The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-01
MUSIC


The success of ~ Joseph Haworth' $
first week at the re Square theatre,
Boston, was mos emarkabe. The en-
gagement opened ost successfully Mon
day night, Marcl 9Th when Mi. Ha-
worth played Il amlet" to a very intel
ligent audience and one that fairly taxed
the capacity of the beautiful playhouse
Gov. Greenhalge, accompanied by Adj
Gen. Dalton and Col. G. 4. Page of his
staff and his private secretary, Mr.. Thorn
rs, occupied box and joined heartily il
the vooiferous applause which prevailed
throughout the entire performance. The
eminent Shakespearean scholar and critic
of the Boston Daily Advertiser, Mr.. H.
A. Clapp was also in attendance and in
his very complimentary remarks in that
paper said that Mr.. Haworth's Ham
let" was the best that had been given
since the lamented Edwin Booth.
II is several seasons since this city has
had a chance to witness any of the lead
ing classical productions Interpreted by
an actor of reputation. An excellent OPP
portunity for a real, legitimate dramatic
treat will be given tonight and tomor-
row night at Portland Treatre, when
Mr. Haworth will be seen in his two
great successes, Hamlet and Richelieu.
These two plays have been selected from
his repertoire because they afford him the
best opportunity to display his versatile
ity. lie has never been seen in this city
in the classical role and the prediction
is safe that he will be greeted by two
large audiences.
The Kendals.
MIR. Elliott c. Mitchell deserves the
thanks of the public not only for afford
ing an opportunity to see SO many of
the leading theatrical attractions of the
day, but especially the Kendals, who fer
the past eight or ten years. have con-
fined their visits to the great cities OF
the country. For years Mr.. and Mrs.
Kendall Ehave been sfayorites with the
great people of England, and the smart
set OF New York and Boston. Their So
cial successes, have ensured their theat-
rical triumphs and the reverse is
also true. AS result..it has been impos
sible for any manager outside of a
charmed circle to obtain them until
lately, and therefore, Mr. Mitchell's en-
terprise is especially commendable.
We have said this much because we
are compelled to speak in rather sharp
terms of the performance. at City hall on
Saturday night last. The Second Mrs.
Tanoueray" was an unfortunate selec-
ton for Mr.. and Mrs. Kendall to make
their debut in Portland. It is not a
wholesome play and it has no sub plot,
nothing to palliate the disagreeable
characteristics of the drama. The Sec
ond Mrs. Tanqueray is a woman who,
after having been the mistress of several
men, marries Aubrey Tanqueray, who
knows her past, and who is widower
with one daughter. He expects to reform
the woman, and after marriage takes her
TO his country home, where be finds his
daughter, whom he supposes at the con-
vent, has returned and the anomaly
is presented OF a decent man, married to
prostitute, allowing his sweet young
daughter TO remain in the same house
with the woman, whose faults, despite
his fascination, he readily recognizes
1t is true this woman tries to reform,
and when she finds that former para
n0ur of hers is in love with, and en-
gagged to, her stepdaughter, and the fact
of her own former relations with him
will break off the match and ruin the
girls life, she commits suicide. That's
the story of the play, and it is kept be-
fore Que all the time, with its attendent
circumstances.
Mrs. Kendall is large, fine looking,
we'll developed woman. She has mobile
face, an eye quick to express her vary
ing moods, stage presence that from
its naturalness has nothing 0 the theat-
ricaI about it. Her Paula Tanqueray
is not brilliant, dashing adventures
who, whatever her past, has charmed a
man of high social position like Au-
hrey Tanqueray, and hypnotizes her
audience even in her baser moments.
She is very ordinary kind of woman
of her species with her good and her
evil impulses For that reason we won
der how such a man as Aubrey Tan
queIay is.supposed to be, could have fall
en- such d victim to her Establishments
as TO make her his wife. Not that we
are endeavoring to deprecate Mrs. Ken
dalPs art in any degree, for she is a
consummate actress, but it is matter
of surprise that she makes Paula so
commonplace character. Perhaps in a
way, it is just as well she does because,
if the drama is supposed to convey a
lesson, that lesson 10 readily learned, and
it is that-to use a homely phrase-"y you
can't make silk purse out of a sow's
ear" There are many admirable artis-
tic touches by Mrs. Kendall during the
progress of the play. One occurs at the