, 1888-04-10
MRS. PLAY.

The appearance of Mrs. Cora Urquhart
Potter was waited for with iuttering in
terest at the opera house last evening.
The first act of Loyal Lore opened tamely
enough. Two-thirds of it consisted Of
talk, and very insipId talk, most of it. 1t
was not until the second act that Mrs.
Potter showed herself. The scene is a
garden fllsd with flowers and ~shrubbery,
which are almost tropical in their luxur-
lance. To the right is a rose-embowered
cottage, and from its doorway the first
glimpse of the actress is caught. She
does not make a direct advance TO the
canter of the stage, but gradually unfolds,
as it we're, into full view. All glasses are
lcvoled at her. Her costume, of plain
white, is amazingly unlike anything one
ordinarily secs. The folds and severe
simplicity remind one instantly of Grecian
models, and yet there are daring modernin in
novations which in certain situations seem
to tremble on the very verge of eccentricity,
and vet always barely escape being eccen-
trio. The costume is a dream of lowell
ness which n slight circumstance might
turn into a nightmare.
There is no difference of opinion on the
subject of the beauty OF the picture. The
woman's face is lovely; not boldly hand
some, but Of a refined and tender lovell-
ness that is perhaps more attractive. The
quality Of her voice arrests attention at
once. but it does not hold it throughout a
play.
Everybody remembers the story Of the
man who went to see a great English
trlgedian play Hamlet, but was not at all
impressed by his quiet, undemonstrativc
strength. The King" however, daz-
zled him, for when he appeared his voice
fairly shook the roof and nobody could for
a moment doubt that he was acting.
Perhaps nobody in the audience doubted
for a moment that the people on the stage
were acting last evening. No one in real
life would pretend to act in precisely the
same way under similar circumstances.
OF course it is essential that the lines be
broader and the colors higher in a theat-
rical performance than in real life. for the
same reason that a drop curtain, viewed
closely, may be an unmeaning daub, and
yet be an artistic piece of work when seen
from the proper distance. But still the
point of view and the perspective must
not be lost sight of or the effect may be
ludicrous rather than artistic.
Loydt Lore is not a good play. In its
love scenes it is entirely too Gushy and
rhapsodical for this practical age and peo-
pie. 1t is an attempt to depict the deliri-
GUS and luxuriant love which Shakespeare
has succeeded in doing in Romeo and
.Luiiet, but it lacks pretty nearly every
element which makes that wonderful play
a source of meyer ending joy to every
reader. Mrs. Potter undoubtedly made q
good impression. The general feeling
had been that she could not act at all,
when, as events proved, she really acts
too much. In some of the aulcter scenes
she was simply delicious, and in several
instances gave evidences of better dra-
matte power thar we have ever seen Mrs.
Langtry exhibit. We have no desire to
be coldly critical Of her performance. She
did much better than We had been led to
expect she was able to do, and cordially
hope that her highest dreams of dramatic
fame may be realized.
Her chief support is Mr.. Kyrle Bellew,
who, despite his Alterations, acquitted
himself with dignity in every scene in
which he appeared. The remainder of
the cast did not arouse any profound adj
imitation or enthusiasm.