done before was SO well
done as this, which is nevertheless in some points
more exactng par, than her others; and unlike
either of them Mrs. LaDgry played it, not with
smocthness nor with the precision and Surene's OF
method which might be expected from an actress of
experience but with refinement which gives
every promise of future distinction of style. To the
Intelligence she has heretofore shown are now
added marks OF careful study, and whatever the
defects OF her Hester, it is a strong role. clearly
conceived character played with many delicacIes
Of touch.
III nothing is the British Phstme moro loyal
than in matters dramatic. He likes the play which
liz future sovereign likes likes to be told that the
Prince likes it, OF has it; aud when the Prince
has seen it, and the fact of his having seen it has
been duly announced, rush at the bOx-ofiice fol-
lows This at any rate. is the view of the theatr-
cal manager and one which he acts upon with dill
peut regularity. Every day OF two may be seen
IN the London papers short paragraph, con-
srnciou,lv placed 10 the effect that this or that