The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-03-23
JOE JEFFERSON COMES NEXT;
 THEATRES DARK THIS WEEK
Famous Actor, "the Dean Of the American Stagcn Will Present "The Rivals" Tuesday
 Night of Next Week.

productions from native piaywrjsht4.
 Now. however. manager hes s19ue6 with native dramatist . dvo year con~ tract in which the latter agrees to write play year during the period and tee manager agrees to produce the same sS geance. but as the writer has done eClN(f' excellent work in the past. and tho Nnnf ager is one of the best the public n9of not fear for the result. The public ie tt1
 "A play year! Whether man coa write one to order. under preosure, K0e mains to De seen. Sounds like ZamlGl bargain with Hersog. the Black Crock dred souls. a hundred years-it . VIII thee to live forever! &
 But whatever the outcome Of the eou- tract t f encourasing for the Amsstcsn are willing to take risks on the pro1neu of his pen"
 Production of s'Notrs Dame.n
 Tn spite of the fact that Daniel JseA- mans production of Paul Pottsf's 6Fo@ matization of ''Notre Dame" was ros ceived rather roughly by tho critics, thara. seems to be no doubt but that this yictoF Hugo piece will prove popular suoee11. It was given its first presentment q D4- ly's Theatre on the centennial of Hugot4 birthday. The dramatization is regnFIo1 as the best work that Mir. Potter has doii8 since Trtlby." and Mir. Frohman ha6 markable for lavish picturesqueness.
 The chief difYiculty encountsred by t&o crfticJ had to do with the unf1tneso o& the Daniel Frohman Stock Company f0g the interpretation of this kind of play. putting the finished artists of hi1 or9ank- sation into roles so widely different from the conventional society characters they have been accustomed to portray. Mrs Ef0hmAn woefully miscast.
 In his version. Mir. Potter has subordi- mated Quisimodo. the hunchback, as well aida; and Miss HiIda Spong, to whom thia role has been entrusted. seems to be en- tfrely out of her element. The public, however, seems to be less disturbed by the work of the company than the crit les were and the piece gives every indt- cation of being profitable venture.
 An Old Mans Argument.
 While in New Haven last season Jc- seph Jefferson addressed the Yale students on topics of the theatre. Regarding cient question as to whether Bacon or Shakespeare wrote the plays commonly credited to the latter, would say that in favor of the idea that Shakespeslrs wrote them. tDonnelly, in his 'crypto- gram asks how Is It that no manuscript plays in the handwriting of Shakespeare have como down to us: nothing but a few signatures I admit that this is re- markable. But none of them is in the handwriting of Bacon. Therefore. some one else wrote them, and since they are them. And if nobody wrote them. we not only lose our Shakespeare but Mir. Dom nelly didn't save his Bacon.
 Some years ago I saw set of dicks which. when revolved, spelled the scn- tence. I, Francis Bacop. wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare I turned the disks and made them spell: Edgar AL Ian Poe was the son-in-law of Lydia Pinkham.' I think we had better allow Shakespeare to rest upon his laurels.
 "Manru," Paderewski's Opera.
 A New Pork critic writing of Pzder- ewsiis, opera 'Manru.. says:
 f'The second performance on Friday night of Paderewski's new opera .Mah- ri.' at the Metropolitan Opera House. seemed to confirm the first impression that the faults of the opera are due more. to the librettist than to the dis
 "Dramaticaily the first two acts are wcefully weak. and musicaliy they do not rise to a standard that particularly get and W,yner are strongly apparent. particularly in the opening forge scene of the second act, when the orchestra takes the aucitor back to the first act
 
 ner. It Is in the third act where the coua- poser rises to adequately meet the tre- mendous theme of the drama and has written a score that gives 'Manru the distinction Of masterpiece. Manru, the gypsy has married Clana, a village maid. and forsaken his people: and his strug- gle between love for wife and child and the hereditary instinct to wander drivca him to mad flight 10 wilderness of the mountains. and there. alone. he triee to fight out the battle A storm Is rag ing In the hills, as tumultuous as that which rages in his soul, and as he sinks into deep slumber exhausted. but still disturbed by the conflict within him. the orchestra tells the story of the tempest within the man and the tempest in tho mountains.
 Here 1t is that Paderewski has done a most masterly piece of writing. He is in his element-among the gypsies and the wild. weird melodies of the race have been created and handled with tremen- dous effect Later when the gypsies ar- rive and finally induce Manru to desert his wife Paderewski has written, with the skill of a master.
 'Whether sManru' succeeds or faflss the third act. despite the weakness Of th{ libretto. will forever vindicate the pianist as musician of masterly ability ana great resource"