Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-12
THE THEATER.
Columbia Theater.

For some little time it looked as If the
best productions of the English-speaking
stage had been hopelessly stiled beneath
mass of musical comedy founces. All of
sudden there has come an awakening.
The American public has discovered
Shakespeare, and Sheridan is being well
coined as q long-lost friend. Once the op-
probrium of the word classic" attaches to
a play 1t is hard to restore popular con-
fidence in 1t. 1t becomes the natural prey
of the pedant, who distorts its charms and
surrounds it with a mystery that terrifies.
Whether it is the public school system. or
Mr.. Carnegies libraries, or the efforts
of few conscientious managers who have
insisted on making productions of great
plays In the face of difficulties that must
command credit for this awakening, can
hardly be determined. But the great
list of players who will devote their
fortunes to Shakespeare or Sheridan
next season Is an assurance that the
popular dramatic appetite Is satiated With
CONNECTIONS and patent foods and is ready
to return, so to speak, to the rare roast
beef of old England.
The production of 1.-THE School for Scan
dal'' this week comes with the combined
charms of tradition and novelty. 1t is like
fine old wine newly uncOrked. The man
ner of presenting the play wah worthy OF Its
dignity and merits. At the very rise OF
the curtain the scenery, costumes and fur
nishings gave assurance that this was to
be indeed production and no makeshift
venture No society comedy has had a
more Hlittertng assemblage OF wits, tops
and coquettes than that gathered in the
drawing room in the first act. There is
not much for these most polite slanderers
to do in the play except to set the plot in
motion. And yet that little they do 80 well
that the parts stand out as human essen
tials in the story. Godfrey Stein made Sir
Benjamin Backbite an interesting fellow
being worthy of better acquaintance than
the author permits. Robert Ferguson gave
Crabtree comic yet thoroughly probable
characterization. and elevated 1t far above
the humble status of what is professionally
known as bit" Mr. Mellish displayed a
carefully studied and correct conception of
the role of Sir Oliver. The fact that 1t
was first night probably accounted for
certain lack of ease and a tendency to ex-
aggeratiOn.
AS the familiar people of the comedy came
on, one after another, they Immediately
established their proper relationship to the
plot. There was no doubling from the out
| set that Mr.. Kittredge as Joseph Surface
would be as thorough villain as ever
kept out of the stocks, nor that Frank Rob-
erts as Sir Peter would be as lovably 1ras-
chile an old man whose sorrows ever ap-
pealed to honest sympathy. Mr. Kit
tredges part Is In a sense an ungrateful
one. The better 1t is played the worse the
impression it makes on the casual observer,
and he had the artistic satisfaction of being
one OF the most consistently 0lSnkaElS
rogues that ever faced the footights. VIII
liam H. Post, too, gave one of his usual
meritOrious representations as Moses.
Yet with all this array of talent it was
first Miss Bertha Galland and next Mr..
John Blair that the audience assembled to
see last night. Miss Galland established
| in one scene alone her right to rank as a
distinguished interpreter of the role Of
Lady Teazle. Pictorially she was always
fascinating. but frivolities and coquetries
are obviously not her congenial moods. 1t
was in the scene with her husband. Sir
Peter, after characters are Sweepingly I'M
| masked by the topping of single screen,
that every syllable she utters rings sympa-
thetic and sincere and that temperament
triumphs even above art itself. Up to that
episode her character of Lady Teazle re-
fleets little womanly dignity. Miss Gal
land showed intelligent appreciation of
the lighter phases of the role; but
her portrayal of them was accom-
plished by technique rather than by native
inspiration. The one scene which Is the
great climax of the play did much toward
establishing the opinion that Miss Galland
will be a fine Juliet. and probably q great
Lady Macbeth John Blair gave the part
of Charles Surface intelligent reading,
and did not suffer the interest which al
ways attaches to the hero BLACK Sheep of
the family to relax in any of his scenes.
Last nights presentation of THE School
for Scandal was one of the most brillie Mt
first performances that Washington has
seen in a long time