The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-26
THINGS IN THE NEW PLAYS.
,,DcE EOBERTsoN KKNDlL's ACT
rye As GOOD OLD MAID.

,., upeasincss In Light Scenes and Force
=, n Heavy One-Soins Devices OF stngo
| r,,loitation-Ideas Suggested by n Ger
man Comedy - Stairways In Plenty.
u,dg, Robertson kendall In q busy actress
-,,n,yer in sigh, on tho stage. She is an expo
n n,turaiisri. But her method Is unlike
49,, q, mos, uncxaggeratve players They arc
s,., and sho Is restless. EXCEPTING when the
s.",,on absolutely requires her 10 hold an atti.
"a, until some particular point has been made
4. ia constantly doing something or other
Ling w a book and laying Il down. removing
-, ANAL article from one table to another. add
few stitches 10 piece OF embroidery, or in
~. other way keeping herself In minor action
:, a, N be- said for this uneasy process Of playing
"a. realistically that IL gives aspects Of actual
N, and against 1t that II abstracts attention from
,.ror.nt depletion to inconsequental detail.
r., NtA Kendall believes In II thoroughly was
.,o,n by her in The Elder Miss Blossom" In
hicb abe returned 10 our stage last week. Whether
4, 1. commendablo generally or not. II is surely
.ri,bls in this particular play. Mira Kendall
..,,,senu an old maid about TO be married. and
Al, q, , furry over her wedding. II Is reasonable
,h,, her nervous tension should release itself In
So,rr incessantly whatever her hands And 10 DO.
On, Il In a state Of ante nuptial agitation. The
-.ddinr garments get her attention In tho FIRST
a. and the wedding gifts in the second. until
t..s,.t oyer,akes her preparations, and serious
r... Stops all ttviality. Then Mrs. Kendall be-
,,,. 10 act In a way that there can be no dispute
.sou, She shows with remarkably plaintyo
,,,hoc the grief and shame Of tho woman who.
AYR believing herself for three years bctrothed,
and making ready for the bridal altar learns that
II VA, her niece whom the man wished 10 marry.
This portion o; the new play at the Knickerbocker
|. highly successful. and IL Is the actress more
h,n tho authors who makes IL 40. The situation
d, on, which We have had In many plays, but in
most Of them II has been intentionally comic.
IN. difficulties overcome by Mrs Kendall in saving
n from laughter for tears can hardly he appreci-
s.d BY an auditor not cxperily aware OF them.
She achieves an artistic triumph.
The personality Of Mrs. Kendall affects people
tir,rsely. To some she Is singularly disagree
Al. her assumption Of artlcssnsSs looking like
sthciality. and her practice Of poteness having
an effect Of undecepuvo make believe To the
majority she is the most spontaneously gracious
Of actresses She has herself caused this differ.
,nr. In degree Of esteem by posing publicly in
addresses and published interviews az an unas.
snlablc wife and mother. Nobody can blame
Ms Kendall or any other sel'respccting actress.
tor keeping socially aoof from the vicious crea.
lures n the stage The line between reputable
and iisfcputabls women Of the Thea tres cannot
be dawn too distinctly. But Mrs kendall Is
not lonesome on her side Of H. She is only one
In a multitude. no doubt a majority Of all the
actresses and II satirical shafts are hurled at her
Il is because she assumes an attitude Of moral
Isolation Mrs Kendall is like the little Mary
Jones Of the vcn'rloluists She il more than
sit years Old in p:ecocity She knows that self
assertion cnnyinces many people She Is not
the ouly player who has probably taken pose
Of fearless opposition 10 imaginary enemies
Richard Mansfield did the same thing carly IN
his career He did not stop with attribuung
enmlty 20 critics, actors and managers but riadc
defiant speeches TO audiences, aud really con
WINGED many pclp, that he was III uscd
Minnie Madden Fiske has pur ell the same
course Of advertising, and with the same result
readily gulble portion Of the public believes
the absurd assertions that because she has ar.
tagoniLed some Of the men in the theatrical bust.
ness some of the reviewers In the larger cities are
against her, tor She and her manager have
strven hard n disseminate that nonsense. and Il
has served To popGarize her But in the cases
Of Mrs Kendall Mr. Mansfield and Mrs. Fiske
there Is artistic merit back Of the business method
Each Of them is hne player. II not posscssor Of
outright genius Their audiences. attracted by
Ech exploitation, aEc retained by good perform
ances Hall Game employed the device Of pre-
tended nartyrdom TO help THE Christian" In
that case the thing thus advertised. although
not wholly satisfactory 10 people of discriminate
Judgment, was pleasing TO those who were not
i'eauen:ers Of the theatre Israel ZangwilI was
The next playwright to adopt the same method
Of publicity His play. Children Of the
in h. At II.
question of It's fate II was clear at once that /,
could not possibly draw remunerauve audiences.
It's merit Of faithful illustration was praised in
the 'eTiews, and its fault Of dramatic dullness
vas censured. There were critics who extolled
1t e1ravagantly as a revelation in stage litera.
'u'e' and there were some who beratod 1t as ut.
erly worthless, but tho consensus Of published
opinion was calm and considerate. There WAS
no lack Of Kindness, and not much cruelty. Hut
MI Iangwi!l at once nailed himself to a cross,
and displayed himself as an author cruci8-d nv
mob 81 muricrous enemies lie might bny,
m'de money by this course, as Hall Caine had
conc by gaining religious attention. but for the
''' mat his depletion OF Jewish rites and usaRos
proved offensive 'oJews and interested few others
90 Nhlld'cn Of the Ghetto" died last night for
Nan' Of audiences The remains are 20 be taken
70 London for possible vivincation.
herman plays Of burglar life are always essen.
uaIy characteristic Of their source Their bumor
and pathos are Of kinds no, found in any other
stage hcnon. French pieces dealing with the cor.
responding social class become HISTORICALLY TO
nanHc ana are usually melodramas Else
mey are touched with sexual phase none IN.
iss Objectionable because II IL involved with the
Iueo me family. Contemporary English drama
usS DO not trouble themselves about the middle
cases u by them We mean the parycnu who
I'ae MS money in some trade that is not digni.
noi' 'he aHstocrat who lost his through some
occupation not so honorable and the children
d 'hese people. These do not como now to the
s"Sein England except In melodrama. Most Of the
""eiS nowadays are concerned with too bieh n
seiaI stratum to interest themselves in the types
wa' absorbed Tom Robertson lilo took most
VI MS from the German Our American authors
nave occupied themselves with Il only whom a
,oco lyp' was to DO shown. Earlier dramas of
vow iork and Western life written for performance
'ne oos' theatres OF the time treated the domestic
ana homely virtues, but often with a touch of
me'niama In Way Down East" Shore
acres In Mizzoura" and Alabama" tho geoe.
,sphy Is nearly as important as tho sentiment
oehocomlc plays Of life among what for the lack
better description may be called our middle
udsses, with sentiment and cbararter 40 co,,,n,o,,