The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-12-02
A CLEVER CATCH QUESTION.
How Many of Shnkespeare's Plays
Have You seen Acted:

tfrom Tic new lIiouHe-)
Here is a new question to infiict on Jour
helpless friends after you have asked
them where the Book of Hezekiah is and
who wrote BE good, sweet maid and let
who will be clever" Ask them how many
of Shakespeare's plays they have seen
on the stage They must answer by guess,
not stopping to count up. That is Just
the point After they have guessed let
them count up and see how near they
came. You might try it yourself before
you read any further. You will find that
most persons IL they are theatregoers will
guess far too few.
This fact was discovered recently in the
course of a discussion of the subject oc-
casioned by Mr.. Mansfield's production OF
the seldom played king Henry W One
person present, who cherishes fond am
bition to see every one OF Shakespeare
dramas on the stage, and consequently
keeps account of how many he has seen,
said that this made his twenty-fourth.
Another, who pretends to no such object,
said that he thought that he had seen
half dozen or SO. When the list was
read over 20 him it proved that he had
seen eighteen. Another. who mas been
constant attendant at theatres for the
last thirty-five or forty years. said that
he thought that he must have seen ten.
1t proved that he had seen twenty-nine.
As there are only thirty-seven in all,
this may count as pretty good record
1t is probable that this man has missed
scarcely anything which has been played
in New York in the last thirty years, and
therefore his exact list may be interest
ing This is it, Hamlet" Macbeth"
Romeo and Juliet" "Othello," 1.-THE Mer-
chant of Venice" "As You Like It." "A
Midsummer Nights Dream" The Tam
ing Of the shrew." Julius Caesar
Measure for Measure" "All's Well That
Ends Well" "Coriolanus," king Lear"
Loves Labor's Lost" Two Gentlemen
of Verona The Comedy OF Errors"
''Cymbeiine.' Antony and Cleopatra"
1.-The Winters Tale king john King
Richard H. king Henry w." Part l;
King Henry W king Richard ILL.,"
King Henry VIII The Merry Wives Of
Windsor" Tempest Much Ado About
Nothing" Twelfth Night" He thought
that he had seen "All's Well That Ends
Well but was not sure.
This is pretty good list. and the plays
which are not contained in it are not
likely often to be seen by anybody. There
are only eight OF them. king Henry
w." Part IL: the three parts of King
Henry VI" Titus Andronicus," ..Timon
of Athens "pericles. Prince of Tyre
and ..Troilus and Cressida." Both I'll
mon and .'Pericles." however. have been
played in England within a short time,
and Richard Mansfield has long had
'.Timon" in his mind. though he has not
yet got quite SO far as to play it.
Americans who have seen the less usual
plays of Shakespeare within the last few
years are indebted to Augustin DAILY for
many OF their opportunities, though other
managers and actors have helped good
of Da1 " INN ri a
productions of this sort was. of course,
1.-The Tanning of the Shrew.' When he
produced this play it has been so long
known on the stage only in it's abbreviated
form called Katharine and Petruclio'
that it had been almost forgotten that the
whole play was susceptible of stage set
ting. THE Merry Wives Of Windsor" was
also for a time little heard OF except en-
Mr.. Days stage. although it became quite
fashion few seasons ago, and William
II. Crane and Beerhohm Tree both played
it here. to say nothing Of the opera az
Midsummer Nights Dream is scarcely
to be counted among the unusual plays,
for it has had several productions CT late.
and company is making tour with it
this season. 1t is a long time since any
body but Mr.. DAILY has put Tempest"
Two Gentlemen of Verona" and Loves
Labor's Lost" on the stage in this coun-
try.
There have been two recent productions
OF the first part of king Henry w. by
Miss Julia Marlowe and Beerbohm Tree.
two Of King Henry VIII by Sir Henry
Irving and Nine. Modjeska, and two of
'Cymbeline." by Nine. Modjeska and Miss
Margaret Mather. Miss Mary AndeI ol
closed her stage career in this country
with 1.-The Winters Tale"