The Asheville citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1885-1889, 1885-09-07
THE SHAKrspEARE WATER Cum

1HE SHAKESPEARE WATER CURE
Afforded immense entertainment to
the large audience gathered at the Opera
Hall on Saturday evening, coming for
amusement, but in utter ignofanee of
what was before them. There was soon
unfolded series of ch&racterizations
utterly at war with all preconceived ideas
of the heros and heroines of the immor-
tai Shakespeare. There was rollicking
delight in stripping from them the robes
of tragedy or the illusions of sentiment
and bringing them down to the level of
every day life, with all the enjoyment of
fun or with all the life, spirit or temper
that belongs to the common herd, and
there was an amusing and novel bold
ness in bringing all the characters which
live in the histrionic world, the repres
entations of different ages and people
upon contemporaneous stage. Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet,
Hamlet and Ophelia, ShYlock and Por-
tia, all shook hands on easy familiarity
and entered with very human Zest into
the pleasures of the Water Cure resort.
The young people bore their parts with
admirable conception of the characters
they presented, with ready apprehen
sion of the travesty they made of the
ideal. Lady Macbeth was magnificent
in person, in costume and in carriage,
but she was the domineering, perhaps
shrewish wife, rather than the fercelY
ambitious woman; and Macbeth was the
henpecked husband shivering in NOR
tai terror at the voice of his better half
rather than he was to be driven by heI
superior will to attain kingdom through
blood and murder. Juliet was the very
ideal of the character in grace and
beauty, but she had come down from the
romance of love to. show herself the
spoilt young wife-Mrs. Kentague-full
of feminine vanities,, and with a very
perceptible share of feminine spite.
Romeo was no longer the devoted lover,
but the spoilt handsome young husband
very conscious of his good looks and his
power to make very jealous the heart OF
his Juliet. Ophelia was in character in
costume and in the presentation of the
love lorn maid, but with enough of hui
man temper and practical good sense
flashing out from under her mental
enstrangementt to make hera lively conl-
panion piece for her sister tragedy
queens. Hamlet bore himself in his
tragic humors with true conception with
the traits of Hamlet, but with ready
facility to drop instantly into the broad
est burlesque. Portia was quiet, reserv-
ed, dignifed, but with woman's readi-
ness to yield to gold and yields to the
Establishments of Shylock, who was Ger.
tainly more amiable as the antiquated
lover with his cracked voice screechine
out amorous dittieis than as Shakespeare
presents him. Othello, with the liberty
allowed to his supposed African nativity
comes out as full blooded Ethiopian
with all the broadness of face appropri.
ate to the darkey. Deodemona was con.
veniently disposed of in the kitchen
and did not appear.
| The whole was lrresistibly comical
and if all the audience did not perceive
the broadness of the travesty all entered
into the spirit of the fun. The perform
ers all possessed fine dramatic powers
and the costumes were rich and in gooC
taste-giving an elegance that raised the
entertainment above the level of farce
The closing scene, the supper in honor
1 of the marriage of Shylock and Porti:
was conceived and carried out in thu
spirit of the opera 60ofe, and would no
discredit Offenback.
We present our individual acknowledg
ments for the pleasure enjoyed.