The sun., 1901-12-18
MONEYS WORTH AT THEATRES
sHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY FOR A
QUARTER or A DOLLAR.
A bronson Howard Drama At the Same
Low rice-DarEains In Diverslon
sought by MOdlsh Women. VINO Find
the Quality Higher Than the Cost.

the Quality Higher Than the Cost.
The audiences at two Of our the atres
Yesterday afternoon showed that not all
the women In quest OF holiday bargains
were spending the day in the department
stores. Hardly less than a thousand Of
them. well. and often very modishly
dressed and manifestly well within the
lines Of social and intellectual culture,
were In the matinee assemblages at the
American and the Murray Hill. They were
aware that the performances by the over
worked and TO some extent miscast stock
companies Of Greenwall and Donnelly
were not comparable with those given under
easier conditions In Broadway houses,
but they were paying each only n quarter
of q dollar for parquet seats instead OF
two dollars. and they appreciated bargain
when they saw it in drama as quickly as
though it were in dry goods. They had
not been fooled by any OF the nonsense
about revival Of the good old methods
of resident companies and weekly changes
OF plays. They knew the entertainment
was not nearly the best but astonishingly
good at the price, and they bought IL under
standingly and satisfactorily. 1t IL Like
that every day.
The Donnelly PLAYERS gave, q spirited
representation Of THE Tanning OF ths
shrew.' In fact. it wa. almost violent,
that made these actors treat a Shakespeare
comedy as they would a French farce;
when they had acted Twelfth Night
and AS You Like IT. they paid strict heed
10 the beauties OF the verse, but the con-
tentions of Kdtherine and Petruchio did not
appeal TO them with great rhetorical value.
and so they amused their audience much
as they had done with TOO Much Johnson
and why Smith Left Home The ar
rangement Of the play used Is credited to
George Henry Trader, who acts the trans, z,
closely resembles the one made by Au-
gustin DAILY for Ada Rehan. leaving In the
seldom acted prologue and the minor
characters omitted in the Garrick form
called katherine and Petruchio.' and
later altered by Edwin Booth for his own
use The matter that 0arrick and Booth
left out is generally believed not to have
been written by Shakespeare, and IL surely
not worth retaining. Alice johnson acts
Katherine in vein OF spirited farce. maxi
ing her funny vixen, whose temper finds
outbreak in strange screams and hard
contortions. In the scene of Pefruchio's
announcement Of their coming marriage
she fees from him TO a sofa. and standing
thereon mlsses her hair and screeches
and jumps In rage. William Bralnweu
IA more usual as Peiruchio. but quite as
amusing, and Laura Hope Crews Is charm
ing as Blanca. The DAILY idea OF making
Curtis a woman, SO that Mrs Gilbert might
have a part. is followed, Roselle de Vaux
playing the old creature
The Greenwall company's task this week
u at the same time easier and harder than
the ponnelly's Easier because Shakespear-
can parts are harder to act adequately. and
harder because play that Is interesting
Ill. All
Is nowhere near so good as the Tanning
Of the Shrew," literary values left out Of
the argument. The same leniency on the
part Of the audience is necessary. Aside
from the acting, which is nearly always
from the outside OF q character, illustrative
OF only the salient points. there is much in
scenery and costumes in ~Aristocracy- that
would be too expensive 70 represent faith
fully ar the American. Three court gowns
that the women wear in which to be pre-
sented 70 Queen Victoria would cost small
fortune In themselves. And drawing rooms
In New York, London and San Francisco
are barely sugg ,sted by stock scenery.
But II is an odd fact that Bronson Howard,s
drama has done better IN such revlvas
with pictorial and interprctntive disadyan-
tages than Il did in the first fine product ion
at Palmers in 1892 That cast had Blanche
Walsh, Viola Allen, William Faversham and
Wilton Lacksye a. its leaders. This one
has no one OF Broadway fame. At Palmer 3
the court gowns were 50 beautiful as 10
excite more comment than the play; here
they are makeshifts Yet -ArlstoCracy
was a failure ia Broadway and is one Of The
more popular among stock plays
Both Of these facts are not mex plainahle.
People who support the stock companies
take the plays more or less on their repu'a-
ton Somehow 'AristocTacy" has gotten
classed In The public mind with The Charity
BALI ana Men and Women, and then, too,
Bronson Howard's name a. author carnes
some weight An important point in Its
stock prosperity Is that it, parts are not
~ all complex, and therefore easily acted
by persons who have only five days IN which
70 study them. Some Of the best plays
81 Pneio and Jones are Impossible Tor tho
Murray Hill and American is-caus" the com
pleIity and subt.e'V ~ ia" characterira-
lions cannot h. oppressed 10y hurried ac-
tors The reason ol the original failure
u NJ HUWari's play i- even 'sslef 10
understand Hi- pcronages are dummies
With dramatlst's TsilsJHS Tor What lhey 90
or sAy instead Of emotions AMI indiNiduhl
thoughts The plhy IL written "a the old
slyls - the good IsuTl" ul good ahd The
villains all lad. Just l-oauEs they want to
be bad With loyalty 10 country rather
than 90 NATURE. Mr Howard uaksv all lis
virtues American uHt all his Nlos- ior.ig
But ti. gn,atr-t fault nf -AnstncIary-
10 % thr cruciaItoens M"n start ~ hgh.
With kufr And screaming woman ~
sGaitlrg HIIuutts. I4f rutdrily they rfup
and all - gu'f'ly iH Isd win an aiulH1i ilo
ss,llrmeut iu'lIrllr boa tN' ins' a"i
Mirie Madden Il-Ao vlu y. aut - 'ls
Mariatian Boz Jauuay 90 February Hhs
las i,,H uifouurats iu 'Hr plaSs chua- q
g. pfO.I4" fiuu u'ir. anI l..iuras hau is'"n
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