The herald., 1897-03-06
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Los ANGELES THEATER.-Of all
the plays of Shakespeare there is no one
that has given rise to more discussion
or that has excited fiercer partisanship
than Hamlet Whether Hamlet was re-
ally mad or was only sane when the
wind was nor'ror' west, or whether he
feigned madness IS a problem that will
continue to furnish inexhaustible fund
for argument. The play itself is per-
haps better known to the theater-goirg
public than any other in the Shake
speareGn repertory, and is certainly
the favor.te study of those who love
the works Of the immortal bard. AS
it is written the tragedy is so lengthy
that certain excsions have been made
by common consent for modern repre-
sentation, and, without injury to the per-
eCrm2nce, the piece has been condensed
into a shape that makes It come within
the limit OF the stage as 1t is today.
Mr. James, who personated the mean-
choly Dane on Thursday night. has sue
ceeded in compressing the tragedy with
in smaller limits than has yet been at
tempted by any actor with the fear Of
the critic and an instructed public be-
fore his eyes.
In fact, the excislons made by Mr..
James amount almost to a reconstruction
of the play The supernatural element
Is carefully subordinated. The ghosts
entrance in the first scene of the play
is altogether omitted, and his entrance
in the closet scene is managed without
any decent respect to the feelings of
good ghost. AS for the dialogue, Mr.
James has applied the pruning knife
to such good purpose that whole scenes
have been changed without irterrupting
the action. The soliloquy, ITO Be or
Not To Be-" was carefully given, but
the same attention was not devoted to
the really great scliloquy of the play
beginning, "Oh. what rogue and peas
ant slave am l." which was remorse-
lessly cut out altogether. Mr.. James
does not attempt to portray the meta
physicsof Hamlet nor to delineate him as
the man of inaction and irresolute pur-
pose. His Hamlet is quick and sudden;
his passion for Ophelia is warmly ex-
pressed, with more familiarity than rev.
erence, and he treats his mother in an
off-hand spirit that indicates a similar
lack OF respect The advice to the play
ers was cut to the limit Of a short par
Ggraph, and the pruning knife was so
literally used that the remaining dia-
logue, with Mr. James stalwart. per-
emptOry ana even eager Interpretation,
changed the whole face Of the tragedy
to such an extent that 1t was hardly rec
ognizable.
In fact, the version given is a sort of
Hamlet up-to-date, according to the
ideas of a playwright or stage carpenter
whose self-imposed task was to "cut"
the tragedy so az to make 1t conform as
much as possible to the lines of mod
ern melodrama.
Mr.. James Isl at his best in the Gladi-
ator. in Othello, in Brutus. or in any
similar part, not requiring such intro
spective qualifications a does Hamlet.
and while his reading Is always pleas
urable to listen to. he is not convincing
excepting only when he is engaged in
part where he can, as 1t were, turn him
self completely loose, and then he is
superb.
Last night "Spartacus'' was repeated,
and again was well worth seeing.