The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-25

scene. the first act the most active person
ages of the play are introduced. 1t is the
roof OF the house OF Fur. Simondes,
slave that has had charge of the affairs
or his now dead master, has come TO report
10 MS mistress sne great prosperity OF MS
enterprises. She bios him keep them I'm
his charge until her son shall be OF an age
TO accept the responsibility. Simonides de-
parts without meeting Ben-Hur. The young
man brings his friend, MESSIAH, who has
been spending several years in Rome and
has returned to Jerusalem soldier. lie
reveals a cruel and sensual nature and de-
clares to Ben-Hur that If he Is to get the
best out of life he must join the Romans
and forget that he is a lew. On this tney
quarrel, and Messiah leaves the house In
a rage. The Roman trumpets are heard,
and the legions march in the street below.
Ben-Hur, anxious himsei. TO become SOL
der that he may some day De able 10
help emancipate his people, eagerly gazes
over the parapet Of the roof. Accidently
he loosens a tile and IL falls, striking down
the Roman commander. Soldiers rush into
the house, led by Messiah Ben-Hur, his
mother and sister are seized and dragged
out. Messiah refusing to help his old friend
TO show his innocence.
The second act Is the best OF the play,
because IL Is charged with the brutality of
the time-the interior of the Roman gal
ley is a wildly impressive picture. The
oarsmen are in three tiers on either side.
In the center sits the master, beating time
for the strokes or the oars. A battle is at
hand. and soldiers. unheeding the shrieks
of the slaves, chain them to their oars.
est effort and the din within is joined by
the of conflict without. The enemy
pOurs into the ship. Ben-Hur, who has
not been chained on order OF the tribune
Arrius, helps TO resist the foe. The ship
comes into collision with another, and
breaks, and the scene closes with men rush.
ing wildly about in the darkness, confused
and terrified. Then Ben-Hur's rescue of
Arrius is shown; the young Jew holds the
Roman on a piece of wreckage until, after
fight with the waves. their cries are
a iowa
them to pick them up.
In the third act Simonides and his daugh-
ter, Esther, are in their home at Antioch.
The masterful slave is a wreck, huddled in
chair. He has given up hope Of ever
again seeing any member of the family of
Hur, but he has bought the house in Jeru-
salem. When Ben-Hur stands before him
he refuses TO believe in his identity, but
when the young man. now in the trappings
of Roman soldier. leaves, Simonides has
watcher follow him. Hur goes TO the
grove of Daphne-"begun by Apollo and
completed by him'-and there Simonides's
servant accosts him and explains the amor
Gus meaning of the continuous festival
Ben-Hur protects BalthaZar and his daugh-
ter. Iras, when a charioteer is about to
drive over them, and in the driver he rec
ognizes Messiah Through BalthaZar he
meets the sbiek Ilderim and gets the prom
Use that he will be permitted to drive the
Arabs horses in the circus races, where, II
he wins, he will ruin Messiah. He feels the
charm of the Egyptian girl, hefghtening the
intoxcation of the approach of victory.
Iras also Is the most potent factor in the
fourth act, which takes place in the tent
| of the shiek and on the shore of the lake
of Daphne Simonides. carried TO the tent
| by his servants, declares to Ben-Hur that
4 ha md ia Tor a m a =
| slaves, and gives to him statement of his
| immense fortune. Ben-Hur at first will not
accept, but at length yields. When the
| others go to dine, he slips out 10 join lras
| and floats away on the lake with her in a
| barge. They return to shore just in time
| for Simonides and Esther to see them to-
| gether.
The fifth act contains the race, but be-
| fore IL Ben-Hur renounces Iras, whom he
now sees as a bestial. and begs the forgive
ness of Esther, whom he begins to love.
| The race is thrilling, with the noise of the
| horses pounding hoofs the shouts OF the
populace, the dropping Of one of MESSIAH
wheels. and Ben-Hur,s triumph. The next
| Esther are in the palace OF Hur in Jeru-
| salem. Ben-Hur comes to them with news
| of the Nazarene, relating that He is not to
| lead an army of Jews against the Romans,
| but is a peaceful man whose being radiates
| marvellous light and who heals the sick and
raises the dead as He progresses toward
| Jerusalem. Exalted by what he has seen.
| Ben-Hur is at the next moment plunged
| into despair at the information that his
| mother and sister are lepers, living In the
| vale of Hnnom, and that they endured
solitary confinement in a filthy cell for
/ years. He rushes out to seek them. The
second scene is in Hinnom. Hur, exhaust
| ed, lies upon rock, and his mother
and sister, finding him, can only look
| and must not touch. The old serv-
ant. Amrah. tells them that they
they go on with her to join the multitude
| of worshipers at Mount Olivet The throng
| in the way of the Nazarene is waving palm
branches and singing hosannas. The two
| them falls shaft or white light, purifying
| them. The scene changes to the valley.
Hur awakes and friend takes him to meet
his mother and sister. Again the mount
| is seen, and amid the rejoicing and loud
| reclamation Of the Messiah, Ben-Hur is re-
united to his mother and sister, and they
| kneel In the Presence. The play ends.
| xxx
Accompanying the drama is music writ
ten for IT by Edgar Stillman Kelley and
played by an orchestra of twenty instru-
| ments The score has several motifs, %
| and they are sounded to suit the action.
The body of the company is large and is
effective, whether dancing in the grove of
| Daphne and chanting praise of Eros, or
fervently singing alteration of Christ. Me-
| chemically the drama moves quickly and
smoothly, and the crowds on the stage are
| so skillfully directed that there is no
| clumsiness or awkwardness to mar the
pictures. The play itself. as is herein in
| dicated. is a simple melodrama; in fact.
with its attendant music pure example
| of the melodramatic form. 1t is intended
for the eye and the outer ear, and the plot
| and characterization have purposely been
| made conventional so that the mass of the
| public may easily comprehend. Though
| Ben-Hur specifically appears noble he is
| singularly incapable and fatuous young
| man, and the rest of the characters, in or
| der that the scenes may fit easily, are fire.
| quently foolish and impossible. Ben-Hur S
amour with Iras is childish OF course,
| no person of intelligence will regard the
| play as or any consequence as an express
| sion of the Christian religion or an impart-
| ment of any but the crudest spirituality.
The production is intended a scenic
| work and so it's patron must take it if he is
| to get any value from it. II is well worth
| seeing from this viewpoint.
| William Farnum is the inpersonator OF
| Ben-Hur and does a skilful bit of acting
| in the narrative of his experiences with
| the Messiah. Ben-Hur is at once puzzled
| and inspired by the new message of super
| naturalism. Dodson Mitchell speaks with
| dignity and passion as the slave Simonides
| Henry Weaver, sr., is a stately shiek and
| Basil Gill a venomous Messiah. Miss Ellen
Mortimer, as Esther; Miss Mabel Mortimer
| as Iras, and Miss Helen Prindiville, as
| Tirzah are prettily girliSh, the Iras failine