The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-12
AT THE THEATERS

LINN II1A-IsN-ll1l0s J()JJRl
/ At The THEATERs
i Metropo litan-Mrs. Patrick Campbell IN
n he Joy Of Llving.''
q Without the unrelenting directness, the
q Temorseless simplicity OF that terrible old
i man, Henrik Ibsen,s the work OF his dis
y clple, Hermann Sudermann, nevertheless
Il SHOWS similar devotion to 1.-THE God OF
Inings as They Are" He pictures social.
con ono ions, as he finds them but not al
ways with that sublime Ihsen courage
Wnlcn pushes on to the logical and In
i evltable conclusion, no matter what havoc
Is wrought g
/ The Joy of Living is a study Of so-
clal conditions among the German nobil-
i ity--Whlch are, after alL not so very diff
1erent from those obtaining among the
/ higher classes In England or America.
indeed. the change of few names and
illusions would readily enough transform
i the play Into an American drama. The
/ greater rigor of the rule OF conventional
ity in high German society makes the;
protest against Journalism voiced by Sud
ermann more forceful, but THE Joy of
Living" Is in a broad sense the brief Of
1 an appellant in the high court of modern
! civilization And yet it Is special plead
Ing of very insidious Sort Never was
the love OF one man for another mans
VIE more artfully justified, even while
tnat retr1bution officially demanded
comes upon the two with awful certainty.
With consummate art Sudermann en-
lists Tor his rssevery sympathy, only
| 70 demand from them at the last the PEN
atty OF death for one and q living death
FOR the other. These two had work to do
for the world. They were soul mates,
each incomplete without the other, but
Il oro1n to ~.
TO be done this affinity must be masked
ana concealed. The problem of life set
before them was insoluble because of
those unyielding social conventions which
are factors In every such problem. But it
| Is to be noted that Sudermann cunningly
contrlVes that when. death, the universal
solvent, is applied to the problem it does
not drag down in ruin the families or
even the political party. involved. Can
anyone doubt what havoc would have
Deen done II Ibsen, the titan, had been
working out the solution of such a prob
lem 3 5E,.s
If it Is admitted that modern pessimism
IS entitled to work out its problems and
Illustrate Its views Of life on%the stage
and to deny that right involves one at once
IN endless dlflculties-are we not justified
In holding the makers Of the degenerate
drama to strict accountability for: any de-
partures from absolute truth? Powerful
as Is Sudermann s treatment of the com
pick problem, strong as is his grasp on
the situations that arise, stirring as is his
appeal to the emotions Of his audience,
there Is yet feeling that he is dealing
with half truths. From a purely tech
meal point Of view The Joy Of Living is
q we'll built play, whose action is not too
much impeded by the cynical philosophy
or the biting satire Of its dialogue.
Mrs. Patrick Campbell finds in the role
OF Beata opportunity to declare the abso-
lutte originality of her art. and to differen-
tate her acting from, that of other great |
emotional actresses. Her great eyes,
peer at you from out a wan, but subtly |
expressive face; her vibrant voice takes
ION all the changing scolors of feeling so !
readily that what would be mere words |
from other lips are charged from hers with
new meanings. In depicting all the yari-
GUS relations this great-hearted woman |
bears to those about her-the tender |
mother, the wife who strives to give hap
ptness where she cannot give love, the |
helpful friend Of her daughters fiance
and the inspiration Of the man she loves
and a variety of expression that are re-
markable. She has. few Of those manner
isr1s which one expects. to find in those
who come from across the water. The !
JOY that lays hold upon Bea:ta when she
hears read sher Old letter and gains from
its language sthe Inspiration for her SUI
spreme sacriflres was written clearly upon
gaiety of her farewell toast to the JOY of |
living made a powerful climax to her
moving impersonation.5 ga
z: Wright Kramer in his racterizatior;
of Richard, evnced an intelligent grasp
OF the role and its requirements. He was
always the statesman whose fine sensibil-i /
titles Srevolted in vain at the, part he was
playing. Even his acceptance Of the sac
rfflces- of the man he was wronging took
on somehow a fine. aspect, and he real-i
lied to the full Sudermann' conception
of this lover who did ignoble things so
nobly. A third fine Improvisation was
that of the husband by Emmett c.. King,
who Infused itswith5a wholesome natural
ness that was refreshing. The trying mo-
ment when the secret of a, dozen years
was revealed to this unsuspecting, loyal
husband did not find Mr.. King wanting
and the strenuous scenes that followed
lost none Of their significance at his
hands.
There were a number of other less i'm
portant but no less excellent characteriz-
at1ons-the girlish daughter Of Beata by
amy Lamborn; the manly young son Of
Richard by Charles Bryant: Richards
pre-; and the three different types of Ger
man noblemen, the cynical prince who
admits his own degeneracy by Charles
Rowan, the baron who always plays poll
tics by J. H. Greene, and the country
gentleman with his naive views of life
and his rural philosophy capital sketch
by Walter Howe.
The play is staged with generous good
taste. and Mrs. Campbell delighted the
eye with the beautiful "creationss she ]
Wore The appreciation of the large and
distinguished audience was frequently and 1
heartily expressed, and Mrs. Campbell ac- I
knowledged many curtain calls graci- {
ousiy. w. B. Chamberlain
lyceunn---"The Silver King"
The SILVER King melodrama which t.
did much to win fame and fortune for +.
Henry Arthur Jones, who wrote it in I,
collaboration with Henry Herman. has I.
been revived at the Ivceuno Tho. "a, +L;