The Washington times., 1902-12-23


Is carriage. a poetic mind. and a tender
heart The play was sadly shortened
although il still held the auditor in his
seat more than four hours-and 1t was
in several instances. all OF them to the
sad mangling OF the written play. bold
Iy remade to suit the actors This was
the conception OF the part which Booth
accepted. and. according to Mr.. Sothern's
press announcements, if has been close
ly followed i'm this latest production.
Each great actor contributed a thread
Of personality to the role. of course,
which coIored the whole pattern. Kean
was essentially oratorial, Wallack,
formal and classic; Junius Brutus Booth
SO spiritual and profound In his melan-
choly that his influence wa felt even
when he was not on the stage: Forrest
incontinently strong and well fed; Dav-
cnport scholarly and quiet; Edwin Booth
melancholy. romantic. magnetic. tender,
1.-THE in figure, and woudrously poetic.
Mr.. Sothern's Hamlet. however other
wise designated. is. II written testi-
mony is valuable in such case, tho
most volatile and spirited OF the en-
tire series. He Eesticulates with much
freedom. His voice is often pitched high
and loud His asides are often eX-
pIetive In brief. he presents Hamlet
as a man OF vivid. flesh and blood i'm
pulses. aroused by the widest and deep
est emotions life can evoke. He is con-
sistentIy intellectual and intelligent; his
bearing is regularly vigorous AID grace
ful. and he is manifestly the sane man,
swayed by supernatural visions and deep
emotion. and affecting madness merely
for the fulfHment OF his revengeful pur-
pose. He is more man Of action than
the traditional Hamlet, an achievement
entirely conformable with the written
play If attained by other methods, and
less the man OF perpleXity. confusion.
self-involution. and hopeless melan-
choly. THIS is at least the effect OF his
acting. however he may conseiye the
role. and IL is an effect which rouses his
audience to an unexpected sympathy for
the young Dane. Last nights auditors
applauded him vociferously at the close
Of each act Cexcept the fourth. wherein
he does not appear. and interrupted the
action at the close OF nearly every one
of his more notable speeches.
It will be seen. then. that Mr.. soth-
ern's enactment OF this year. like that
shown last year, is a disappointment 10
those who regard Hamlet as Shakespeare
and he long line OF Mr.. Sothern's pre-
deee ssors regarded him. Hamlet Is es-
s.ntiaIly a prince OF melancholy. His
temperament is distinctively introspec-
tive. He is palpably a man Of deep.
thought and tardy action. AS the poet
Shelley designated #. his character is
wrapped in its own shapeless horror.
tender Mr.. sothern is torceful ar loud
spoken. Where the prince is he ,itant,
Mr.. Sothern Is violent.
II Mr.. Sothern intended to reproduce
the Betterton Hamlet he has failed sig
nally. II, as seems more likely the case,
he has conceived his Hamlet along in
dependent lines, he has sacrificed the
delicacy Of the role for an inutile force
and unpOetic virility. James Russell
Lowell regarded the main actors Of the
story as fortuitious sacrifices TO Ham
let's trresolution. The lesson OF the
drema he felt 10 be this. That will is fate,
and that when viii once abdicates the
inevitable successor in the regency is
chance. Both OF these judgments are op-
posed by Mr.. Sothern, effectively. earn
estly and effectively. He seems TO have
looked at TIE poem from the outside,
when like a stained glass window il ap-
pears clouded and confused. But the
/ force Of the presentment is indisputable.
Of this unconventional enactment
much can be said in defense. In tho ut
I terances OF great passions something
must be INDUCED TO the extravaganza OF
nature; the subdued tones TO which
/ pathos and sentiment are limited cannot
( express a tempest OF the soul. Wilson
Barrett's warning against the tradition
/ Of Hamlet. already quoted. must be
i borne in mind. IL must be remembered
/ that Shakespeare intended 10 present in
] EaLulFl uNN a new meta illfHlGdA entity T,
/ but a man OF flesh and blood although
] 70 Is decidedly curious that the character
/ is prophetically typical Of that introyer-
/ sion Of mind which Is so constant phe-
/ nomenon OF these latter days. OF that
/ overconsciousness which wastes itself
OF analyzing the motives Of action in
stead OF acting. Finally there come the
words OF Edwin Booths magnanimous
/ defense Of Barrett;
/ "What right have ]. whose tempera-
mcnt and mode OF thinking may be dis
similar 20 yours. to denounce your ex-
position Of such a puzzle as Hamlet? He
/ is the epltome Of mankind. not an in
| dividual. sort OF magic mirror in
: which all men and all women see the re-
/ nex OF themselves; ana. therefore has
l his story always been, Is stlll, and will
ever be the most popular Of stage TRACE
dies" A D. A.
"York State Folks" at the Lafayette
A fair-sized audience last night en-
joyed Wrights York State Folks" at
the Lafayette opera House. Announced
on the program as "the prettiest Of all
DasfOrgl uIavg -' the attraction goee fa-