New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-05-16
LONDON NOTES.
LYCEUM THEATRE-ART TREAS.
URES AT AUCTION.


the interest Of art. Sir Henry Irving conducts
| the most expensive theatre In London h.s
own responsibility as a commercial enterprise
ard depeuds upon such support his pre-em..
nent talents as actor ard manager command
He ia swayed as Edwin Booth also was. by the
noble ambition OF maintaining theatre Of the
highest order; yet he Is no dreamer, but man
NJ affairs. with executive faculty and capacity
for business He consults the capricious humors
end tastes OF the public and varies the pro-
crammes of his theatre so as to secure as large
n measure OF popular support as possible. The
nublic does not always know what 1t wants.
The wind bloweth where 1t listeth. and even 20
.hrewd a man OF the world as this actor man.
aver sometimes makes Mistakes but he 10
rirht In assuming that the problem of reconcll-
ing high art and public patronage cannot b
worked out in commercial terms WITHOUT the
use OF variety as a common factor What the
=. iron. Of his theatre are certain to have during
the course Of his seasons Is Woe range OF I'M
nersonation of character and artistic perform
once with an occasional daring experiment
Sir Henry Irving opened lis season with an
,r,nersonation OF Peter the Great. which in Ito
amid alterations of motive and mood and In It,
.,h,,s nrocesses Of intellectual interpretation
,,h,,od all the resources OF his stagecraft
Tho NAV proyed to be too strong meat for
eft n,hrc which was unnsrved by the rattle
a, torture mechanism and by the exhibition OF
q father condemning his son to death. IL was
,ouowed nv a highly successful revival OF -FOUR
n,av,: 1.-The Merchant OF Venice Maoame
c.r.-csns" 1.-THE Bells and waterloo "
,hsse the most brilliant In acting anu se'''hs
GA. .-rhe Merchant Of Venice with the oes'
shvlock and Portia which the present geher"
,,or has known 1t was dramauc perioim'
.nce without a flaw. and incomparaoiy 'ne oe''
rroduc,ion of Shakespeare when nave ever
seer nm any stage. Sardou's drama levea'ea
Misc Ellen Terry in her whimsical anu o'.'"'"'
oor,sdv stv,e. and Matthias and Corporal Die"'
s,er were admirably sustained eXai'pie' Va N"
acter-acting There was me Far'e'' III LIS
series OF productions. and II mas peen ',uNe".
,aa ~, the presentation Of Sir Henry
rr,.,rg IN q new part utterly unlike anything
which he has previously UNDERTAKEN
HYPNOTIC EXPERIMENT
49,. character Ct DR. Tregenna- the
,.,.+ ,n IN. drama, THE Medicine Man"
-. ~. II n Trail and Mr. Robert s. Hichena
-, :, No, ano,her Svenga. although re mas .
49,, who ,yould suggest Trtlby. II all tns
a,.,,,,, ,,ar. not done by birds in huge gided
- us IA n scientihc expermonter with INC
,,t,as and wills OF human beings craving MS
,,h,ects from Whitechapel and the west Emu
to-, -. retreat at Hampstead. and operating
1900, ,bar, nv processes Of vivisection as though
81. ,sre rabbits Two OF these playtnings Ok
80, will are exhibited. One Is a bru,ai COCK
,,horor who under the combined influence Oh
ar,rk and wife-besting, develops noniio'o"
mania the other is the daughter OK L'ru be''
hurst who had married the heroine or III l'e'
genna's youthful romance. TIE hypho'1s' III
nuence over this strange pair or subjects u ~
tablished and broken UP from diNereh, n'o''s'"
In the case OF Sylvia, II is revenge WHICH '-
n.,s him TO bring her under subjecuon 10 h'
u,,u and 10 ALLEVIATE her affection Tor her ialhe'
and her lover: and he releases his captive IN
nul,iyely when he learns that Lord beihnrs'
has been ignorant Of the early love aHair OF ''''
girls mother With the dock laborer IL Is
caprice OF scientific recreation to hoid ana piay
with a dangerous subject, VINO is res'raiHeo
from murderous revolt only by the exercise OF
r,.,.r,ul will: and In the end the doctor
loses control over the brute by relaxing MS NiS-
lance and is choked 10 death after the assassin
has been compelled by glittering eye 20 drop
the knife.
To the attraction Of novel part, less relo-
dramatic and interesting. but r.ore suotIe aho
compIex than Mr.. Trees Svengah, are added
many devices Of the playwrights for varying
the usual Lyceurn programme. There - IN me
first act a glimpse Of an East End University
settlement, with SNUG canon lecturins 70
fantastic group OF costermongers ana laoorerS
over their coffee and tobacco. and the uIneH
entrance Of the hypnotst when the wife-bea'e''
arousing from q drunken stupor. Is interrupuns
the Christian graces Of Summing. The tiger
breaks away and !, lost for a short interval IN
to hrnf
back bv the Irresistible will OF the Medicine
Man This IL melodrama for the pit ana gar
leres. and II Is followed IN tire second act by
MAYFAIR drawing room scene for the stalls ana
boxes. with walters in the background and
display OF elegant party gowns well IN IRON"
Next follow two acts in DR. Tregenna's retreat
one of them a beautiful garden fete. which IS
attended by all the fashionable drawing room
company in fresh costumes with interudes OF
the lady and the tiger The final &C, finds the
hypnotist unable to justify his revenge In at
lacking the girls mind and under moral ool!ga-
ton to release her from his influence and 10 re-
store her. after a long trance. TO her father
and lover and the curtain falls after a terrible
bit OF melodrama. when the tiger gets ont OF
hand and strangles the life out OF his tormentor
VARIETY TO PLEASE MANY.
There Is variety here with stirring acton ana
creepy horrors" for the galleries and fine gowns
ard drawing room chatter and byplay for the
stalls There Is the weird and fascinating at
traction of the psychical problem. which was
potent In determining the success OF 'Trlby."
There Is also the charm OF concentrated the
atrical power in the impersonation OF DR. Ire
gonna and Bill Burge. the dock tiger SIT
Henry Irving idealLes the brain specialist ana
offers a subtle Interpretation OF mingled mo-
tives. His DR.. Tregenna Is not Svengali. nor
Cagliostro nor a Or. Jeky He is scen'
tihc enthusiast. whose ardor experimental
has become more reckless he has perceiv.a