The evening times., 1898-03-19
Shakespeare in the Bowery


The Italian Theater, which is Just
south of Grand Street. is as rude and
bare as ever an EliZabethan playhouse
on the BankSide-and not nOtiCeably
more clean. The scenery and other
stage appurtenanceS, though Of the
modern kind. We're of little more aid To
the imag agination than the signs Of Ven
ice; a Council Chamber" or Cyprus.
Before the Castle which, in Shakes
peare's day no doubt served in lieu of
canvas walls. When the exits were
raised from the stage the actors invari-
ably stumbled over them: and in one
act Desdemona and Emilia could be
plainly seen through an aperture in the
castle wall, where they We're quietly
awaiting their cues. 1t is a far cry GER
tainly from the Bankside or the Bow
cry to the appurtenances Of Sir Henry
Irving. or even of Mr.. Augustin DAILY.
The version of ''OtheIlo" used was in
prose; and, as far as | could make out.
II was stripped of most of the character
istically Shakespearean passages. Ii
was perhaps more like the Italian novel
by CinthiO. from which Shakespeare s
plot came. than like the play. as We
know it. just as the German Hamlet
of the early eighteenth century was. in
way, reverSiOn to BellefOrest The
actors spoke mainly in vulgar Italian.
The most Eiizabethan trait of all was
the prompter's hood in the middle of
the stage, just beyond the orchestra
from which the prOmpter's voice. in
eager and raucOus whispers never ceas-
ed to gallOp half a head in advance of
the actors / never realized before how
right Benvolio was in crying down the
without book prologue. family spoke
after the prOmpter" Iago was the en-
bodiment of shrewdness, but his most
subtle stratagem was required to catch
the cues for his gestures hot from what
the promptOr was saying, so as to have
the gestures ready by the time he got
to the words. Among all the charac-
ters only Othello showed any measur-
able freedom from the prompter 1
should mention. though. that in the last
act Emilia, in her passion at the Moor
took the bit between her teeth, and
pulling free from the lines, went at him
with Billingsgate of her own invention.
At last she called him a blockhead and
scalawag: but this, after all. may
only be the popular Neapolitan equiva-
lent of ShakeSpeare'S 20 gull, o dOlti
o villany, villanyl"
The attitude of the audience toward
all of this was notable. Our little party
from uptown were surprised TO find
them as much amused by most Of the
i1cOngruitieS as We Yet their laughter
was quiet and charitable, and in no
wise interfered with their enjoyment
of what was enjoyable. They We're for
the most part bootblacks. peanut vend-
ers, and organ grinders, or at most ex-
members of Col. Warnings brigade; yet
it seemed that in the simplicity of their
souls they felt the force of the play
with more heartiness than one could
have expected of an audience on Broad
way. When Iago was doing his worst
with the Moor, one man-they were
mostly all men-turned to his neighbOr
with a troubled look: IF that Niger
knew what mana that is. he would-a
not trust heem" By-and-by the neigh
Dor exclaimed. with as just a mingling
of horror and delight as Booth ever
evoked: "Ain't he soma gun-a? Amt
he soma gun-a?" In the tragic cli-
makes a part of the gallery would shout
with delight. only to be Kissed silent by
the rest until the end of the scene, on