New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-09-28
THE DRAMA.
THE LITTLE MINISTERS


When the task was set before Mr.. Barrie q
making play out OF his novel THE Little Min
ister," he found himself under the necessity NJ .
doing 1t as the Irishman played the nddle-by
main strength. The novel had enough In II that
was dramatic In its own way and II had mora
than enough that was charming and picturesque
and novel and original but its most importan,
scenes were not easy to place OIL the stage To
make play out of the book as it stood would
have required a prohbitive number Of incidents
and impossible scenery. Wagner might have
evolved something that would approximately rep.
resent the scene OF the food and the tiny, crum.
bling island In the midst OF It. with the two men
waiting for life or DEATH and the little minister
speaking to his congregation above the noise Of
the storm and sustaining them in the supreme
moment OF his own life but such scene not
within the range Of the possibilities of play such
Mr.. Barrie could hope to make.
No could complain OF the necessity which
compelled the omission OF this incident, but II was
pity to lose the beautiful scene in which the soft
old elder with the hard outside crust. Thomas
Whamond. tries and utterly fails to tell the little
minister's mother that her Is disgraced for.
ever. But Mr. Barrie In making his play, ft
to sacrifice this too. and Margaret Is not seen
in the course OF 1t. Indeed he had to change
everything much. after he reached the middle
OF the drama. that 1t Is hardly worth while to try
TO connect the two works One little bit Of the
book he extracted and made much Of This was
the Scotch marriage Of Gavin Dlshart and Babb.e,
when she told the soldiers that she his wife
and he did not deny It, In the book this is barely
touched upon and then left behind. but in the play
1t leads to the best two situations. In the book 4
Babbie and Babbie alone who noticed and rec
ognized the validity Of that Scotch marriage yet,
after she had done so, she gave her consent to
other marriage with another man. In the play Bah.
bic does not know that she Is really married to
Gavin till she Is told Of 1t. and then she learns
1t as the tidngs OF her salvation and her happ,.
ness. Surely, this at least Is an improvement on
the book.
AS a dramatic work THE Little Minister" d
superior to the writer's previous effort for the
stage, THE Professors Love Story" but 1t lacks
the more delicate beauties Of that pretty grouping
Of incidents and 1t bears somewhat the same
relation to the novel which is It's own original
1t has less OF the lives and the thoughts Of the
people whom 1t describes and 1t shows less plainly
that it made by workman who loved his
work than does the book or the older play. All
this is not to say that 1.-THE Little Minister is
a good effective play 1t has. indeed, Q
good story II 1t is quite the story OF the books
1t Is clean bright and wholesome: 1t Is written
with the touch Of a hand having command Of it,
and 1t will probably please the success
sve audiences that view It,
The fact that 1t pleased the audience that ~
1t last night at the Empire Theatre has nothing
to do with the question. because the audience Of
last night obviously ga thered with the determine
ton to be pleased die In the attempt The
the audience was fortunate This rigid determine.
ton was on behalf OF Miss Maude Adams. VINO
sesS of her o ,ns Rsa Il MIS- had
made an historical failure she might still hase
gone home last night with the assurance that she
II was she was able to retire from their sight
when at last they permitted her TO do so. with me
s she M as ss%. n BE- aqa
week hence than she was last night sne was
nervousness. exaggeration and loss of balance were
now and then to be seen Her suddeh alterations
OF seriousness and eayety will gain In ease and
is once saved from her friends she will do IT, Her
stood beside her father and played her part IN
the scene OF the disclosure that she was already
Gavin's wife. This she did most danty. and with
complete genuineness Of feeling.
As Is likely to be the case with writer who 10
more than a hack workman. and who Is above the
star and for the sacrifice Of everybody else, MI.
Barrie has given some OF the best BITS OF ms GA Ia
osTe and his Of he most 70 excellent piece
OF acting was done by William T. Thompson -
Thomas whamond. HIS dialect, commodity Sdty
stocked appeared to proceed from within hm-and
not TO be an acquisition from without, as was the
attempt the speech OF Thrums. F. Payton Cooper;
"A another OF the elders, was also amusing NOD
Dow was Vigorous and imposing h IN was sss
played most delightfully."- by Miss Jessie Mackey
The Gavin Dlshart Of Robert Edescn was not tns
little minister for the play. Gavin was man Of
reserve He seldom showed all the force ;hat ne
had and he was explosive where he should have
been self-contaned Violence Is not Strength ano
not sq boSs %on for Babb sush no Better
came in his way. but he could never have con-
civ