The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-14
"MARTA OF THE LOWLANDS. !"
MRS. FISHES NEW PLAY STIRRING,
THOUGH MELODRAMATIC.
IL Makes q Favorable Impression at the
Manhattan Theatre--WeIl Acted and
Well StaHed-The Author Spaniard
From CatalOnla-His First Play Here.

Manhattan T'heatre--Well Acted and
Well staget-The Author . Spaniard
From CatalOnia-His First Play Here,
Despite passages Of melodramatic vio-
lence in Acts ii. and ILL.,, marta OF the
Lowlands' is play Of power and interest
Il was presented at the Manhattan Theatre
last night. Its author is Spaniard named
Angel Guimera. He halls from the wllds
Of Catalonia, and this three-act drama
was written originally in that dialect,
Turned into Spanish 1t is said to have
enjoyed much vogue in Spain, Mexico and
South America. Not so finished or so
condensed as Andrea Verga's celebrated
one act "Cavalleria Rusticana. Marta.
nevertheless, sounds familiar motives OF
peasant love, jealousy, hatred. revenge,
superstition and murder. 1t is curious
blending Of melodrama and pastoral drama.
and withal has a modern note-Guimera
knows his native Catalonia and he has
read Sardou.
Played in the wrong key, Marta" could
easily degenerate into the crude theatrical
ISM No doubt, as given in Spain, its native
woodnote Wild must sound clearer. purer.
But, for all that. praise may be lavished
on last nights performance. 1t was staged
by Harrison Grey Fiske, and most pictur-
esquely. The first and last scene show
the mill yard at the foot of the snow capped
Pyrenees.
The lighting effects were very artistic,
especially at the close, which was prac-
tically dark" scene, yet so well ordered
in its luminous atmosphere that the action
was not invisible. The second act. an
interior, was sufficiently realistic.
The story il simple. A wealthy land-
owner wishes to marry a woman Of wealth
to replenish his empty purse. To DO this
be is forced TO get rid Of poor girl he has
seduced with rich presents. She Is not
30 easy to handle because she apparently
loves her scamp, OF master. great
lout of shepherd is selected as the victim,
and being combination of Parsifal and
Siegfried, that is, a pure fool and wild
being, he is trapped. He loves Marta
and marries her, while mocking peasant
folk in the secret play the part OF the classic
chorus.
The wedding night Marta repulses Name
Itch She believes him bought by the mas
ter. The episode is we'll handled If some
what theatrio. Act II. we SEQ the poison
working in the veins of the shepherd. He
suspects something, for he has seen q light
in the house on the nuptial night. He
loves Marta, but is rough to her. A child,
Nun, is the cause Of quarrel with his wife.
She taunts him for his cowardice and
he staSs her, but not mortally. Later
he learns the truth and attacks the master.
He is dragged away, and the curtain falls.
There is too much talk, doubtless OF in
terest in the original Cataonian. but rather
high flown for peasants as we believe them
to be.
In the last act all unnecessary dialogue
is absent; the action Is everything and the
suspense and and crowning catastrophe
suggest Sar,ou. The millhouse Is guarded
80 that Marta cannot join her shepherd
husband. She loves him now. But the
master wishes to claim his -Droit de Seig-
neur,' and after he is defied by Mario
Ter conversion Is rather sudden, it must be
confessed-he attempts force; Manetch
scales the wall land looking In the mysteri-
GUS obscurity like an avenging half back
Of football teamJ he then and there chokes
the miscreant. He has killed a wolf be-
fore.
The master is only one more wolf He
goes away with Marta from the sinful
1owlands to his pure mountain heights.
[Ibsen in Spain!l
The types are all familiar, yet neatly
differentiated. The story alone ID banal,
one would say operate rather than melo-
dramatic With Me- scagni music and boiled
down into one, or even two, acts it might
achieve second -Cavalleria" success.
The acting Of Hobart Bosworth as the
shepherd was capital. Al that he did not
L6vberg he accomplished as the simple
minded fiery heart ed tender Of mountain
what Charles the Wrestler he once wasi-
and handsome, expressive features were
all admiralty utilized in his performance
The Nuyi Ethel Browning revealed his.
trionic talent. She was charming and
naive.
Corona Ricardo, formerly in the Great
Ruby and "Ben-Hur," was the Marta
and. like the play, her Interpretation wa.
full OF good and bad spots. Her accent
was shifting, her movements were uncertain
In the second and third acts she warmed
and. emerging from her sulen phlegm, she
had some startling moments. She looked
Like Emma Calves Santusza. The master
Sebastiun was a forceful Hardee Kirkland
James Donnelly as Mosen made an indi-
vidual hit a. Joe Jefferson peasant
Marta Of the Lowlands' ia sufficiently
exotic and thrilling to please regular theatre
goers for some time