Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-28
NEW YORK CITY'S THEArERS
Mrs. LauGtry and Mrs, Potter Ele-
waiting the Stage.
LlLv's NEW VIEW OF MACBETH.
Exoitcs Considerable Comment aud
Some Praise--But Mrs. Potter
shows Naked Limbs Through
Fleccy Gauze.
Mrs, Ianptry i'm LADY Macbeth.

BEE. Gotham at the present moment
| is undergoing a thrill or rather several
thrills of theatrical excitement. What
with the arrival of the great German
contralto, Lii Lehman, aud the stimuli
taneous production of Macbeth by Mrs.
Langtry, and Antony and Cleopatra by
Mrs. Potter, the talk OF the town is
nothing il not theatrical The Quid-
nuncs of the clubs are discussing the
| Jersey Lily's rendition with considerable
! enthusiasm. for she has astonished
| everybody by presenting new view of
| Lady Macbeth. She takes the ground
that though Lady Macbeth imagiues
| herself to be cast in a tragic mould, she
| is the victim of self-deception, and that
| in reality her hold upon her husband is
entirely due TO his apprccia-
tion of her charms. This view was
| taken by dramatic critic
; in Hurlberts time, apropos of Janu-
schek's assumption of the part, He
of tragedy, but took the ground that
Lady Macbeth was really the role of q
young and lovely woman, and there
| fore unsuited to her. Ever siuce the
time OF Mrs. Siddons it has been the
| fashion to accept Lady Macbeth as Il
| grand, gloomy and peculiar woman
whose keener intellect spurred her dull
| husband on to acts of crime. But any
one who reads the play very
| carefully will discover that
Macbeth's language is remarkable and
| is only paralelled by the language of
Antony for poetry, high philosophy and
a peculiar humor. Lady Macbeth's iu
| telligence is in comparison what
| moonlight is to an electric light, and
| next it will become plain that Macbeth
love for his wife is purely sensuous.
| When told that she is dead, he merely
| remarks that she should have died here
| after; in other words he does not regret
! her, but thinks he did not get sufficient
pay for yielding to her wishes, and
| plunging into sea of crime, ,Uhaving
| been, as Milton put 1T, mot of his better
sense beguiled but fondly overcome by
| female charm"
THE FAIR POTTER SCORNED.
Club men, critics and first nighters
| generally are all agreed that Mrs. James
! Brown Potter's Antony and Cleopatra
| has nothing it in that is worthy of praise
save the dresses, but every one is going
| to Palmor's to see what Mrs, Potter
wears as the "Worm of Nilus.n 1t is
| past my ability if it were in my
inclination to describe them, but it is
| certain that they reveal as much
| genius of creation in that direction as
| the world has ever seen. They are
| most subtle mingling of Hellenia robes
| with the lighter and more oriental at
| tire of the Egyptians according to the
| monuments around the ancient Mem
| phis, and this is in accordance with
| history, because Cleopatra was Greek
| and at the Same time an Egyptian. 1t
| gives the unsophisticated, however,
| quite shock to discern the glimmering
| of snowy limbs through most gauzy
| robes. And it is to be understood that
the glimmering is by no means as re-
stricted as some might fancy from one
or two notices that fear were paid for.
Mrs. Potter's devotion to art has led
| her to a revelation of her form beyond
| precedent in the annals of the stage.
She became professional avOwedly to
| elevate the stage, and she has done it
| with vengeance.
| ALWAYS JANGLING IN NEW YORK.
One of the things most imperatively
needed is new custom house building,
| for tho present one, which is situated
about the center of Wall street, is
| ludicriously and painfully insufficient
for the commerce of to-day. But there
ID SUCH JafrlhS vi oppoSihS inGeiesCs,
| and such open undisguised selfishness
expressed that 1t begins to look as if
the new building will be postponed to
the Greek Kalends. The great major
ity of business men, and of men who
are not in business, but who
are interested in the improvement
of the city, favor in the strongest
way the location of the proposed struc-
ture upon that block of houses which
faces towards the north upon the Bow
ling Green. and towards the west upon
the Battery Park. 1t would then be
one of group of magnificent edifces,
and would occupy the central position,
having upon it's right hand the great
Produce Exchange, and upon its left
Mr.. Cyrus Fields splendid structure,
No. l Broadway. But the dry goods
men, the grocery mon, and the stea M
ship companies insist that the APP
praiser's department of the Gus
tom house shall be up town at
future 1t has been in vain to point out
to them that the custom house in New
York transacts all the custom business
of Brooklyn and Jersey City and Hobo
ken, where three large steamer lines
have their docks. They are deter
minep to have their way. President Orr
Of the Produce exchange staggered
them Tor the moment at Jne meeting by
the statement that go per cent Of the
duties levied by the New York custom
house was on merchandise discharged
at the Brooklyn docks and stored in the
Brooklyn stores. But they rallied in a
moment and said that in that case it
would be advisable to make movement
in favor of a separate custom mouse for
Brooklyn, and not to paralyze the heav-
lest importers of New York by building
at a locality that suited Brooklyn and
did not suit them. The upshot will be
that there will be no custom house at
all, for the dry goods men when united
are n phalanx OF the most formidable
character.
MAYOR GRANT SHOWS UP WELL.
In his report Mayor Grant dwcit upon
the necessity OF n new municipal build
ing; but few were aware that old Hewitt
had consulted an architect for that pur
pose, and had expressed approval Of the
design. Fortunately hIs appreciation
did not conclude the matter, for il in
volved what many New Workers con-
slider desecration. The idea was to
add enormous wings to the old city hall
and to carry these back TO the court
house which fronts on Chambers street