The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-06
------AT ST. PAUL.---------.
T II T. A r Z S

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Walker Whitesfde at the Metropolitan.
Walker Whiteside essayed Shylock
at the Metropolitan opera house last
night.
Y The actor who attempts to portray
one OF Shakespeare's most picturesque
creations launches himself upon Her
culean sea.
Pope once said of a contemporaneous
actor, This is the Jew that Shake
speare drew" A superb compliment
that.
Mr.. Whiteside cannot and unques-
tlonably does not believe that he is the
complete embodiment of ShyIock.
In that he speaks the speeches with
correct emphasis, and that his make
up IS exceedingly good, he merits COM
Lilehuatlon 1t is a joy forever to hear
the lines of the master shot across the
foothghts with good accent"
1t is pity that Mr.. Whiteside main
talns such constant tension in this
role. Ehe laconic, matter of-fact
speeches of Shylock that should be de-
hvered without rhetorical flourish he
utters IN a STACEY tone. His evident de-
sire to give Shakespeare's every word
prominence conduces to monotony
ana shakespeare suffers, for the poet
certainly is not monotonous.
An instance will suffice. In that
matehless trial scene-a minute dis
section of every fiber of human nature
-Gratano asks Shylock, as he is
Whettlng his knife on his shoe prepar-
atory to cutting Antonios heart out, if
prayers cannot dissuade him from his
bloody purpose.
None that thou hast wit enough to
make is Shylock's retort.
Mr.. Whiteside failed to give this
sardon1c repartee it's due effect. His
response was too labOred-too slow.
1t should be quick and pat.
There is a deliciously happy medium
between the declamatOry and the col
loqufaL that Mr.. Whiteside neglects.
Shakespeare wrote his plays for pro-
duction In theater, as well as fer
reading in the closet. Speak the
speech, l pray you," etc.
1t must be said to the credit of
Mr.. Whfteside's Interpretation of Shy
lock, that he lays stress on the hu-
mainly Of this man. Too many ac-
tors have painted his revengeful and
inhuman side in dominating colOrs.
No thinking mind can contemplte him
without sympathy. His very speech,
Hath not a Jew eyes" ETC., is an
appeal to human sympathy.
Mr.. Whiteside denotes the tender
side of Shylock's nature, which is too
often lost sight of.
In the scene with Tubal-that cru
cial test Of the great actor, he IS in
adequate. He fails to strikingly con-
trast the frenzied grief Of the man over
his daughters fight with q Christian
dog, with his ''ghoulish glee," over
Antonios misfortunes. His tones in
this scene are mOnotOnOus. 1t is a
most eXacting situation, calling for
histrionic powers of expression that
even Irving lacked. A tendency TO
rant marred it.
In the trial scene Mr.. Whiteside dis
played commendable discretion. This
act is undoubtedly masterpiece OF
dramatic construction The technical
tiles Of the Venetian law invoked by
POrtia are duplicated every day in
our modern courts of justice without
eVOkinS q smile. ShylOCk is there
with the law ON his side. Later, Por-
tia shifts it to Antonio, Shylock loses,
and his Christian opponents promptly
revenge then1s elves. The court re-
ports of the daily papers are but a
repetition of the scene-..------.----.-.-.
1t is while before this tribunal that
Shylock is fairly in the lime light.
Later POrtia shares some of it. The
digniffed passages allotted to the Jew.
Mr.. Whiteside delivered effectively, but
his pat, terse, blunt -retorts he failed to
send home.
Mr.. Whiteside should cultivate more
variety of cadence and infection in his
voice. He lacks that short, sharp snap
py inciSive utterance that is often far
more reaching than sonOrous declama-
ton.
But his Shylock is human, and we
give it welcome.
Portia, the heroine of this matchIess
comedy, was impersonated by Leila
| Wolstan. Here is decidedly pretty
woman, to whom Shakespeare's blank
verse is mountain of effort. Not
that her readings are false, for they
are intelligent, but she Iabors to de-
liver them. Her voice seems made
Quate, yet you fancy if she would
speak in an ordinary tone every word
would be heard. A tendency to hurry
over the lines, to clip her words,
marred the immortal quality of mer-
cy' speech, as it did others. Miss
tage in the comedy scenes following
the trial t
Mr.. Sears, who impersonated the
title role, spoke the lines Of Antonio
with most cOmmendable clarity of
enunciation and correct emphasis.
Such an Antonio is an unusual ad-
junct Of presentations of The Mer-
chant Of Venice"
The BassaniO of Mr.. Evart was ac-
ceptable; the Gratiano of Mr.. Clifford.
explosive, but distinct, and the Jessi-
ca of Miss Villa Keyes sufficiently
| nervous and oriental
The Launeelot Gobbo contributed by
| Mr. Williams was a primitive, self
| conscious performance, devoid of spon-
taneity and therefore not funny.
Fred G. Hunt.