The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-04-01
OFF THE STAGE.


to an interSiewer-His Ideas of shakes
peAre's foPuiarity-Ihe Manner IN Witch
lie Got His New Piay-Herr Rarnay
Lawrence Barrett. the tragedian, received
Pos''DisPS'ch reporter in his room az the
southern this morning and submitted TO A
slight torture in the way Of an Interview
Mr.. Barrett has the reputation Of being the
most scholarly actor in America today
and not only seours the literature Of The
oiden times in search of dramatic gems, but
keeps abreast OF the nnest currents of
thought oouring through the present
epoch. lie is acknowledged TO be intellect.
ually in advance of all the inlerpre,er. of
the higher forms OF dramatic art, and. in
deed, enjoys the friendship and commands
the respect and esteem OF the best known
iterdteurs OF TINS country. Mr.. Barrett is
Is years Old, but there is still great Youth
IN the ecclesiastical face that ia over.
arched with fringe OF pretty litrle curls of
iroh-Sray. lie not only looks the student.
Dut conNerSes like the scholar that he is
MS manner Is gracious aud entirely unlike
the reports that have been given ont anept
ms formal GOODNESS and repelant Stiffness
ne gave the PoSt- Dispatch reporter a cor
ilai reception, and spoke freely and readily
upon all points touched upon bv the inter
viewer.
The Cincinnati dramatic festival" gaid
tne tfagedlan, us mere experiment in the
direction Of performances treated alahn
rately TO the minutest detail, and present
ing large array of the hest star talent tbe
country affords. Its success in this instance
salready insured. The coming festival
VIII DC perfect triumph for all concerned
lf hnNfa .,
ing ana deepening public interest in thest-
glcal matters everywhere. ltisa question
WIN me whether such thing could he
maze 10 succeed more than once think
the second attempt at festival of that
klhu would not create as much tail. recsiv va
as muoh attention IN the newspapers, or be
ntlehued with such magnificent results as
the present enterprise promises
Don't you Think the reporter asl,sB
that the public is getting somewhat tiyed
OF Shakespeare 2n
NO, SIR, Not at all, Some people urge
mat the Old comedy is dying out, and thai
nhaRespeare's lighter works are I'm Inc
same morlbund condition. Comedy vnn
know, IS picture of the times. Age has
taken the flavor from a great many of
the olu comedies, for the reason that the
iuahhers ana customs they reflect are obso-
lote. We 20 to the oldtimp comedies ia
READ Them we get their beauties m the
closet ana not on the stage, Still Shakes
perian comedy retains firm hold on the
puouc heart, and | see in England AZ
Henry ltvings theater Much Ado Ahout
Hothlhg Is making grand success. No
T Tl' the puolic Is not firing of Shakespeare
lug pays themselves will endure always
, puS ~ Is tne iack OF Interpreters, ifanything,
That Will make them seem to have lost
their attractiyeness."
but the stars, like yourself, all seem to
pc getting away from Shakespeare and try
ing something new"
On, but that is only for time. We do
not oy any means think of abandoning the
olu plays, but We become so accustomed 10
them That going out ofthem fora while will
oIiy increase our freshness and strength
Wnen we return TO them. IL is like putting
aside an Old overcoat for new one. The
novelty Oh the garment when we put it on
pleases us, but when we come back IN the
Ola coat ana mt it to our shoulders arain IL
seems all The more comfortable and val
liable to us. Then it deepeus public inter.
est IN oiu plays to get an occasional new
one FRIENDS who see me playing in Fran
eesca ia hlninl, are pleased with it, but
lhey come TO me and eagerly ask: Mr.
barrett, when are you going to play Ham.
let or Mr.. Barrett, when will YOU play
Gassius" and so on. | am producing Mr
Boxers play only in the large cities. and II
IS meeting with great success evervwherc
1t Is wonderful play, and the poetic beauty
Oh IL supasSes anything of the kind in the
language" - WV
How did you come to play it?n
AS you know, 1t is the work of Mr..
George II. Boxer, the well-known LAWYER
and statesman. Mr.. Boxer wrote The
. tragedy OF 'Collinus' which had such a
splendid run in England, and is the author
OF several other pluys, Well, read Coli
nus with view TO asCertainng if the work
would suit me for the stage, but could
not see myself in il all. Then Thought /
. would read through Mr.. Boxers literature.
( aud was doing so when found Francesca
da Rimini.' 1t had been PLAYED thirty
years before, and failed, in New York, with
davenport IN my part, MIR. Perry rs the |
iool and Mrs. John Drew is the heroine | |
saw the probabilities there were i'm the |
play and wrote to Mr.. Boxer, asking his |
permission 10 trim the work down for rep |
resentalon. lie answered, allowing me TO |
90 what pleased with it. | understood at |
once that 1t would have to be denuded of |
its poetry, and proceeded to take Off the |
llesh OF the piece. After two years work |
got at the skeleton of the play, !
and 10 md out whether or not the skeleton
would move, produced it in PHILADELPHIA
bare OF all its beautiful ornamentation. IL |
was most tavorably received, and we have |
peen playing 1t ever since in the large cities |
play Is Ike race horse you have to |
strip 1t down TO see how it can run. and af. |
Ter ~ mas made its course, then the flesh |
can be put back upon it. That is the way |
we are now restoring the flesh to Mr. Bo- |
kers work-replacing the poetry. until |
soon we will have the entire original piece |
with the exception of the rhymed lines |
with which the acts Of plays closed in the |
olden time. Mrs. John Drew sat out the |
performances in Boston the other night, and |
told me that she could scarcely realize that |
she had played the heroine in the tragedy |
more than quarter of century ago"
Mr.. Barrett spoke In a very euloglstiC |
manner of Herr Barnay, the German TRACE. |
dian, coming here in few weeks, and char |
,acterized his Lear as the finest he had ever |
seen. MIR. BaInay is great actor, and the |
dear friend of Henry Irving. He PLAYS
only in Chicago and this city, outside of |
New York as he returns to Germany in |
May. Mr.. Barnay will probably play Ham |
let, Lear and Coriolanus here. Mr.. Barrett |
speaking OF st. Louis, said his memory of |
the city went back to 1856, when he PLAYED |
Juveniles in the theatre on Olive, between |
Third ard Fourth for single season. He |
had reason to remember the time, because
smallpox was raging iiercely here then. |
and ne went into the hospital to nurse a |
friend and had to be yaCcinated about every
fifteen minutes. He likes St. Louis yery |
much, and is growing to like 1t more and |
more every year. The mud of the streets
has no charm for him, and I'll re are thou |
sands OF visitors who are equally UNWILLING |
TO make friends with the flooded and mushv |
thoroughtares,--TSt Louis Post Dispatch. |
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PRAYER IN THE JURY ROOM,