New-York tribune., 1901-04-30
THE DRAMA.
MISS CRosAfAS AS NELL awYS
wALLACK's THEATRE.

hf>SASrsCfN hAIEE.
About seventy years ago it occurred to IN. h-,,,
.ent and cynical Douglas Jerrold that a ,alutarv
play might be derived from the story such as ,t Z.
OF the life Of Nell Gwyn, q play tending To Illus
trate her good influence over that needles. vo
luptuary King Charles IL and so fashioned as
20 indicate that she was q good creature. though
environed by cepravity, and that error-neantng
prohigate indulgence-was forced lpon her bv cir
oumstances rather than INDUCED from choice
With this view he wrote q two-act comedy Of a
fsrccal character, using incidents suggestions
from Burnet. Downes, Grammont Pepys ETC.
showing her as orange girl, contriving comic
beginning for her acquaintance with King Charles
and eliminating with her engagement at the Kings
Theatre The play acted at Covent Garden:
Il pleased the London public: # soon made way
10 America; and, with one or another singing
actress In i7 principal character it long held
session OF the stage till. other ephemeral favor
iies. It presently dropped out of and gradually
faded out OF remembrance.
These old themes, however. continually recur. and
some OF the best successes in the present
only variants of fortunate hits in the past. About
a year ago the subject of Nell Gwyn again
into the prospect, and plays about that dissolute
but piquant actress of the Restoration now
as plentiful as huckleberries-and about as nutri-
tious Miss Henrietta Crosnan seems TO have been
first IN the field. and. upon the American part OF
the course, she has made the record and she
holds the lead. No one of the various Nell Gwyn
plays entitled least consideration as his
tory. Jerroids s play used the eXpe0ent 0T mySti-
fcstion-bringing Nell into discourse with the
arnorous and lcentious monarch. while keeping her
IN ignorance of his identity, and of the
dramas follow that example,; but Jerrold's play is
neither absurd with ntmation OF political intrigue
nor grandiloquent with heroics about patriotism.
nor silly with sentiment 1t has remained for ferrd
playwrights OF the present day TO depict Charles
Stuart a serious lover. In Mr.. Hazletons play
the fate Of nations hangs tremulous upon
ans word, and the honor OF England is theme
E-@rf hlrvw nS T9rrs
no observer will greatly TO consider curious
ly' such fantastic matters these. 1t is per-
fectly true that great events may spring from
little causes. The merchants of London. by
monetary pressure the merchants of Genoa,
were able TO delay for a whole year the sailing of
the Spanish Armada. The Peace Of Utrecht re-
suited from the spilling of a glass of water on
Mrs. Masham's gown. And, anyway, everything is
possble-on the stage.
The spectator Of Miss CrosInan's Nell Gwyn sees
en- intrepid and expeditions young woman, who.
with the devotion Of patriot saves her royal
lover from the ignominious crime of selling his
country to a foreign power. and with the courage
Of a hero and the agility of acrobat. makes
light equally of the powers of war and the laws
of nature, defying both grenadiers and gravita-
ton, bursting unharmed through shattered case
rnents and scaling lowered citades with the
wings Of g dove She speaks IN capital broguc-
likewise. this madcap adventures, she can be
racily profane. and she wears the raiment OF
man with galliard grace and coquettish allurement
She is necessarily spirited. IN Miss Crosmans en-
bodinent, ripping with mirth. afluent with animal
spirits nirnble in banter. piquant in mischievous
frolic lovely and sweet to hear; and once or
twice she indicates by certain subtlety Of tone
deep tenderness of feeling In the actress the chief
charm is impetuous sincerity, and the chief grace
Is a 1.-THE, supple, and finely expressive breadth Of
gesture With coherent and homogeneous char
acter-such, for example, Farquhar's Oriana or
Reade's Peg woffington.-she would create COM
pete illusion and command unbroken sympathy
With Mr. fEazletons Nell Gwyn she cannot quite
accomplish this result for the that the play
is "a thing of shreds and patches" made up OF
sporadic episodes and OF incidents that are either
trivial or incredible downright impossible. Tho
first act IS picture and prattle Some hint OF plot
appears in second. but al movement pauses for
the alehouse interlude of the third beginning again
IN the diffuse and protracted scene OF the ball.
which is the fourth. and merging into a
new theme at the last. Made in this fashion,
play may easily be expanded to fifty
acts as condensed into five. Furthermore, the
uolitical intrigue is preposterous. Miss Crosman.
though has done wonders with her material She
had a royal welcome, from a good house; she was
two or three times recalled after each curtain; and
her success was positive and triumphant The com
position Of her company is shown in the cast. Mr.
Aubrey Boucicault, as Charles the Second gave a
performance as vacuous ii was blatantly osten-
tatious without dignity or retirement or the least
partcle Of fascination, in fibre and noisy IN
utterance. Indeed. most OF the male performers
whether dukes. earls. actors, or tavern skinkers'
seened disposed to substitute vociferation for
speech and a violent demeanor for expressive &C
ton Mr William Herbert as broken down old
fiddler was eyanesccntly pathetic, in well worn
vein Some Of the dialogue of Mr. Hazletons play
is humorous and sprghtly, particularly as spoken
by Miss Crosman. The revival ought to have long
W. W.