St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-24
AT THE THEATERS.
Mrs Potter and MIR. BelIew Give
an Excellent Performance. rrt

an Excellent Performance. rat
Seven years ago Mrs. James Brown
Potter and kyrle Bellew made their
first appearance upon the stage OF st.
Paul. The former was then a novice,
the latter an artist. The notable
careers of both were we'll known
to the public, and naturally
their appearance together upon the
stage created considerable interest.
Mrs. Potter's performance was ii disap-
pointment. Her magnetic personal
presence. ability to read her lines we'll
ana pretty poses were about her only
stuck in trade. That Bellew was an
excellent actor everybody was forced to
admit, but Mrs. Potter received scorch-
ing criticisms.
Mrs. Potter retired fir ON the Ameri-
can stage, and, with Mr.. Bellew, went
to Europe. where She has put in several
years at hard study. trying to catch the
knack of sinking her striking self into
insigniicance IN the stage in order to
do Justice to the somebody else she
wishes to imperSonate. She has re-
turned to America to show the public
how well she has succeeded.
In Charlotte Corday," at the Metro
politan last evening, Mrs. Potter dem
onstrated beyond question that she has
made wonderful Improvement. Her
advancement in the art Of imperson-
ating, added to her great per-
sonal charms. makes her a very
pleasant star. Upon occasions she rose
to extraordinary power; but it is
something of a question as 10 whether
Mrs. Potter would not make
the character more interesting if
she occasionally laid off the spirit
of heroism. She keeps Charlotte,
from beginning to end, in voice and
manner, under a continual strain Of the
heroic spirit that see ms at times like
a cloud of gloom. Charlotte Corday,
though a heroine was a human being.
subject at times most likely 10 lighter
impulses than the desperate deed of
freeing France of the tyrant Marat.
Were these lighter impulses given a
natural play occasionally strength
would be added to the climax of killing
Marat in the bath tub. BY this
criticism it Is not intended TO intimate
that Mrs. Potter did not play the heroic
part well. for she demon strated to a
certainty that the heroic spirit is thor
Oughly within her grasp. In the climax
Mrs. Potter arose to great power, de-
spite the sauIeneSS that had prevailed
from the start. But had she made the
previous moods of Charlotte more vary
ing. she would have seemed still more
powerful.
Kyrle Bellew, as Marat, demonstrated
what has long been known,
that he is IN artist of the first tank.
Had he that mysterious something,
called magnetism, i'll proportion to his
ability to delineate, he would without
The age. And by this 1t is not intended
to say that he is without mag
netislm. for he has considerable of it,
There are stars who far Outrank MI.
Bellew in reputation who are inferior
to him in the art Of deIineation. They
W their superiority over him in rank
solely TO superior magnetism. Mir. Bel
LEWIS makeup as Marat is fanltless, and
he lIfuSes a naturalnesS into the
character that makes one forget that tlW
bloodthirstv French tyrant is not act.
uaily before him. In the third act,
where Marat is tormented with fears of
| lulI Z iCo dSdllloI llitliSCll, uHu Illus
occasional relief in plotting to further
his power, ana then for a change
amuses himself at listening to the click
of the g%uillotine, Mr.. BelIew holds his
audience spellbound. One cannot watch
this scene without feeling the chillS
racing over him most of the time.
charlotte Corday" is an exceptional
ly strong play. 1t is we'll designed and
well carried out in detail.
The support of the two stars is good.
Henry Chanfrau, Mason Mitchell, John
Ward and Werner Charges were particu-
larly good in thesmale parts, and Miss
Perdi.a Hudspeth, eAliss Helen Lowell
Miss Ida Ward were very clever.
Tonight MIS-. Potter and MIR. Below
appear in Society" and all excellent
| performance may be expected. Eastern
critics say that both stars are at their
best in il.