The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-14
AT THE THEATERS.

A pretty SLOry. Win just cloush a0iAppsNSO
to engage universal sympathy, enough serious
interest to stir the best impulses. enough
humor to leaven the whole with cheerful
ness-that Is .sTennessee's Pardner, the
drama which the large audience at the Grand
opera house witnessed last night. II any IN
dividual failed to enjoy the performance, he
needs a physician. Either his heart or his
stomach Is out of place. But, judging from
the spontaneous applause and hearty laughter
that testified to the recognition OF every neat
stroke and good point in the play, the public
heart and stomach were in the right place
'Tennessee's Pardner is picture OF life
in mining camp. The characters are rough
and ready people, for the most part, whose
human nature Is great sight more apparent
than 1t would be under the refining influences
of polished society AS the programme quite
correctly says, the drama was suggested
by Bret Harte's romance 1t certainly Is
not dramatization of the novelsts story.
Tennessee" in the play is sweet and
guileess maiden reared in the mountains OF
the state whose name she bears. She comes
to a Nevada mining camp expecting to hnu
her father. But her father has been dead Tor
many years. The letters she thought were
his came from her guardian, one of the miners
to whom her father entrusted the care OF
his infant girl. The scene in which her
guardians ''pardner" tells her the sad truth
Is one of the gems of the play. The love
that springs UP between these two at once
enlists the sympathy But the dramatic inter
est is supplied by another episode. Ten
nessee's guardian marries a woman whom his
| partner Caleb Swan, recognizes as an ad-
ventures. The two men separate. The ,ad-
venturess loves her husband but her brother.
a thieying sceundrel, follows her to the
camp and compels her to admit him to her
hmm at he rnh har hilSh
When the time is ripe, he seizes what he
fondly believes to be a bag Of $40 gold pieces,
| but which Is in reality nothing but a lot of
cobble stones substituted by Tennessee,
and escapes Eventually, the audience is
informed that the young man is overtaken by
lynching party. The information proves
! one OF the pleasing incidents of the play. In
the meantime, the miners wife, whose love
| has reformed her, comes back to his arms as
| she ought to, and everybody rejoices.
| The merit of the play is its directness. The
J story Is told in a Straightforward probable
| style that commends to the common sense.
There are no stiited, unnatural speeches to
| delay the action, and introduction of still
more unnatural comedy scenes to fill in and
relieve the strain as 1t were. On the contrary,
the humor Is supplied by a character ire
sistibiy amusing, and by no means an exag-
| geration of the type he representative of a
I Sopu Ior noInlDS oId soak, whose wife keeps
boarders in order to keep him.
The company is exceptionally capable Har-
ry MainhaH appears in the leading role. that
OF Caleb Swan, 'tkeard dealer Legitimate and
high-toned." Mr. Mainhall is an artist a fact
demonstrated in the admirable restraint
he exhibits in speech and action without
sacrificing particle of the effect His
impersonation is an excellent piece of work
Jane Corcoran contributed a delightful
lnIo ak0
fore did much to heighten the interest in
the story Esther Williams, in the role of
the miners wife, is to be commended for
the good taste and intelligence which marked
her characterization She reads her lines
with the spontaneity that makes them seem
her own, not the authors. The character of
| Geewhilliker Hay, "a magnificent har," who
! loves rum and hates work, was impersonat ed
| by Charles B. Hawkins, and elaborated with
wealth of amusing detail quite irresistible.
"Tennessees Pardner" is worth seeing
!
Walker Whiteside closed his engagement at
the Metropolitan opera house last night.
"Othello" was presented for the second time
but Mr. Whitesi6e impersonated the Moor and
Charles Herman iIago.
! Those who failed to witness Walker White
sides portrayal Of Hamlet during the past
i
mszed seeing the most interesting Hamlet
4 since Edwin Booth impersanated the Elelan-
choly Dane More experienced actors than
Whiteside have eesayed this exacting role
but none have so nearly embodied the poetic
conception Of Shakespeare's immortal crea-
ton, that the thoughtful and sympathetic
reader of the tragedy is impressed with 1t is
perhaps unfair to compare his Hamlet to
that of Booth, who possessed rare person
ality that lent marvellous magnetism to the
Interpretation of this character-a character
to which the illustrious actor was singularly
adapted physically mentally, psychological
/ ly Booth lived in Hamlet, as Forrest resur-
rected Lear If Booth conception of Hamlet
was not Shakespeare,s, then thousands of peo-
pie do not delight to behold any other con-
eeptien, SO ~endeared to the imagination and
heart did the gentle prince become through
the great actors portrayal of him.
Now Mr.. Whitesideas conception of the char
i ac:er must commend itself to every discerning
student of the play. 1t is poetic refined and
! natural What Mr. Whitesde lacks in phys
ical substance he satones for in intellectual
power and Imaginative faculty His Hamlet
4 is to begin with d gentleman He is alsc a
scholar and a prince, not ranting player
nor an irritable dyspeptic. The waFering,
vacilating quality in Ha1nlet's nature is
vividly depicted by Mr.. Whiteside. In Fpor-
4 traying the scenes which bring to the surface
the mans whole SOUL which reveal his con-
Stunning intensity in all its fire, Mr.. Whfteside
has something yet to achieve. He gives every
promise of triumph in the extensive future
that all nepe Is in store fer him.
This is not to say that he fails at any par
ticular point, but rather that he has not as
yet attained the full height of the splendid
possibilities of the character.
1t was noticeable that Mr.. Whiteside's i'm
Z personation of Hamlet on Friday night man
ffested a marked improvement over his Per
formance upon the opening night. This was
most pronounced in the graveyard scene. In
stead of hurrying over the final coloquy
with Horatio, cutting out Tone entire speech
and sighting the couplets beginning I'm
perious Caesar, dead and turned to CLAY,
Mr.. Whiteside spoke these musical lines
with rarely Impressive emphasis and beau
ttfully modulated tones. and impaired the
proper spirit to the entire scene. Through
out the play his acting was marked by greater
care and attention to those details that, SEEM
ingly insignificant in themselves really round
out the character and give 1t It's humanity and
distinctive color As Mr.. Whiteside grows
in this role, he will find that it will sbe by
the elaboration of the detail, both In word
and action Admirably as MIR. Wtiteside de-
livers many of the speeches requiring deli
cate and subtle emphasis to express their
deepest significance, he will continue to dis
cover new points and new beauties and new
philosophy IN the text This must be re
veaied in the manner of deliyerig it. When
the text of Shakespeare is industriously mined
4 1t yields a gem in almost every word.
How essential It is for instance. that that