The herald., 1898-01-30

| the whole excellent. Sir Henry shows
/ every side of his art in the character
of Peter, and some sides, certainly. are
| better than others. Some say that in
| handling the character he does not show
the absolute greatness of the man. To
| me the criticism seems unjust, since
really felt q suggestion, not, perhaps, of
mental power, certainly not of moral
but of the prodigious will which is the
real force of Peter" One of the most
capable commentators says that "It
must be owned that Mr.. Laurence Irv-
| ing's inexperience as a dramatist be-
trays itself with increasing emphasis
| from act to act. He aims at showing us
| a strong Peter, and Sir Irving fumes and
busters in the character with an amaz-
ing expenditure of physical energy. All
| to little purpose, however, for the in
herent weakness of the character is only
| thrown into relief by the force of the
| language and gesture assigned to il"
The same writer, in speaking of the
the son, just before the execution of the
| latter, says: Between father and son.
who tell each other homely truths, there
occurs the most dramatic scene in the
play. Pardon and reconciliation one
feels are imminent, but Alexis prefers
to die, and Peter, almost transfigured
with joy at so unlooked-for a trait of
heroism in his son, allows him to go to
the ha andC Of tha QYpputiOnpr IVnlil<p
the amphtryon, as rule, Mr.. Laurence
Irving keeps his best wine till the close
of the feast. For this final scene, no
doubt, the play has been written, and it
is here alone that it's dramatic force is
felt. thanks not only to Sir Henry Irv
ing's fine acting, but also to the assis-
tance lent him by Mr.. Taber, who lifts
the despicable Alexis almost to the
heroic level" With reference to this
same last scene, a fourth critic OBJ
serves: Artistic reticence used to be
the admirable rule at the Lyceum; ap
peal was made to the imagination; but
the retrogression to cruder methods is
pursued to the last" There seems to be
no doubt that Peter is wonderfully
effective actors part and that Sir Hen
ry portrays it with wonderful intensity
and vigor, and infinite variety of eX-
pedent; but it is doubtful whether the
achievement will rank among his finest
artistic efforts. Mr. Taber appears to
have acquitted himself exceedingly we'll
in a very difficult and disagreeable part.
Some interesting figures are published
lin London concerning the cost and the
profits OF pantomime. 1t seems that the
late Augustus Harris expended 100000
upon Dick Wilmington" at Drury Lane.
and G15,000 was spent upon 1.-THE Babes
in the Wood" this year. Both invest
ments proved exceedingly profitable.
o o o
During the year ending December 81,
1896, New York had 12O new plays, and
during 1897 there were 172 first produc-
tions given. There were SO revivals in
New York during the year ending De-
cember 81, 1896, while for the same length
Of time in 1897 there were but "a.
w. d. Eaton's new romantic play
"Iskander," is reported to have made an
excellent impression in Chicago recent
ly, and the work of Frederick Warde
received high praise. The Mirror cor
respondent says, however, that "the sup
porting company, selected for Shake
spearean repertoire, Is not suited to the
play at all, and, in order to preserve his
property, Mr.. Eaton has insisted that
there be a thorough reorganization. Mr..
Warde has seen the wisdom of this de-
mand, and the company closed. About
two weeks will be spent in selecting new
people for the various parts, and Mr.
Eaton will assist. Then the play will be
put out properly, and it cannot fail to
be a success" 1t is not easy to under
stand how it arrives that a company Sc
lected for Shakespearean repertoire was
not able to cope with a romantic play in
verse. Mr.. Warde has had some unfor-
tunate experiences since he started out
with this play, this being the second
time he has had to close it up. His
friends wish him better luck next time.
o O o
Chicago appears to have been enjoying
an unusual wealth of dramatic attrac-
tions. In one week Nat. c. Goodwin,
Richard Mansfield, James A. Herne and
De Wolf Hopper have severally been
holding forth at different houses, and
the business is reported good.
G. A. DICKINSON.