The herald., 1898-03-06

Aoy1 4CAA ~ AIS III u 0hr ItOOIus 0aC
The arrival of a new actress upon the
stage Is an event of uncommon interest
when that actress shows evidence of un-
common ability and the possession of nat
ural gifts for her vocation. Managers are
continually besieged with a crowd of as
pirants for theatrical honors, and of those
who succeed in getting a place before the
public how few there are who possess any
better qualifications than may be implied
by the fact of their having taken a course
In a school of acting. An illustration of q
different kind is afforded In the case OF
Janet Waldorf. who has been playing at
the Los Angeles a short engagement dur
Ing the past week, and who Is now in her
first season, her repertory for the present
being confined to the characters of Juliet
Parthenia and Julia. Her first appear
ance as professional was at Gloversville
N. Y, on November 20. 1897, in the charac-
ter of Juliet. She has since travelled to this
coast by the northern route, touching Can
ada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and thence to
Tacoma, Washington and Portland. Ore,
playing the smaller Oregon and California
towns on the way south to this point.
Miss Waldorf has delightful, breezy
personality, radlating health. strength,
beauty, intelligence and enthusiasm. Al the
same time there Is a modesty in her esti-
mate of her own powers that shows she Is
as yet unspoiled by the rather lavish praise
that has been bestowed upon her. She
tells me. in answer to question as TO the
rise and growth Of her theatrical inclina-
tions, that she never was a Juvenile prodi-
gy, nor had been suspected of dramatic
gifts from early childhood, but that her
taste for acting grew from the time she
was allowed to go to the theater, and was
increased by what she saw there. She
did n little work in amateur theatricals,
and Mrs. Currier, being struck with her
abilities, has given her three years of pri-
vate training of the closest kind. Miss
Waldorf knows nothing of the school of
acting in its Objectionable form. Her stud
les have been directed to selected line
OF plays. and she has been allowed to de-
velop her individuality In the interpreta-
tion of the characters. This. with studies
of voice production and elocution, has COM
prised her course of training. She has
never been taught a gesture or pose by
way OL iiHitdtiOiit uut OIiy " cIuPlOy tHOSc
that are fitting and which come naturally
to her. She yet has occasional crudities of
style, which experience will correct, but
she is naturally graceful and has an in
stnctive perception of harmony, and is,
when perfectly free from embarrassment,
able to portray in delightfully."- original
way the emotions appropriate to the char
acterS she assumes.
Janet Waldorf Is an American girl and
was born in Pittsburg about twenty years
ago Her ancestors were Hollanders, who
settled in New York in colonial times. and
intermarrages since with people of Irish
and English blood have combined to pro-
duce in the person of the young actress
temperament which especially fits her for
sympathetic Interpretation and a consti-
tuition that will enable her to bear the
fatigue of theatrical life.
She has been welcomed as a rising star
with acclaim by the press of this city, and
her success is predicted under any ordinary
conditions of the future, seeing that her
continued study and perseverance are fac
tors taken as granted
The only characters presented by Miss
Waldorf in her short engagement here
have been those of Parthenia in "Ingomar'
and Julia in 1.-The Hunchback.' l have
already written at length upon the first as
sumption, and was delighted to find that
in the more modern characterization of the
willful and afterward repentant Julia the
actress was as much at home and showed
the possession of still wider scope of pow
ers than could possiblX be exhibited in the
Greek play. In The Hunchback' Miss
Waldorf was really playing against great
odds, for the reason that the play Is an
unfamiliar one to the modern playgoer II
is written In blank verse and in the stilted
style that used to be great a favorite
In the first half of the present century.
The plot is obscure and requires close at
tention for it's comprehension. This OBJ
scurfty is increased in the ordinary acting
version by a mutilation of the text to
bring 1t within reasonable length. Mrs.
Currier has still further cut down the act
Ing version, with the effect that the five
act play was produced in a little less than
two hours. 1t Is safe to say that those
who made acquaintance with 1t for the
first time on Friday evening knew very
little of what it was about at the end: all
the characters were subordinated to that
OF Julia, and, with the exception Of Master
walter, by Mr.. McVay, the actors simply
recited their lines with little or no effect.
In the few scenes where Julia has her op-
strength and power, Miss Waldorf rose to
the occasion with singular force and car
ried the audience with her irresistibly The
performance OF 1.-THE Hunchback" must
not be taken as presentation of the play.
but rather as affording an opportunity TO
Miss Waldorf for the acting of the scenes
In which the character of Julia is espe-
cially prominent. This is rather a risky
way OF presenting play to the public. and
would not be considered as altogether fair
treatment of people who expect to see
the work of the author IN less mutilated
condition.
The particularly striking and original
character of Miss Waldorfs acting is ex-
hibited In her power Of repression. This
was shown to some extent in her Parthen-
Ia. but eminently so in her Julia. The lat
ter character is one in which the ayera ee
amateur usually revels in top note of
triumphant defamation, tearing passion
to tatters, and appropriately swoonine
afterward In an exhausted condition. Miss
Waldorf is as intense as can possibly be
desired, but she represses her exhibition of
feeling - what appears to be, on occasions.
an unnecessary degree, the result being
the failure to impart the color that might
be introduced with advantage. She shows
10 much promise, however, and has SO