The morning news., 1894-07-08
RICHARD III: DONE BY A NEGRO.
Surprisingly Good Acting by Vir-
ginia Hotel Waiter.
From Kate Fields Washington

Surprisingly Good Acting by Vir-
ginia Hotel Waiter.
From Kate Fields Washington.
"And who is James S. Woods?" you ask
The latest aspirant for the tragedians S
fame, and at present the head waiter at
the principal hotel in Staunton, Va.
1t was with some amusement that
read the announcement several weeks
ago that on certain evening "Shake-
speare's greatest tragedy, Richard I'LL, >
would be presented at the opera house by
'colored amateur talent " Negroes rem
dering Shakespeare This was some
thing new under the sun. White anna
teurs, with all their audacity, would
scarcely dare undertake Richard Ill. ;"
but, though surrounded by much laughter
and many bantering comments, the little
troupe went steadily on with rehearsals
rented costumes from a distant city and
prepared themselves to make their bow
before the public.
The evening came, and I went to the
opera house, to find it crowded with peo-
pie, while many were unable to gain en-
trance. The floor of the house had been
reserved for white spectators, who GER
tainly showed their interest in the ad-
vancement of the colored race along
dramatic lines by their attendance that
evening.
Every household in town turned out to
see its buffers, coachmen or maids act
Shakespeare. The gallery was densely
packed with the colored friends of the
performers-an enthusiastic crowd, who
laughed vociferously in the most tragic
parts of the play. Even the nosest, how
ever, were hushed into silence by their
friends, who, wanting to hear the play,
said "Sh Sh!! Sh!!!" in entirely audi
Bile and very emDhatic tones
When James S. Woods entered in the
title role we understood where he OBJ
tanned his cue, and why the colored
amateurs were playing this particular
play. Early in the winter. Thomas w
Keene with his company, came to
Staunton and played Richard III"
James s. Woods evidently saw them in
that performance, and being an intelli-
gent mulatto, endowed with the powers
Of mimicry, often found among the
negroes, he began his work of initiating
Keene.
Had the eminent tragedlan himself been
there to see the result, he need not have
looked down upon it. The stopping shoul-
ders, the peculiar sliding, swinging gait,
the movement of the arms, the contrac-
tion of the brows-it was all there This
young actor knew his lines, too. and rem
dered them with distinct articulation, a
clear, ringing voice and an intelligent ap-
preciation Of their meaning. From the
time he began, "Now is the winter of our
discomfort" until he did some very cred
liable and spirited fencing and fell dead,
we were held by his fire and evident aban-
donment to his part, and when he rushed
upon the stage shouting, "A horse, o
| horse, my kingdom for horse, we for
got the fantastic and unusual features of
the performance, and only afterward did
we come back to the fact that the king
was being represented by a negro waiter.
Like many stars, Woods support was
very inferior to his own work, though
some of the parts were well taken A
young man named Carter played Henry,
Earl of Richmond, and the true negro
feryor in prayer stood him in good stead,
and earned for him some well-deserved
applause when he prayed before the bat
tie. The cast showed all grades of color,
from the blackest possible Buckingham
to the light and pretty mulatto girl who
played Queen Elizabeth, and evidently
enjoyed to the full extent sitting on
throne in queenly robes of silk and err
mine. The women did not take to Shake
speare so readily, on the whole, as the
men did. They were more self-conscious.
and could not forget that they were ap-
pearing in public, while the men threw
themselves into their parts with an aban-
don that was very fascinating more
SO because this is so unusual in an anna
teur performance.
OF course there We're many ridiculous
points. We all laughed together when
Richard gave his sword to Lady Anne,
biddidg her kill him, and she responded
with a series of unskillful pokes at his
kingly breast How funny it was TO see
Richard III. between two tall priests-as
black negroes as ever were created. And
how we laughed and laughed again as the
ghosts of the people he had murdered
presented themselves to the sleeping
Richard, each draped iu a white sheet
from which the black face peered out
How abs lrd, even for stage army, was
the handful of colored youths Jogging
around in hopeless defiance of a military
appearance.
And the little "Son of Clarence"-a
pickaninny in a costume evidently home
made, composed of blue cambric Jacket
and yellow trousers, with a black ribbon
sash hanging down behind. de went
through his part with lightning speed, a
stolid face and an evident determination
to do his duty.
Throughout the play our amazement
Rrew-and IL is still inereasing-over the
fact that such an intelligent rendering of
Shakespearean tragedy had been given
by few negroes entirely without dra-
matte training. The fire and vigor with
which they spoke the lines were wonder
full, but easily imagined by those who are
familiar with the passionate tempera-
ment of the negro; but that they should
have shown an intellectual conception'of
their parts was more astonishing, and
really had to be seen to be appreciated.
Some months ago a Dublin inventor
ri for l.