The Minneapolis journal., 1901-02-19
ADJUSTMENTS
Minnie TftteIl Burne In s'Theodora
at the Metropolitan.


The dramas of Sardou are written by a
Frenchman for the French public They are
primarily intended to satisfy the Gallo crav-
ing for sensation. All the ingenuity of the
most ingenious plotmaker France ever pro-
duced has been brought to bear on the one
problem Of how best to twang on the emo
tional string. History has been ransacked
for characters with unbridled and elemental
passions, and they have been set upon the
stage for the edification of the morbid sensa-
ton n-seekers of Paris. It is notable, too, that
Sardous story is usually one Of carnal love.
The form OF the Sardou play is tragic but 1t
usually lacks the tragic purpose which has
inspired the great tragedies of the English
drama and which '.nobly agitates' the be-
| holder. Not the barbaric splendor Of the
spectacle, not the fearful combat of love and
hate and jealousy can atone for this basic
defect Of the Sardou drama, which explains
its failure to attain any permanent place in
the regard of English-speaking peoples A
tragedy without a purpose is frivolous, no
matter how ingeniously the playwright works
upon the emotions Of his audiences.
Theodore" is one of the best examples of
the Sardou drama. In construction it rivals
in workmanship anything in the French
drama. But, after all, it is simply the story
of the carnal love of a tigerish woman for a
splendid man-animal. In the end she loses
his love and her life. The story is full of
moving situations that harrow and even ap-
pal, but there is not even the old Greek
idea of relentless fate overhanging the twain
to make it appeal to the nobler emotions.
Originally written for the frivolous but in
tense Sara Bernhardt, it was exploited in
| America by Fanny Davenport and later by
Lillian Olcott. But it never pleased the
American audience and will not now, gor-
geous spectacle though 1t be. Mrs Minnie
Tittell Brune, who has elected to make her
claims to starhood through this medium,
realizes the historical Byzantine empress
rather than the twisted Sardou version OF
that remarkable woman. The Theodore OF
history, whatever may be the truth as to the
scandals of her early life retailed by Proco-
plus, was a ruler Of marvellous administra-
tive talent as well as a woman of good i'm
pulses. 1t is impossible, of course, for Mrs.
Bruno to escape entirely from the conditions
imposed upon her by the dramatist, but new
ertheless she has contrived to inspire one
with certain sympathy for the empress as
a woman who loves as a woman should. She
subordinates the feline quality with which
Sardou invests mis- heroines and emphasizes
the feminine aspects of the character Her
escapades incognito become merely the girl
ish larks Of a young and lively woman tired
for the nonce Of wearing crown She puts
off her majesty and enjoys herself with her
old companions of the circus and with her
| lover WHO uO6S not KNOW Qer Quality but
| loves her for the simple, passionate girl she
seems. Mrs. Bruno thus makes the charac-
ter more sympathetic, but she goes far afeld
| from the Sardou-Bernhardt standard and
| doubtless loses something in dramatic inten-
sity thereby. Her acting gives promise. She
has power, though of comparatively slight
physique. She has the temperament But
she is not Of heroic mold, and Theodore. the
supple tigress, is not well within her metier
| There are but two other roles in the play
that offer much opportunity for characterize
| ton. One is Andreas, the young revolution
ary, whose secret amour with the empress
forms the basis of the story. Thisais played
with intelligence and strength by E. l.. Sna-
der, who has the physique but not the heroic
features demanded by the role. The other is
| the Emperor Justinian, rather over
wrought portrait Of whom is given by Hudson
Liston. The cringing cowardice Of the man
is well depicted by Mr.. Liston, but bis keen
calculating intellectually is overlooked
As whole the spectacle is not yet well
correlated, and the waits made necessary by
the elaborate scenery are rather long. One
glaring solecism for which there seems nc
excuse is the mob's habit of singing in
French. "A bas Theodora,' = they sing, for
play was being translated into English, the
songs should have been EngIished too. OF
| the minor characterizations mention should
| perhaps be made OF the Marcellus of John
Sturgeon, which was rather stacy but still
effective, and the BelisaEius OF John w.
Thompson, which was at least dignifed II