New-York tribune., 1899-01-17
THE DRAMA.
ro>,rDy AT DALY'S THEATRE.
oH an. REuAN AS LADY TEAzLE.

senteo ,,,,, "e. work OF art, and those lovers OF
II rho forego the enjoyment OF IL VIII lose
actihe sure Miss Rehan adopted this character
far r.nertory In January lS9l, and "l'hln 'ne
n'V ,.,, years she has acted IL. win unequVooa'
MS 'e ,r leading capitals OF the worio. II uoes
,ecur as novelty ou' az so'''e e'n'"s '"uO"
not no" ,ried proved. and accepted achieve
hetter,-". s,here OF high comedy which is the
nen' m,l, ~ NJ all branches OF the histrionic art
most u =, adv Teazle that Miss Rehan presents
The w.. self-respecting and affectiona'e woman
Is tina, e,or,,ns an artificial fine lady. does not
~no' -, ease 10 be natural. simple puoyant
emu. .,d ,mpetuous country girl The surface IL
,,g m,rth. but under the surface mere IS oeep
meoAe ,o.,,rs The glitter OF a newly acquired
sincere .ho excitements OF a social career stmu-
rank o. IT,. and augment the giddness OF sef-con-
late .". uavward youth but at the basis OF her
feen'.,s.icated and scarcely yet awakened mind
unsO' decisive moral sense, which no sophis'ry
'sH .,,,o,e and no hypocrisy deceive.
con pehan has often and abundanty SHOWN
ME- ,-o6cent skill in the portrayal OF tne
M fashionable woman OF old hnghsh
stlne"' .ho n,ouant. coquettsh. sparkling. dash
con'r'' H.-o,,e ~ the Congreve and farqunar
ms r,.,hrrrh drama; that success " no'
sno .,,eved but that success she snrpasses' w
eas'E IAN make tha, hard and glttering type VI
oAue .vr,nathetic.-showing rehnement Vi ~
"0'''~ aooaness o. heart beneath frlVon'F VI u
90. and apparent recklessness OF conouc' 80
me-, heen customary In stage eNpeiie"O' '..
,.u,.nt Julia Barrow, for exampe'-a rover
na''~". ..-es. whom old playgoers rememoer'-ne'e,
tive aO" ,,,,a parrow was of the best ana
oo u s..,,yo nerformers In old comedy chafac'e'
v,r nv .ould be more delightful. ana ho'h"e
-. deserve being designated as perez 80, '-
" m p,hsn.s acting in Lady Teazles "heeo'i,e a-,H
s,-srl,nr scene with Sir Peter. her .ia"s 49,
..,,,S entieenent to fretful petulance' 'hei,
EnoN
]" W. ~, -.-oasro arc as natural and as graceIui "S
m0V"Ie - -ov.s But still more delightful ana
,ne s,n.r sense Is the noble dignity with "hion'
-, ,be voung wifes moral nature Is at ,es
...re5 and aroused. she casts away a., "oi 80;
s no,.aneously discloses herself IN her ha''' q,
..-hance Of honesty and goodness our s'Ase, az
'.a" .s,,s cannot elsewhere show an image OF such
fhis uill'' ..,.o.,,, blended with such womaniike
,u,sss Miss Rehan's acting was not less super
y, .drn- than sympathetic in its tenderness anu
charming in its fluent grace, x,. -.,.,,u.
"a Fnel,sh comedy is still practicable possioii-
,.r =, ths theatre while Ada Rehan remains upo'
,hs ecsne but she has few associates VINO are CUM
,s,.,. in this peculiar field Most OF her oo"'
t., ,lavers act in the manner or the present
-. t,,,,,a, nature is and at all times has >oeeh'
.%. so-,n. IN. manners vary from one epocn 10 an
-, Tho man Of fashion. az the heslorduon'
- cav. ardent romantic. audacious. ana Hahhly
cb,valrous. however sensual and dissoiute' "
ou.., Anne's time he becare,-as the conuuieS
o,lv too clearly show,-either formal prls III
virtue or an epicure in vice, but whe'ner ueO'u' ~
,oe,gs+a he was artificial 70 the very roots OF MS
49,. ,roo NJ George III-that is 10 say In
sSa-,san,s ,irne-he had become suave, punctilouS'
I.horateIv formal concealing his feelings III no
,oss.ssed any) and doing all things with ceremony
Tn. student who will examine the discovery -
tho comedy by Sherdans mother. which may "eii
have been. in sheridans mind. the parent OF ms
school For Scandal" and will particularly con-
s,,sr The character Of Lord Medway will perceive
wondertul representative type Of this order OF
man He ranges through the whole realm OF OLD
coroAdv his manner indeed being variously modl-
fed by temperament but his inherent artihce re-
naming unchanged In our time that manner mas
been superseded by either breezy famiharity or
p prosy lassitude and II is difficult to find an actor
who can create the least illusion in an old comedy
part
Mr George Clarke. who appeared as Sir Peter
Teazle.-repacng Mr.. Edwin Vsrrey, who IS
very m-of course possesses all requisite knowl-
edge OF tAe conditions under which. and only under
which this character can be truly exhibited. lie
has acted In The School For Scandal for many
years sometimes playing Charles Surface and
sometimes Joseph and he knows II thoroughly well
But while the style the authority, and the pur-
pose Of his personation are admirable and much
10 be commended Il may be suggested that there
are traits in the character OF Sir Peter Taazle
upon which he has not yet bestowed much reiec-
tlon An old man who. in his youth, has been
handsome and popular likes not 10 grow old. hnds
& hard 10 yield up his prerogative OF prominence,
will often display impatience and vanity, and will
he exacting in trhos. Sir Peter is a man Of per-
feet refinement who has always lived an artificial
life and now AZ past nifty. is growing old, and is
bored and tired. He has married young country
girl, thinking 20 be admired, gratifed and petted,
and he is d!smayed to find himself thwarted in al
most everything Elegance and confluence are In
exorably essential as attributes Of Sir Peter S
character. He has testy temper. but he is never
explosive. He possesses little OF that mild cyni-
cism which generally comes with age and with a
clear knowledge Of what men do and what. gener-
ally, they are-how weak. how vain. how hypocrlti-
cal. how Vicious; but he has good heart His
weakest point is an inordinate dread OF ridicule-a
seourge 10 which he IS peculiarly sensitive and 10
which he Is often subjected He shows himself IN
MS true light in the talk with Joseph about the
se'uements, and especially he shows himself in his
reception OF Jcsephs disclosure as to the little
tfench mliner" Sir Peter has not expected this
'failty on the part Of Joseph. but his disbelief r
ns possibility quickly disappears: all men are
SHKe' after all. and he only concede, with his
naN amused. half weary smile, that Joseph. the
Paragon. resembles the rest Mr. Clarke did severa
me things In this performance. and. If ne should
'AhR 1t worth while to elaborate his present con-
scentlous study he may make this embodiment
vac OF The best successes OF his professional life
iiis delivery Of Sir Peters language is somewhat
euicet-whereas II should be dry and perhaps HI
0s some difficulty in Stimulating. as Sir Peter. th'
'enoerness which. as Joseph. he has long been &C
,uS'omed openly to initiate but furtivey 20 deride
1'As use OF an abrupt. fussy. and sometimes volen
, manner seemed indicative of nervous anxiety
nc was at the best in the screen scene.
!he Teappearance OF Mrs. Gilbert. as Mrs
enoour gave much pleasure 70 the audience. an'
y Is worthy Of record as a dramatic incident o
Oie 'han Common Importance Mrs. Gilbert NOR
's" any other member oil Mr.. Days dramatl
t'"pahy, possesses the fine manner. the true taste
a9 ripe Skill and the unerrnG precision of the Old
,OOi actors who built up the stage 10 emnenc
80 49, "aue acting learned profession She Is age'
a no longer very vigorous. but there is a consum
80 80 hhish In her style and delicate beauty II
n"on w aV"on and her speech that are exceedingly i'm
sssNe 10 thoughtful minds. and there is n gentle
So. :" her temperament that endears her TO ever
"eaft Mr.. Charles Richman repeated his in
eN"uVCs, sweet-tempered, and winning thoug