, 1884-09-04
POOR SHAKESPEARE.
The Wretched Bard Comes In For
Another Excoriation.
A Rather Remarkable Performance
of the Melancholy Dane.

- " N0A
viction forces itself upon us that Mr..
Daniel Z. Bandmann was not well last
evening when he deliberately attempted
to impersonate S~hakespeare's mastery
creation of Hamlet" The audience
which gathered in the Opera House was
not very large, but it seemed disposed 10
appreciate any conception of Hamlet
which displayed evidences of intellectual
ity, no matter how much that conception
might differ from the hazy ideal which
nearly everybody has in his mind.
As a general proposition it may be said
hat Mr., Bandmann's conception of
Hamlet differed materially from
any conception of that historic
individual which a man in a
comparative condition of sobriety is liable
to have. The performance was intel
lectually togglejointed. The outlines of
the character instead Of being clear cut
and sharply defined were confused and
confusing. As to whether Hamlet
vas mad or merely Stimulating madness
was a question of painful and positively
oppressive doubt.
Nh. Bandmann is a man of admirable
physique and he is the happy owner
of a pair of lungs remarkable for their
stentorian qualities. Possessing even
these physical qualifications Mr.. Band
mann should still leave Hamlet"
severely alone. Hamlet" has probably
never done him any harm, so why should
he torture the public by misrepresenting
him?
These remarks are made ON the sup
position that Mr.. Bandmann courts com
parison with the leaders in tragic art. As
a broad burlesque it was passably merit
%orious; as a sober representation of
Hamlet the performance gives one a
pain in the pericardial region.
Miss Beaudet is 1.-THE and rather pretty.
As "Ophelia' in the mad scene she ac-
quilted herself with some degree of credit.
Any man with one good eye could
readily discover hat the king and
Queen were not of the genuine,
blue-blooded, William the Con
queror style Of architecture.
There was a general flavor about the
Queen hat bespoke familiarity with
culinary and domestic concerns, and the
royal diadem which crowned her marble
brow had a faculty of tipping over one
eye, giving her a rakish and not altogether
unattractive appearance.
The king" had all the outward evil
dences of a gentleman who devoted him
self to the useful but not always elegant
occupation of professionally looking after
horse flesh. His face did not indicate a
too intimate familiarity with soap, and his
mustache and imperial had a plain every
day, home made outline to them. His
royal robes were of that grotesquo and
glazing character that usually denotes
the noble red man after 4 few weeks of
convivial contact with the white mans
firewater.
"Laertes" was Il sight for gods and
men. His full beard was as thin as tissue
paper, and, on a profile view, disclosed a
perfectly bare side-face that was quite an
enjoyable feature of his performance. 1t
is said everybody carries about with him
evidences of his occupation which he can
not hide. ''Laertes' r~esembled in APP
pearance, and showed the same careful
training and thorough education that is
usually displayed by the gentlemen who
drive the stakes for a cheap circus.
Roustabout business must be mighty
poor this season when "Laertes'' con-
descends to get down to acting for a
living.
The balcony scene from Romeo and
juliet, in which Miss Beaudet played
Juliet and Miss Verney Romeo" was
a fair performance for those who delight in
high-fown fapdoodle and the wild raw
ings Of a pair of people insane with love.
The comedy of Darid GarTick served
to throw a degree of lightness across the
dreary waste of so-called tragedy and all
the performers appeared to infinitely bet
ter advantage.
The performance was closed with an
other comedy entitled the Happy Par, in
which Mr.. Bandmann and Miss Beaudet
alone appeared. This piece was pretty
well performed and served in a measure
to make up for the wretched failure in
tragedy.
Shakesperian plays should never be at
tempted by this company except in COM
munities OVERLOOKING with good nature.