The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-12-27


thoughtful auditor; more buyishy fraE-
i lie In aspect, and therefore Less an ob1snt
| OF extraneous interest ms woman out OF
petticonts. MoreoveR, ttds quite as fully
responsive to all the dramatic demands
Of the role. This last award OF merit
was not deserved By Mise Adams st the
close or her first performance at the
/ Kninkerbocker She had been touchingly
pathetic None OF the poor little camp
grievances or disabilities had been omit
ted form distinct expression. Ine nope
| lessneas OF his ambition and the despair
| OF his defeat had been revealed with a
quiet Sc bflety preferable to the positive
and daolamatory method employed by tire
more renowned actress. But in several
passages OF desirable stress, like the mir
ror and the battlefield scenes, Mics
Adams betrayed weakness, IL was
Thought. naturally, that she had not the
requisite strength. Ii Is sure now that
what she lacked was self-assurnnce
Doubtless. the importance OF the under
taking abashed her. A short season in
"Komeo and Juliee' had been the only
experience TO give-her. confidence In her
ABILITY to acquit herself well when The
| Eaglet rose from comedy into tragedy.
| Observation OF her acting last week dis
covered that she had supplied the detioi-
encss and that praise, which at nrst had
been qualified, might ct last be given
with no reserve her achieyemeng has
| become a great one"
NOTES.
Is 4. possible, after all. aska the New
York Times, that demonstrations OF nov
els fresh fIom the presses are not shortly
| to grow IN disfavcr, and the dramatist
who makes plays out OF his own materl-
ais, artistioaily, Is not to soon get the en-
couraRement he deservesf 80 shrewd an
observer OF the commeroiai SIDE OF the
| sheatrioals as Elizabeth Marbury seems
| to think SO This energetic lady has long
| been the agent here OF the society of
| French dramatic authors, OF some or tie
English women who write plays, and OF
a few American playwrtghts She has
| now, temporarily let us hope, enjsrged
her trade by establishing hook play"
department., in the conduct of which she
will be hslpen by Jeannetts l., Glider.
| Miss MRrbury announces that she Will
now he able 20 get books for quick DRAM
atizatiun fresh from the griddle. and that
| she has made ARRANGEMENTS 10 work In
the swifteSt fashion with all the publish
ers of note In the country. This 10 some-
| what alarming.
CLYDE Fitch ia rehearsing two compa-
| MES in new plays, both OF them to have
| their first performances early in January.
The Cliasbers." to be produced at the
Biiou theatre, with cast including
Amelia bingham, Frank Worthing, Hob
ert Edeson, Ferdinand Gottschalk, An
ME Irish, Clara Bloodgood and Minnie
Dupree, is four-act comedy OF modern
life The other piece, Captain links OF
the Horse Marines" is thIes-act come
dy.- which takes its title from William
Horace Lingar1's old song The action
| passes In New YORK In the year when the
song was new, and the Academy of Mu-
sic on Fourteenth street, rebuilt after
the fire OF 1865. was d splendid home OF
Italian opera and was still called new. :"
The heroine Is an American girl, who
/ A. b.Na md .saf n
her native land TO sing In opera. The
trend OF the piece is mirthful, with AL
ways a hint OF sentiment. The principal
part WAS designed for Ethel Barrymore,
who viii act 1t in Philadelphia, Janu-
AIRY z, and fortnight later, probably, in
New York. -. ..5.......-..
Zaza, acted by Blanche Hall and
Charles Frohman's, No. = company, had
q lively time during the Topeka engage
mant recently. The gallery declined TO
take the performances seriously and fol-
| lowed IL with zestful comments. When
| Zaza tried TO cut the steak the gods adj
yised her TO "get saw" and the Yari-
| ous oscillations and embraces of the chief
characters of the play were accompanied
| by limitations and fnank~@observRtfons
| from the upper regions of the playhouse.
| The New York Dramatic Mirror says:
| The season Ia not proving such a gold
mine In certain quarters as was expected
| at the opening of the campaign. Nearly
| all the foremost staIR-theY can be count.
| cd upon the fingers OF two hanCs-ar5 en-
| joying their usual prosperity. especially
| those of them that have popular plays.
| But the nun erous companies that come
| bstwix / and between these and the sue
oessful low price attractions ara not, as
q rule, meeting with similar good for
| tune.
| Mir. +. Marion Crawford who came
from Italy to witness the perfected pres
entation OF his play, lin the Palace OF
the King" took his departure on one OF
the North German Lloyd's liners. lie
goes direct TO Naples. below which city,
| ut Sorrento, he has his charming italian
hcn.e. When he returns to New York in
the latter part of January, Mrs. Craw-
ford will accompany him.
| The beautiful production OF Gen. Lew
Wallace religious romance, ben Hur,
has achieved a signal tri amph n Boston.
| or it the Herald says: ben Hur Ia,
without exception, as all who are oompe-
| tsnt to express an opinion have pro-
| nounced, the greatest production ever
placed upon O stage in this or any other
country. 1t Is a novelty in story and 10.
Gale and wide departure from anything
| ever before seen in America IN artistic
| innovations and devisttons from stage
| tradition" Following complete de-
scription Of the dramatic action, scenes
and music, the writer said. !" Ben Hur'
| u.s. sbIAOtAy spcaAhhBs INSTRUMENTATION v.
| the Wallace novel, but, in broader and
much more sign1tirent sense, IL IL a
dramatization OF the Bible itself, certain.
Iy Of that part of the Bible which has
been most Inspiring, most uplifting and
most helpful, and which has lett the
deepest imprint upon humanity. 1t Ia
for this reason that Ben Hur' appeals to
all Glasses, all ages, all denominations OF
the Christian church, and draws TO IL.
| as 60 place of worship, hundreds OF
thousands VINO seldom, il ever, set foot
| within theatre"
THE TRADES TOURNAMENT.