The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-05-02


The auditorium is one serried mass OF eager
and attentive humanity. The stage thus far
has offered a succession of pageants. Viewed
as spectacle this display is magnificent. 1t
does not indeed surpass the pageantry of
Edwin Booths great revival of " Julius
Cesar" either in massiveness of picture, the
tasteful handling of color, or dignity of gen.
eral effect. Its special superiority over any
| thing of the kind that has been seen in
America consists in its adjuncts and proper
ties. These are very numerous, often beduti-
full, and truly remarkable for accuracy of de-
sign and solidity of fabric. For illus
trative objects the expenditure has
| been almost reckless, but certainly it has
been directed by knowledge and taste. Such
embellishments as are offered by the stand
ard-bearers wearing the lion heads. and by
the hedge of cedar shrubbery in the garden
| OF Brutus, displaying his name carved in the
! foliage, bespeak the scholarship and the
minute observance of detail with which this
! spectacle has been devised Nothing finer
could be wished than this gloomy, haunted,
romantic bit of landSca pe and few stage pic
lures comparable with it in mournful splen-
dor have anywhere been seen. Richness, re-
| pose and mystery are its sufficient atmos-
|
marvelously well conveys the terrible import
of the conspiracy which it invests This is
the work of Waugh and Piggott, and it is a
masterpiece You can almost hear as you
gaze upon it, the signing of the midnight
wind i'll the branches, while through the
ominous stiffness the far-off sound of the
striking clock sends a chill to your expect
ant heart. This scene has been beautifully
managed by everybody concerned in
it, and its excellence may rightly be
named as a fair type of the spirit of the
whole production. 1t is noticeable that most
OF the scenes have been constructed with
sky perspective. There are few painted drops
at the back. Every object stands out boldly
in the picture, and an upward graduation of
colorland of pictorial establishment has been
studiously sought so that the general effect
is cumulative and very splendid. The first
set involves the procession returning from
the sports of the Lupercal The populous
extent, the variety, the animation and the
regal pomp of this parade created vast ex-
| element, and cast an impressive glamour of
| suspense around the fateful entrance of the
lonely figures of Cassius and Brutus-a
| method of entrance long ago originated for
| this situation by Edwin Booth, and rightly
adopted among those excellent traditions of
the stage which only ounces and quacks dis
| parage. The coming of these great Romans
was the signal for tremendous outburst of
public JOY. Mr.. Barrett, entering with that
| QulCh, nervous pace anu Cldt intent reSOlute,
| lnScrutable couutenance, worn with thought,
and rsvaged with the strife of hidden pas
sions, disclosed the vertable ideal Cassius
| the best representative of him that has trod
the stage since Macready left it, No
need to extol, for New York play-goers,
the intellectual concentration and
| splendid fire of this performance There
again were seen the swift chances of the tor
rid eyes, so eloquent of repressed power, so
| significant of an inveterate, hateful purpose
| There again was heard the sonorous. quaver-
ing voice, vibrant, trenchant and thrilling,
soaring like seabird's cry over the dense
mass of the multitude, and audible through
| all the vast spaces of the great theater
John Mccullough, as Brutus, lives in ev-
cry New York memory and heart, but never
| has this grand actor seemed so perfect an
image of royalty as he did tonight. The
massive figure, the slow, thoughtful, deliber-
| ate tread, the pensive brow, the lion port.
| the sad abstraction, the guileless magnanimi-
| ty and the lovely gentleness of Shakespeare's
Brutus-all was personified here, and made
living man. Him the surroundings could
not dwarf He seemed, indeed to draw from
them certain awfulness of austerity and
tragic poise. He seldom exerted his voice,
but at times its even and ample tones rolled
out upon the multitude like the surge of the
organ. Mr.. Murdoch, as Antony, had a
| royal welcome, and was recalled after the
senate scene. The effect of time is of course
visible in his acting, but the fine intelli-
gence, the large picturesque treatment, and
the just and discreet elocution of his per-
Torrance make it very valuable lesson.
Mr.. James took Caesar, and his noble voice
was everywhere audible.
This revival of Julius Cesar" contained
much to delight the archaologst but the
bulk of the investiture is thrown away upon
| the public for either it is not seen at ALL or
if seen, it serves only to distract attention
from the essential matter that ought to be
considered-the words, the deeds, the char
acters, the spirit of the whole work all
which are circumscribed within the acting
This was well nigh swamped by the scenes
and trappings and by the vast hall. Some
| of the voices could not be heard half way
down the auditorium. The house is badly
lighted, and is full of draughts. The audi
ence was not, as it should have been, in full
dress. The incidental music was harsh and
noisy. An air of painful anxiety and of
natural WEAKNESS made itself felt through all
the scenic magnifcence-an inevitable con-
sequence of the application of the barbecue
method to delicate art, which should al
ways be invested with elegance and repose.
THE ENvIoUs CHICAGO MAN.
Telegram to the Herald.
People in the middle of the hall tonight
were able only to catch words here and there,
uttered by even such a robust actor as Nc
Cullough Thus the elocutonary beauties
of delivery were entirely lost to fully half
the audience, and the distances were so great
to a large proportion that, without the aid
of telescope any pleasure from the facial
expression of performer was out of the
question. The people on the stage, seeming
fully conscious of the difficulties under
which the audience labored, made their eff
fects as broad as possible, dispensed with
anything like finesse, and fairly beloved
their lines
There were critics present representing
nearly every important paper in the coun-
try. The general conclusion seemed to be
that, however stirring mob may be. and
however creditably these mobs may be drill
ed, they can scarcely compensate for the abb