The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-03-15

That there are Shakespearean plays
unsusceptibIe Of effective representa-
ton upon the stage must be apparent
10 anV fond reader of them. The truth
Of the statement IS equally plain to the
theatergoer who has never read line
of them, but has happened to witness
an attempt to present The tempest
or "A Midsummer Nights Dream.
These two plays will serve as demon
STATIONS of the foregoing assertion for
the reason that both have been produc-
ed on the local stage within the last
two or three years.
To the deVotee of Shakespeare in the
text how totally inadequate was the
admirable and liberal production of
THE Tempest" witnessed during the
first half Of the week ut the Metropoli-
tan? That It was inadequate in COM
parison with the lofty emotions In
splred by the contemplation Of its sub
lime poetry in the closer no student can
deny,
That It did not satisfy the craving
of the habitual theatergoer for motive
and action was only too evident,
Yet this was not the fault OF the
players. nor of the managers who have
staged 1t so lavishly,
1t is the supernatural quality CT this
poetic drama that renders its actual
translation to the material stage, and
it's interpretion by flesh and blood &C
tors, impossible, save at the sacrifice
of its daiutieSt flights OF fancy and It's
divine poetry
When we read the passages allotted
to the fairy Ariel we can see the sprfU
with the minds eye, So. too. we be
hold, without an effort, the maifor1led
hideous Caliban, and Prospero, The dig
nihed, benevolent enchanter Of the isle.
But their flesh and blood enlbodiments
t1s efo Of -
no matter how sympatheuCally and
revepenuy portrayed, 20 destroy the
illusion.
For While Prospero and Caliban are
human beings. they represent certain
spiritual conceptions best conceived by
the reader of the play.
The lover of Shakespeare, while all
sympathetic with every effort to put his
plays before those who 90 not read him,
IS Of necessity most e1acdng.
He Is pToselyteT in the masters be-
half-anTious to let in the light of the
poets genius upon those who have hid
den away from him in their moments of
leisure
But to return to this production of
1.-THE Tempest" Two actors who adorn
the American stage are conspicuously
identified with it-LOuis James and
Frederick Warde. Both are necessarily
cOnversant with the immortal dramas.
Both have played many parts" created
by the master dramatist, and played
them well. | doubt if there is an actor
upon our stage who can so completely
perSonify the character of Othello as
Mr. James. Mr.. Warde is not blessed
with such a glorious voice as his con-
frere; but his portrayal of Mark An
tony is highly convincing, virile and in
tense, Illuminated as it is by complete
comprehension of the man that
Shakespeare drew"
These two actors can be relied upon
to impart the genuine ShakesDearean
flavor TO any of the masters creations
they essay. which is more than can be
said Of some aspiring histriOns ambi-
tious to bring the poet down to date
But their efforts in THE Tempest
are well nigh futile as would be those
Of any other actors. Prospero cannot
be embodied so as to fill the physical
eye. CaHban is not a creature to be
seen. He must be imagined.
What though Mr.. James rich. So
norous tones and accurate emphasis
impaired full meaning to every sylla-
BILE, the visible object he presented dis
tracted attention from the matter of
his speech. You saw those monstrous
ears and rolling eyes, that tortuous
gait and leering COuntenance, and YOU
wished you hadn't.
incidentally Mr.. James might have
made Caliban more baleful, and there
fore more repulsive.
In spite of all the dignity that Mr..
Warde gave to Prospero, reading the
lines impressively as he did, the at
mosphere that enveloped the lord of the
isle was absent Prospero waved his
staff and the lights went down. He
waved it again and they shot up. Then
he walked off the stage.
Prospero is not what the actor calls
9Y-fh -
tent ruler, with the elements at his
cOmamnd
Stage mechanism, advanced and in
genious as it is, actors, though gifted
they may be, cannot reflect the fancifuI
flights of a genius like Shakespeare.
But Messrs. James and Warde and
their managers merit admiration for
their most worthy effort in such an in
spring field. Fred C. Hunt