Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-22
SARA STILL SHINING
As the Brightest Star in the Theatre
cal Firmament
HER GREAT TRIUMPH AS LA TOSCA
U & !, Hermann and 0'Dowds Neighbors
Win Favor Again.
ALL THE PLAYS IN TOWN CRITICISED

| time, illuminated the Alvin Theater last
night. She also put the life of her genius
into that revolving drama, LA Tosca," and
by her wonderful acting made us forget that
! Sardou's skill in constructing is about
the only real merit the play has 1t will
be remembered, Of course, that "La
Tosca'' was in Fanny Davenport's reper-
toire few seasons ago, and the story of the
play is familiar for that reason to most
theater goers. There is no need to institute
q comparison between the two Florid Ioscd
that Pittsburg has seen, but in justice to
Nine. Bernhardt 1t must be said that she
alone is La Tosca It is well that we had
Davenport first
Nine. Bernhardt has not aged particle;
of course her genius is evergreen, and per-
haps it is her genius which makes her great
voice so fresh and true, her body so 1.-the
and vigorous, and her face as youthful as 1t
was ten years ago An increase of flesh has
indeed made her more comely. But her
charms are not so much physical
after all; it is the divine fire
of the personality, the transcendent
art almost crowding her work with infinite,
most delicate details that electrify and on
chant the beholder. The finish Of her act
ing is like that of the finest etching, and,
compared with her, the best of her cotem-
poraries in America como down to the level
of cheap prints.
Bernhardrs Marvellous Acting.
As La Tosca Bernhardt shows us first the
willful, spoiled pet of the court and the
theater; the tender, jealous and soft
handed, warm-eyed woman. Her dalliance
xsh M %en.d in Act with s sSs ss Of
mockfng attack upon her lovers mustache
ending In the sweet leave-taking at the door
Of the chapel was simply e19T,isite 99,n and and
second act was tho least interesting, because
Bernhardt figured but slightly in it. The
grandeur OF the tragic scene in Act III,
the CORY brutality and inartistie horror
which mark its incidents. The battle of the
soul, not a lofty soul, but q weak womans
nerved to boldness by great love. surely was
actress face. We forgot to be disgusted
with the bloody details, as we were when
Davenport played this scene, because La
Iosca's mental agony was SO splendidly por-
trayed.
Again in the next act the gradual trans
formation of light woman into an aveng.
forget, that saw it last night. this Noria
Tbsca's sudden fxity of vision as she espied
the knife, and the murderous thoughts
trooped up its blade to her BRAIN Tho sud
iiseraiiy lite A frcze a ones i; Blood. : Nf What ma
careful and exact reproduction of a
murderer's momentary hesitation be-
Ia Ia zesea's rolling su eyes IS Sea,psG held the
permit before her! If the Arrangement of
the candles about the corpse, and the plac.
ing of a crucifix upon it were theatrical.
situation. The melodramatfc character Of
the concluding scenes prevented Bernhardt
from further triumphs.
Albert Darmont - scarpia,
The company supporting Bernhardt is not
of her class or anything approaching to 1t.
with one exception, Albert Darmont, who
played Sca,pfa. It is vile character
and the temptation is strong to the
With yh1 2osnGs s vds it soa s9 osSsru,s sTs
M. Darmont resisted this temptation, and
in making himself perfectly de-
testable by cold and generally calm brutal
in oct Ill, he caught her inspiration, and
put a diabolical earnestness into his en-
deavors to extort the secret from her. For
the rest the good looks and amia-
ton of the wicked lawyer in an Irish
drama which somehow arose from Scidnone's
makeup, and the rather hearty jollity Of the
Marquis AttduGnt, were all the features worth
noting in q mediocre cast. The waits be-
tween the acts were frighttully long-one of
them over 20 minutes.
OF all the actors Bernhardt alone made
herself distinctly heard all the evening.
Her enunciation is perfect. She was dressed
in the high-waisted, rather homely style Of
Napoleonic days. The audience, which was
a very large one, including many notable |
citizens. applauded her after the first act
Four curtain calls at the close |
of act I'LL: two after act ". and a |
double recall on the final curtain showed |
that her work was appreciated. The IL |
to relate-were by far tho |
best ever provided in such cases. They |
clear and dramatic story Of the |
play, without attempting to give q literal |
Translation Of the dialogue. |
Tonight Leah" will be given,