The record-union., 1899-04-02

belong. True, Miss Rehan has obtained
a great success in New York in Mrs.
John Woods original character of the
extravagant and worldly yet warm
hearted Lady Garnet in the second
named of these dramas.
1t may be that the pen is mightier
than the sword; but, in countries where
the censor reigns the blue pencil seems
to be, temporarily at least mightier
than the pen. Hermann Sudermann is
counted one Of the four greatest liv-
ing dramatists of Europe, the other
three being Ibsen, Hauptmann and
Maeterlinck; but this fact has not pre-
served his latest play, johannes,
from a delay of many weeks in pub
lication because the dramatic censor of
Germany could not sooner make up
his mind to let the play be produced.
Nor did the censor remove his ban,
so report says, until the Emperor him
self was appealed to and the prohibi-
ton removed by imperial command. The
play was finally enacted in Berlin, jan
uary 10th, and in book form several
editions were exhausted in few days.
The Johannes" of Sudermann is John
the Baptist and it is presumed that the
use of biblical character was the
cause of the censors objection. 1.-The
Speaker" Oondon), in reviewing the
play, describes it briefly in the follow
ing words:
The story Of John the Baptist is one
of the few biblical subjects that seem
to possess a perennial fascination for
han 1,.af, a 10 h
ever, the first essentially realistic writer
we need hardly make an exception in
favor of Flauberts conte 'Herodias'-
who has made the theme his own; and
1t must be admitted that he has brought
the old story into the sphere of modern
sympathies with no small ingenuity.
He is more faithful to the historical
and legendary basis of the story than
we should have expected from a modern
writer. who naturally lays most stress
on the psychological side of the drama.
Herr Sudermann is an inveterate ideol-
og1st; some years ago, when realism
and 'idealism were still the battlecries
Which divided the literary world into
opposite camps, Sudermanns method
OF building up dramas and novels round
abstract ideas made him a bone of con-
tention between the two parties in Ger
many; it was no easy matter to decide
to which he belonged Like his former
plays, Johannes too, is built round
an idea; just as Die Ehre was a kind
of Socratic exposition of ideas of honor.
so Johannes has, as its ethical back
ground, the Christian doctrine of love
The tragedy of John the Baptist's life
in Sudermann's play is that love. the
charltas which had always appeared to
MIN either weakness or sin, should be
the cornerstone of the faith of the Mas
ter whose forerunnsr he is. One of the
most impressive scenes of the play is
Where John learns from the Galilaans
at the gate of the temple that Jesus of
Nazareth teaches His followers to love
their enemies; it is this new gospel of
love that stays his hand when, at the
crucial moment of his life, he raises it
10 stone the SHINING Tetrarch.
Sudermann has preserved with the
utmost care the tone of the New Tesrta-
ment in his play; his language, when
ne is not quoting the exact words of
the Testament, is closely nodded upon
IT, And yet something essential is miss
ing This quasirealism, which clings
SO rlg1diy to the letter, gives an impress
sion OF badness and leaves us unsatis-
fed; there is lack of poetry. -
We see nothing of the wilderness. and
the pomp Of Herod's court is little more
than an opera background Johannes
comes at times dangerously near being
a modern play in historical costume
Nine -tenths of an actors life" saws
trGGTspn Mora t1c4fI u
rubbish; rubbish is the fare of the. null
'ltude, and it is the multitude that en-
ables the actor to keep the roof over
MS mead; but he should reserve a tenth
part OF his life for himself-for his
art"
A friend who has visited Odette Tyler
IN her West Virginia home met her a
short time ago and asked herif she did
not sometimes get homesick while trav-
cling. Sometimes" Miss Tyler an
swered, but not as homesick as I be-
came for the theater while 1 was at
tempting to retire from the stage"
1t IS said that Miss Nethersole made a
speech in Chicago the other night. The
play was '"rhe Termagant," and the
audience, at the close of the third act
applauded so vigorously that the act
ress was compelled 10 say something
Size hesitated a moment. smiled and
laughed Historically, and then gasped.
L must tell you how glad 1 am that
You like the play" But she did not. for
she could think of nothing more to saw
1t required the coming down of the cur,
tain to break the spell It is here in
teresting to note that few actors ana
actresses are harry in speeches before
the curtain. Stuart Robson talks
brightly to his audiences. De Wolf
Hopper is exceedingly, successful in this
regard, and Sol Smith Russell has long
devoted himself 70 this portion of the
art. Audiences expect at least one and
sometimes two speeches before the
russell curtain, as a part return for
their evenings entertainment. Nat
Goodwin is also a bright talker along
with Sir Henry Irving, who ALWAYS
makes a speech. Richard Mansfield
who never makes a speech NOWADAYS
and Joseph Jefferson, who likes to chat
with his audiences in friendly "a shion.
Sir Henry Irving's magnificent tbeas-
rical library has been privately sold II
was probably the most complete theat-
rical library in Europe and presumably
the best in the world. It is not stat
ed what Sir Henry received for # hut
IT must have been a considerable sum.
Miss Mary Dickens, granddaughter Of
the great novelist, will shortly produce
new book, which will deal with the
atrical life. The authoress will know