Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1886-08-20
DISCReDlTABLs SPECTACLE
lie Dubious Prospects OF the English
stage.

he Dubious Prospects OF the English
stage.
The spectacle of a ilourishing STAGE.
uch As that of England is. with no more
han three dramatic authors worth
peakng of or capable of being read is
Intellectually and nationally discredit-
'ble m the opinion of The Saturday Re
'ieV 1t reduces the art of acting to a
ort of emotional gymnastics or to mere
nim.cr When the actor ceases To lie
he Interpreter of the poet, when he
pastures and declaims and signs and
laughs on his own account, he almost
torleits the rank of the artist and sinks
10 that of the buli,oon. In the absence
pf any genuinely English dramatic lii
anturc of the time in which we live
lie stage has been forced to reflect So
cctv rs il exists in France rather than
a it exists among ourselves. French
sciety apparently recognizes only one
d the ten commandments. and il re.
bgniZes that Il "a commandment which
ought not 10 be obcyed. "lnclinc your
hearts not to keep this law is the
prayer which is apparently offered up
on the other side of the channel. If the
French stage holds up the mirror to
nature, the wicked bible of 1862 must
we imagine, have been translated and
studied there. Mr.. Crummie's idea
that all the members of the company
should know French. and study their
parts in the original language, and SO
save the trouble and expense of author
ship, must occasionally have occurred
to n perpleXed and embarrassed mana
cement. Perhaps The practice of the old
Italian stage would be better still,
according TO which the mere skeleton
Of the plot and thu succession of the
scenes were furnished to the actors. and
they themselves improvised the dia-
ioEue. \ pleasing variety and unccr-
tainty would accompany this arrange
ment, which would convert one comedy
into many. supplying a score of vira-
tons upon single theme. 1t would
be interesting to see Mr.. Irving and
Miss Terry. Mr.. and Mrs Kendall, and
Mr. Hare clothing in their own words
the emotions and the conflicts of the
scene. But no doubt an oral tradition
would soon Get cstabl she'd rs binding
rs the received bus ness of the stage
upon every legitimate actor In the
meantime, the English stage. except in
the case Of revival and melodrama. has
gone into captivity for the Frcnca.
Some of our dramatic authors have re-
Gently discovered that there is coun-
try called Germany. and that Germany
possesses thcatcr of her own. The
area of theft is. therefore. appreciably
enlarged. and nothing but a very gen
eral ignorance of thu language, which
is removable, prevents the beginning
Of operations on large scale. German
comedy, if somewhat farcical, is usually
innocent, and, until we can get genu-
inc dramatic literature truly rejecting
English life it hcalthily varic, the mo-
notony of intrigue adultery, high
minded lying by faultIcss heroes, and
noble emotion on the part of miserable
culprits which seems 80 constitute the
ingredients of life in French chateau.
if the French stage truthfully exhibits
it. We have spoken of the farcical
character of a good deal of German
comedy. But it 5 worth noticing that
the scenes and incidents IN the PR
vate Secretary which English critics
censured as illustrating the boistcrous
and lumpish extravaganza OF German
jocosity were Interpolation, OF the Eng
lish adapicrs. Herr Won Mo,cr and the
Court theater of Berlin are innocent OF
these violent delights.