The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-05-27
Richelieu.

The sub ject of this great play,
which stands at the head Q
the modern legitimate drama,
Armand Jean Duplessis Richelieu
was born in Paris, on the 5th of
September, 1885, and died there on
the 4th of December, 1912. His
career from his boyhood was a most
lifting subject foc the immortalizing
touch of the dramatist, for it en-
bodied in itself all the elements of
a dramatic presentation. Richelieu
was the craftiest statesman of his
period: a cardinal in the Catholic
church, his chief devotion was
nevertheless to the state, and all his
labOrs, loves and intrlgues were
trained in the direction of making
his welded Wife"-France-the
greatest among The great. He
stopped at neither bloOdshed nor its
accumulating horrors to promote
this one ambition: he was by turns,
as occasion required, cruel, crafty,
cunning, generous and just;
but above and beyond all
these traits, which were simply
auxiliary means to q grand con-
summation, there arose the one
grand and patriotic impulse TO save
and prosper his country. He
blended his personality with the
majesty of France, and so. far lost
his identity as to eXclaim at times,
"L'et0t c'eSt RicbetieU." He con-
trolled the king-the least OF his
achievements, for Louis XIII. was
a weak and YacillaIing monarch
and by his strength Of character and
elements of craftsmanship, made
his soyereign's government what it
would not otherwise have been-a
source of standing dread to its enc
mics. A conspiracy having in
view the overthrow Of Louis and
the establishment Of Count de
Baradas as king is the episode upon
which the play presented at the
Theatre last evening is founded.
Mr.. Lindsay essayed the ex-
tremely arduOus task Of portrayirg
Richelieu. In the hands of
the oldest and best actors
it is a heavy undertaking, for, to
satisfy an intelligent audience, it
requires something more than a
player. 1t is a character Of such
magnitude that the mere arts and
devices of the actor do not and can
not occupy the field; the one who
gives a satisfactory presentation of
the cardinal duke must within him.
self contain some of the elements of
a statesman, and be historian and
scholar; in other words, the play is
beyond the domain of dramatic pro.
auctions alone. To sum up the
principal features which we re-
garded as errors in Mr.. Lindsay's
performance, it need only be said
that 1t was, on the whole, too vola.
tile throughout and scarcely subtle
enough anywhere; it was acted too
much; but these defects were I'M
noticed in contemplation of the
whole picture. His conception OF
the part is evidently the correct one
but he at times loses himself in his
natural vigor. His heavy scenes
were extremely effective, particu
laTly that at the end of the fourth
act, where the lawful circle" is
drawn around "Julie;" this produced
a loud and well-merited burst OF
applause, which was long contin.
ued. His enunciation was perfect
his voice resonant aud powerful,
and his dressing historically cor.
rect. His support was rather ju.
venile, and, with the exception OF
Miss Dunbar and Mr.. Olsen, showed
lack Of training; but all things
taken together, the performance
was a 5uccess.