The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1894-09-25
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.

The successful actor always seems to
have some dark and secret am
bitlon preying Upon his peace OF mind
and leading him to unexpected eccen-
trlcitles. lie grows tired Of the roles in
which the public has accepted him. lie
pines for fresh fields, and there IL no
reasoning with him until he has tri"1
them. William H. Crane has made his
reputation in splck- and-span up-to-date
Representations. lie brenthcs the spirit
of lS94-whatcver that Is. He Is u.s.
tincty en- rapport with the times. He
suggests New York, and you can't even
think OF him in Standardization. He
hasn't a speck OF Elizabethanism about
his constitution,
Yet MIR. Crane appeared as Falstan
in "The Merry Wives orWindsor" at the
Star Theatre last night and the laughing
nineteenth century lads who found his
Hannibal Rivers so eXcrutiatingly funny
went to see what this Shakespcarian
outLurs, meant. They saw the comedian
padded out to an almost apopl"ctic
obesity, his face made up to look eN-
cessively scrofulous and ugly, and his
costume that Of the fifteenth century.
They didn't care snap for the long
TRADE on the programme that explained
why Crane dressed his characters In
the clothes Of the fifteenth rather than
in those OF the traditional seventeenth
century. Perhaps they wished that he
could have discovered some equally
plausible reasons for nineteenth century
garbs. In spite OF his disguise, Crane
as quite unconccrted. His pecularities
cropped up every moment, lie intro
ducei his Senator" chuckle and his
ION Probation" laugh. His was not the
round and paunch-born iollity that we
associate with Shakespeare's fat come
dams
THE Merry Wives Of Windsor" Is not
an edifying play. 1t is coarseness with
out the necessary sugar coating In
which playwrights of to-day envelop
their little naughty quips. Falstaff' =
amours with Mistress Page and Mistress
Ford are, of course, no more glaring
than those which we enjoy in the thea
tres of now. but they are set forth so
VERY frankly, and their brutality is alb
so,utely unalloyed. THE Merry Wives
OF Windsor is very probable play
to reaa-lilte n good many other Shakes
pearian sftorts-but there Is nothing to
excuse Its presentation on the stage.
| The production to-day Is merely due to
rampant spirit of humbug and by
pochrisy. Good people, who would never
forgive modern ahthor for the clothes
basket episode, are afraid to express
their opinions when Shakespeare is an
| nounced as the authority for the Incl.
dent. The bump Of excessive veneratior
sometimes leads its possessor in un
canny avenues.
Mr.. Crane treats 1.-The Merry Wive.
OF Windsor" very revereEtly. 1t /.
beautifully mounted, and the scene.
representing We Garter Inn, Frogmore
and Ford's house are extremely hand
some His company, however, was no
at ease In the comedy. Miss Ffoniot
Paget was perhaps the most pictur
esque and eloquent member of the cast
Her diction was excellent and she di
not seem to be out Of place. Miss Lizzi
Hudson Collier suggested modern dres
and modern manners. and you coul
scarcely realize that she was Mistres
Page. Joseph Wheeock, jr.. was yer
funny as Abraham Slender, but h
spoke with n New England instead c
an Old England accent. Orrin Johr
son, as Master Ford, was as vigorou
as the hero OF a modern five-act melC
drama. You half expected to see
limited mail come dashng on in orde
that he might rescue somebody froi
, impending death. Percy Brooke wa
irritatingly elaborate as DIR. Caius. Mis-
Anne O'Neill was pretty and effectiy
rat, al
, Wilson was impressive as Dam
Quickly.
! This presentation of 1.-THE Merr
: Wives however. rather disturbs one
a illusion. ALAN DALE.