The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-07

peror as a reward for his service In behalf
OF the German language and dramatic art
in this country. This season his company
is 10 present. in German, plays by Goethe,
Hauptmann Sudermann. Calderon. Mo-
here Sardou. Goidsni. Bracco. Shakespeare,
Sheridan, Bronson Howard and. even, Chi
nese, japanese and Indian writers. A sort
of review Of the worlds dramatic literature
Is planned. 1t probably will materialize
somewhat like the American circus. Mr..
Conried swaggeFs considerably under
praise heaped him by weil-educated
New Workers. that have a vague idea OF
1.-The higher drama" He likes TO tell col
lege boys what small. mean thing the
American theater is. And he makes such
silly statements rs this: I'm Germany
everything is Hauptmann and Sudermann
problem plays. To those problem plays
attribute the lack Of good actors. The ro-
mantle clement is lost and the young are
not inspired; their ambitions are rather
crushed" Every play. as Mr.. Conried
should know. presents problem If IL have
a plot. The plays slans.ly called problem
plays'-written by Hauptmann, Suder-
mann. Ibsen and Pinero. for instance-have
agreeable TO incompetent minds. They
Crush the ambitions" OF young actors be-
cause the young actors are incapable of
understanding them.
new musical comedy written for Edna
May by Paul NJ Potter and Leslie Stuart,
viii be presented In London before this
IL.
''Florodora" music Mr.. Potter is best
known as a writer OF plays but he helped
bilI Sye in the iioretto OF The The s Ea
kir for Thomas .. Seabrooke.
Mrs. James Brown Potter is on a recital
tour in England. At Douglass she had
an audience of 5000 At the Bristol Music
Festival she is TO recite the tragedy,
'bergiiot," and Greigs musical accompani-
ment Will be played by an orchestra OF
49, directed by the Norwegian composer.
Miss Percy Haswell is acting in Robert
Marshall "A Royal Family" which Miss
Annie Russell and her company presented
here last season.
THE thought of Mr.. Mansfield and Shak-
speare," says the Philadelphia Public Ledg-
er and Times. always recalls w. S. Gil
| heTt's expression of opinion as to Mr..
Trees Hamlet-that ii was very, very fun
ny and not the least bit vulgar.
XXX
The annual struggle of New York crit
les TO classify the Rogers Brothers enter
| tainment is just over. The consensus
is that John McNally's book and Maurice
Lewis music, which form THE Rogers
| Brothers in Harvard" are about of the
| value of the brothers previous vaude-
Vile farces. OF the Rogers place Hillary
Bell writes thus sensibly in the New York
| Press:
Some folk like the Rogers brothers, and
there are enough OF them to support these
| entertainers against all odds. Opinions will
! differ concerning the talent of our humor-
! lists and the wit Of Mr.. McNally. There
are those who argue that this author is
| merely mild copy of Charles Hoyt, and
! that his stars are only imitators of Weber
and Fields. These are distinctions too
subtle. When you apply them generally it
will be found that Virginia Harmed began
| Marie Cahill Is an imitator of Marie Dress
Ter and May Irwin, that Willie Collier
| came into popularity as caricature OF
| Augustin DAILY, and that by initiating
! everybody In It, Cissy LOTUS at last has
| secured a place in the drama. Types are
rare. Originality is almost exhausted. II
| invention be barren IL Is excellent to choose
a good model. Hoyt, in his way, was a
genius. He abounded in clever conceits, he
| had familiar wit, his humor was swift and
| colloquial. For a mold into which to pour
his effort the Boston man could do not bet
ter than to select the lines laid down by
the author of "A Trip to Chinatown.
Weber and Fields, similarly, have set a
standard which Is easier TO initiate than tC
improve upon. Until they uplifted him into
an exact dramatic art the Dutch character
comedian was clownish element of vaude-
| willie. These actors remained unrivaled
In their especial field of enter tainment un-
til, under their guidance, David Warfiel6
| was developed into a fine actor, equally
proficient In humor and pathos. The latter
quality Weber and Fields have avoided
content to be beyond competition In the
former. Yet their art is something toe
adroit in technique for the ordinary humol