The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-04
ADJUSTMENTS
William n. Crane In "pavId Harum" ut
5 .t the Metropolitan.


William II. Crane In "DavId Harum" At
s the Metropolitan.
AS q, study in human Bacterizatton.
William Fl, Cranes David Harlim IS
triumph Of the actors art. AS a play
David Harum" Is not worthy OF serious
consideration.
The one thing In Westcott's book that
must have commended 1t to the stage
adapter was the rare old character OF
Harunl himself, aside Of course from the
financial success that might reasonably be
expected to spring from the books pop
ularity. This hope Of evoking a dramatic
success out Of a literary success is the
procuring cause Of the food Of adaptation
that curses the stage to-day.
But David Harum" even less readily
than most of the novels that have been
run through the adaptation mill lends
itself to the dramatic form. It Is rather
fine character sketch than novel. To
be sure it has love interest and q plot,
but both are tenuous and indeed. the
subject matter of the book had narrow
escape from being printed originally as
series Of character sketches. The at
tempt that has been made: to build up
around the character Of David Harum
a play Of plot and action Is a failure. The
horse trading story and the affa1r OF the
Widow ,Culluna's mortgage, are cleverly
utilized, but the love story of John Len
OK and Mary Blake which Is relied upon
az the main theme proves quite unequal
to the strain put upon 1t. From the out
| set the interference Of Mary's guardian
seems both futile and foolish and, as it
goes on, one Is assailed with serious
doubts as to the sanity Of the old gen
| tleman. ~
| But to have seen David Harum in the
| flesh, to have heard his chuckle to have
laughed over his shrewd humor and home
ly philosophy as they fell from his lips
| to have seen the sale of the balky bay
horse to the deacon and to have brushed
away tear as Dave told the story OF
Billy B. Cullurn's circus benehcence as a
preface to his payment of a lifelong debt
| to the widow-these are experiences that
| make the play OF David Harum' well
worth while. They are experiences Tor
which we are indebted to William r.
! Crane The greatest successes IN Mr.
Cranes long and brilliant career nave
| been those in which he played typicai
| American characters and his latest por-
| trait OF an American is the finest and
most lovable OF them all. He brings
| David Harum very close home to US.
| When the last curtain goes down we 1eei
| that we have seen the actual man-not
merely his outer appearance, when Is
lifelike even to the wart on ms klholy
face, but his inner soul as Well
! Il IL to be noted that Mr.. Crane mas
chosen to reveal the innate kindness OF
| David Harum from the outset, instead VI
concealihg it under a shell OF apparent
hardness Indeed, so transparent are MS
devices for gaining q. reputation Tor grasp
ing avarice that one wonders at mary
Blake's blindness. It is true tnat 'nele
is difficulty in developing a character
slowly In the course OF a brief play
wherein the fictionist has the advantage Of
the actor The reader gathers slowly anc
from many little things his Ideas OF the
character, whereas the audience is lei
into the lsecret without delay. This con
| caive to. be the. one weakness In Mr.
Cranes characterization and while 1t per-
| haps' could not have been altogether
notwithstanding not without radical re-
construction of the play-tt might have
| been minimized so as to have given more
power to the conception.
| Since the play is given over to charac
/ ter sketches, it is fortunate that the othe
quaint citizens Of bonneville have been 81
successfully transplanted to the stage
The young "smarty" In the bank (Charle
Jacksonl, Dawes accomplice In horse trad
ing exploits Percy Brooke), the villag
usurer whose age has not taught hin
kindness to the poor (Sheriden ,Tupper)
Aunt Polly, who Is deficient in q sense o
humor, but supplied with inexhaustibl
Kindness Of heart (Kate Meek) and tn
| lOTH,N W6epy uCCle Woo" \LOlS FTanCl
Clark are among. the most defective o
these portraits. Earle Ryder and Perdit,
Hudspeth are fairly satisfactory as tn
young lovers, while Frank Burbeck i
hopelessly weighed down with the role Q
the impossible guardian.
Among the clever things in the produc
ton must be mentioned the appearance
on the stage Of the bay horse, a most in
telligent animal, and the rainstorm i
which the deacon is caught with his oh
stinate, purchase. Indeed, the productio
is staged with great ingenuity and that at
teption to the small details that means 8
much in stageland nowadays. Mr.. Gran
is certainly to be commended for his stan
against the curtain speech and his refusa
to step out Of his character even to &C
knowledge the plaudits Of the audience
} The sending Of a substitute to explain pc
litely how inartistic any other cours
would be Is bright idea.
w. B. Chamberlain.
1.-THE Two Orphans at The Lyceun.