New-York tribune., 1898-01-12
THE DRAMA-MUSIC.
SHAKESPEARE AT DALY's THEATRE.
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR

spcare's bthe and frocsome comedy Of The
Merry Wives Of Windsor was accomplished last
night In Days Theatre Miss Rehan repeating
her gieeful impersonation OF Mrs. Ford. and Mr..
George Clarke. for the first time in his iife as.
sumng the great humorous character OF FalstaR.
I This Shakespeare revival opens a winning oppor.
tuny for the actors who engaged in II, and
puts rare pleasure within the public reach. The
principal theme OF the play. indeed lacks refine
ment but the treatment OF that theme Is so frank
ly jocose so full OF honest mirth and saluiary
purpose that cosrseness OF subject II redeemed
by afluence OF humor combined with compulsory
drift Of healthful feeling. An old sinner is Dis
played in the reprehensible pursuit Of low enjoy.
ments: but, all the way he s made ludicrous. and
az the last he Is covered with ignominy rd!cule,
and laughter and to this felicity OF treatment. in
the texture Of the comedy. are added an abundant
wealth Of diversified character. sparkling tide u
gay incident. and copious lustre OF humor and
picture This Is the jcllest OF Shakespeares plays
and In the welcome element Of ioiity 1t still stands
foremost. nor was It approached in natural gcs
until Goldsmith wrote She Stoops 10 Conquer
Every character IN II IL propitious for acting. and
It's exuberant fun commends It to universal favor.
ard makes Il. inevitably a triumph OF gladness
and OF wit Mr. Days stage version OF the com.
edy first presented here In 1886 and now repro
duced shows some alterations OF the original but
they have been made with Judgment and In tho
interest oe celerlty, and they DO no harm Shake
spearcs plays cannot be acted and they never are
even so stern n critic DR.. Johnson remarks that
the different parts Of The Merry Wives Ct Wind.
sor' might change places without inconvenience.
The character OF Mrs Ford. based. as It Is. upon
intrinsic goodness. fine animal spirits. buoyant
temperament. and eager aptitude for piquant mis-
chief and banter is Of representation FOR Ada
Rehan and she carries 1t now, as she dld long ago.
with deghtfu case and exharatng yigor.-
speaking the words with arch significance and
lirfbid nucncy and inspiriting the action with
continuous flood OF the sunshine OF Merriment u
IS not upon Mrs. Ford. however. but upon Falsta1
that interest chiefly centres. FalsiaN even when
diluted-as surely he was when carried over from
the histories to the comedy,-ovcrshadows every
BODY with whom he is associated. The character
is compounded Of many attributes. out, when
shown upon the Ill employment OF pursuing Mrs
Ford and Mrs Page. it Is chiefly notable for selfish
craft careless ioiiity and lazy luxury" Those are
Dr. Johnson's descriptive phrases. and 1t would be
impossible TO better them. When Mr.. Day first
presented The Merry Wives" he was fortunate In
having Charles Fisher for the part Of Fastaf and
Mr. Fisher invested It with the requisite loft.ness
of high birth his superiority soled, but IT
superlority II his ideal fell short OF the original
conception. the deficiency was In ruoicund hunor.
The new Falstafr is Mr.. George Clarke. and Il
should be said at once that he pleased the house
and was cordially applauded: IT might also be sad
that the house was. obviously. unfamiliar with
The Merry Wives" and accepted II a play.
Mr. Clarkes embodiment keenly intelligent,
definite and well-proportioned showing some recoi-
lection Of old actors in the part and some memory
OF old pictures,-but It not Fastan.
Acute in perception and accurate and efficient
in mechanism. this experienced actor made clear
and cogent the place OF Fastaf in the story; and
he brought out the old familiar points with all
the emphasis but the image taken for all in al,
nothing more than that OF a fat In .
quandary. All the humor In the situations
and the language; not particle OF It In the
actor-whether IN personality. face voice. or de-
meanor. The study appeared to have been made
wholly from the text OF the comedy without even
q thought OF the FastaY Of the histories Techn.
cally. that may be right. but even so, Falstar IN
the comedy, Is In earnest, and he Is Involuntary
humorous. He does not make smiling s1it to
put the dress OF the old woman OF Brentford,
for his life Is threatened and he knows t. Bs.
meath his irreststiby comic narrative Of his I'd.
venture In the buck-basket there is resentment
and shame. Mr. Clarke had great burden 70
carry In every sense. and II Is no wonder that he
| seemed to be feeling his way. He may yet achieve
living portrait: his achievement on this occasion
was only miniature. 1t had no intrinsic super.
| iorlty knghthood, no stawart force. prs-
dominance. background OF suggested exper.
ience. above all. Identification with . man
who had ever been anything else than q dangssr
after No man. whether in play or In
life. reaches al at the essential individuality
that makes him what he is
The subsidiary performances that really denoted
complete lnVeStture with character were thoSo OF
Sir Hugh Evars by Mr. Gresham. DR.. CaiuA-not-
withstanding some furry.-by Joseph Herbert. the
Host Of the Garter by Tyrone Power. Slender oy
Wilfred Clarke (probably the most truthful Of alb
and Mrs. Quickly by Mrs. Gilbert whose Inn
mergence Of herself In all that she assumes to be
combined with her sureness and precision of touch
are In the highest delightful. The spirited acting
of Catherine Lewis Mrs Page and the fidelity
Of Mr.. George Wharnock should be named among
the auxiliary merits OF most interesting perform
ance. II Mr. George Clarke be not the perfect Fal-
staff. he makes exceedingly creditable endeAvor
In the part, and very likely he will satisfy tho taste
and judgment OF the present day. There was some
music, not particularly apt helpful but It served
to reveal Miss Fairfax a and good singer.
without depth Of feeling but with unusual grace
and neatness of expression Mr.. DAILY has UNDER
lined Twelfth Night WV.
CAST OF THE MERRY WIVES"