The evening times., 1899-06-02
MAUDE ADAMS. AS JULIET.

L
in Washington seen afh an audience al
that which assembled Al the National The
atre last night to Bee Maude Adams In the
role Of Juliet. It. was charged by some
of the critics that when this production
was given nrst intNeN York. some weeks
ago. the audience was composed largely Of
fashionable people, WHO cared nothing for
Shakespeare. little for the drama. and NOT
20 very much for the company. But the
people who crowded the house last night
were OF different sort. 1t was fash
iouable and also an Intelligent and dis
eliminating assembly. There were people
in the house who had seen all the great
Juliets the last forty years; there we're
/ many who do not often attend the theatre,
! fered. In some ways the latter are the
| best critics Of new piece. They have no
I, prejudices to be combated, no theories 10
upset: they are not blase;- they instinc-
lively detect artifciality. and welcome real
art. And 1t Is this element which has con-
, tributed. perhaps. more than any other, 10
! the success Of Maude Adams.
| There has been a very pretty contention
over tulS new Interpretation "a enS S"NA
| acter OF Juliet since 1t was first given to
| the public. and that is possibly the surest
sign that It possesses elements OF great
/, ness. On only one thing are all critics
agreed-that 1t reverses most OF the stage
traditions regarding the way in which the
role should be played. This Is daring
| thing to do and can only be justified by
large element of truth In the new inter-
probation. Does this truthfulness exits
That is what the audience OF last night
was asking before the curtain arose.
The strong point which Is Immediately
evident In Miss Adams portrayal of the
character Is. of course. her complete reali-
zation of the youthfulness Of the maid OF
! Verona: and. by the way. 1t is pity that
! in view Of this the line speaking Of Juliet s
! age should have been altered. 1t seems as
; IL this line might better have been allowed
to stand as 1t was written.
The bone Of contention in the discussion
over the character Of Juliet is. Of course.
the question whether Miss Adams is right
in making her q pathetic and pitifui girl
rather than a woman Of passionate aban-
don and desperate daring. Some have
contended that Miss Adams Juliet might
,, be human nature. but it was not Shake
speare. But who Is to decide what is or
what is not Shakespeare. II the great
dramatic poem Of Romeo and Juliet
means anything at all. II means the pas
sion and tragedy Of young love crossed by
fate; and in a subject SO bOundless in its
possibilities many interpretations are ad-
missible. 1t does not matter, therefore.
whether Miss Adams follows the example
Of any Of her predecessors In her work: 1t
only matters whether she Is true to life.
The distinction between talent and ge-
MUS is a very subtle one. and in the drama
this is the test; The power to make mo-
ment. q line. scene. stand out vividly
above the rest OF the action is genius
When one thinks OF Modjeska's Lady Mac
beth, one thinks of well-defined charac-
ter, but that Is. not all. There are two or
three moments In the sleep walking scene
which impresses themselves upon the eye
like points Of white light in shadow. An
actor may, II talented, give a smooth and
finished rendering of some great role; but
unless he has the electric touch which
raises perhaps three seconds Of some one
scene above all the rest he Is not a gen-
US. Miss Adams can do this. Her attitude
of shrinking as she realizes the force OF
the nurses advice and mutely draws away
from her as from an assassin. the flash OF
terrified suspicion In her eyes as she fears
that Friar Laurence Is also about to turn
against her. and one or two other pictures.
are impressed indelibiy on the memory.
The only question Is whether her concep-
tion Of the character is correct.
No one can deny that she behaves pre-
cisely as a gentle. sensitive. impulsive girl.
hardly more than a child. would behave
under the circumstances. There are hun
dreds of maidens In this any every civil
lied land who might. under the same extra
ordinary circumstances. do what she did.
This is the point where the adverse criti-
cism takes its stand. Its argument is es-
sentially that Juliet was not the usual
girl: that she embodies the passion of the
south, and that the fierce emotions of
which she is the plaything throughout the
drama are due to her own nature and not
Of circumstances. The holders Of this view
contend that an ingenue Juliet is an out
rage on true dramatic art, no matter how
well 1t Is played.
But. taking into account the matter of
Juliets age. how can she be anything but
an ingenue? And II she were the carefully
nurtured daughter Of an Italian noble.
awakened suddenly to passion which is
utterly new and strange to her. and which
awes her by its intensity, would she aban-
don herself to 1t with the unthinking swift
ness of child of the people. or the deter
mined will Of an older woman? Would
she not rather be helpless, grieved, des-
pairing. acting only when forced to do so
by her one strong passion. the great love
within her? Is not Miss Adams Juliet
the truer conception because of this sim
plicity? Is 1t not more in accordance
with the laws Of art to make the charac-
ter normal and the circumstances extraor-
dinary. rather than to create an excep-
tional woman to cope with an abnormal
and tragic fate?
Two things are brought out with espe-
cial clearness in this interpretations; the
struggle between the child's first great
emotion and the formality Of her training;
and the absolute loneliness of her situa-
ton. She is naturally the sort of woman
who would lean on those she loves for
guidance and comfort: she is left suddenly.
alone, with no guide but her own instinc-
tive purity and her great love- Only
through the thought of her lover can she
summon courage to drink the potion. She
is not a woman especially created to en-
body the grand passion: she is just what
almost any woman might be. IL confronted
in early girlhood with the great expert
ence Of her lite. and compelled by adverse
fate to stake everything on one desperate
chance. By thus tranferring the character
from the individual to the universal, it
may be that Miss Adams has hit upon the
true poetic beauty Of the situation. At
any rate. this new conception is worth
careful attention and study.
The supporting company Is probably the
best, as a whole, ever seen In this play on
the American stage. Not only are the
leading roles we'll done, but all the minor
parts are filled by thoroughly competent
people. who imhue the slightest act with
William Faversham, as
Romeo. plays a difficult part with spirit
and grace. and in one scene. that in which
Mercutio is killed, he showed something
more than mere, talent. James X. Hackett,
as Mercutio. did some attractive work,
= L. ~ thn
lacks unity. He was at his best in the
balcony scene, and the impish mischief of