The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-01-19
STAGE ART AND LITERATURE.
COMMON SENSE AND UNCOMMON
NONSENSE ABOUT THEN.

The subject brought Into Pertinence by
Mrs. Patrick Campbcil's Acting and
the Plays She Uses-The New Tho
aires and Good Stage Progress
Common sense and nonsense
have Characterised the reception OF Mrs
Patrick Campbell on our stage. But the
foolishness has not amounted TO much.
There has been little Of silly ado. A re-
markably clever and singular actress has
been welcomed and appreciated by dis
eliminating audiences. She has been rated
kindly yet candidly by the newspaper
critics nj her true worth, abused by mono
and unduly extolled by none. The nom
sense printed In connection with her has
been confined almost altogether 70 COM
ments on the plays which she has chosen
! TO present, and has come from sources
habitually too ridiculous TO get other than
amused attention. The most charming
parts Of 'Magda' passed the audience
writes one who seems TO think that Moth
ing lees sharp than a divorce detectives
eye can see all there IL In Sudermann's
plain. simple. crude drama OF a woman's
debasement, as they are likely to pass
any ordinary English-speaking audience,
unobserved.' The full impudcnce OF that
insult could not be made clear without
describing cruelty tho status OF the chap
who hurled II at an aSsenblage far above
him TO hit. The Republic was filled last
Monday night by people exceptional in
culture, trained by familiarity with the best
stage achievements TO appreciate dra-
matte art or literature. keen T. get the
utmost meaning of anything peculiar in
writing or acting. They will possibly be
surprised. but surely not distressed, 20
learn OF this charge that "Magda," a play
no more subtle than uncle Toms Cabin, '
, was beyond their comprehension. This
silly fellow is not alone in his afectation
Of superiority over people mentally better
endowed and happily free from his pain
full grotesquery Of pose Some Others are
like him in asserting abnormal sensitive
ness to stage art, but they are. after all,
very few to the many who are also sensible.
He Ia too comic to get angry at. Like a
man who learns that the bathtub In his
fiat il not made TO keep coal in, and lmme-
diatelv expects 10 astonish the world with
the doctrine that cleanliness il next 10
godliness. this beiated discoverer of dra-
matte things that the rest Of us have known
a long time Is a laughable loon.
Mrs. Campbell does not put herself IN
the wnv Of ridicule rs a false pretender.
She does the best abe can for dramatic
art and literature. and ~refrains from talk
ing loftily about her purposes. She ap
plies her gifts and accomplishments bravely
70 the representation Of Sudermans, Biorn-
son, Maeterlinck and Echegaray characters
in plays that do not yield widely Raleablc
entertainment but she does not pirate
absurdlv that they are above easy com
prchension, or that people who do not
care to see shocking performances are
ward OF merit Is ample. too. Her outfit
for that limo Of work Is ample and she recon-
mends herself strongly TO a relatively
small vet remuneratively sufficient portion
- Al. ,A,l1, 1hn AIlf4y - .kA a,a,
toned roles. and their c~onsonance with
her unique person. have helped her To
a fame which no one should beg udya
her. and to a commercial prosperity indl-
cntcd by a theatre oiled at 81 q chair. Her
attitude is devoid OF cant. fglse pretcnce
or any kind OF humbug This Is a do
lightful relief from what we have endured
ia some other actresses Her earliest
New York predecessor MS the deCadent
Paula Temporary was n fluent talkcr about
a fancied deplorable degradation 81 the
stage. An eminent sister in the cause
of dramatic reformation denounced the
condition OF our dramatic afl'rs - in
tolerably wicked, vet sd" hal introduced
tho nasty -Nadie-di.- and was about 70
revive the indecent Measure for Measure.
A later ard striking cHsn Of great cry
and no wool l. that OF az artist who. while
prosppring several years with two p,g''
IN which the heroine, were paid .7rvI''r,
Of ,.n, attitudiuiznd @, q martyr in th'
cause Of pure profr, .oaal',n. SON"
people believed tlit all ne did wac night
aud that pretty nearly very Other tho
atrical thing waH wrong. Especially tHh
rave the lmrrta siou that literature vas Oh,
,rarc. "a, art ~tn The actors b.oaus' M ~
aReI, coul5 not and would not discern tho
aburGgat EenIus IN the Iu,"r'It. olcr"d
a. them. A. 'Ae wac "a clever aril' VIA
p vogue -lflri-ut g. command tn attention
81 our nfiurlt public. b. was expected by
the .r-dLlo.., Tint her opening Of a tl,a''u
~ seN York meant tie disclosure Il flw
literature Do the bes, art methods fEf
the first ploss produced vas WuTfhlgnt,
the s,cond was sin,o5, az Ipor qnd ,ai'
regret over Tho outcome Of her entcrprita.
ard al,l a .H.iJL, tbs point ~ VIII Do ~
sharprurd iu,f nov by Mrs '~ampu@iIs
different rKp-n"ncs
sit theatre, arr "a b. built In ~ rl.,e 20
broadway within a year Tho Frovtho -
the theatrical hu,.uo., b. Nov York ,u'-
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