The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-26
:, ;AT.THE9THEA!TERsa
MetfopoIltan-Marde and James: In; Gs st
ander, The .Great.D,>, 80,


4:Thes story:of theygreat MacedonianGg gen :
:eral who conquered the known world, of
his day, wept In vain fer*more worlds TIA
CONQUER and met: his death at a drinking
bout = while 1still d youth of rs, has been
sung by poets, told by historians ana
lyzed BY philosophers and painted by ar
lists. Strangely enough it. has escaped
the playwrights. Not for~a hundred years,
SO, Frederick, Wards told his asudiepeE last
night, has the tale Formed the gro2fndWork
for a. drama. ~ Rupert Hughes and Collin
Kemper, however. have taken the main
incidents In the metgQric life Of Alexaander,
and,s by the aid sof a purely Imaginative
love: story, have attempted to fuse them
into harmonious: HOMOGENEOUS drama.
: The principal motives Of the action, are
the struggle Of the young here's bound
less ambition! with his .loxe, for the Egyp-
tian girl and the desire; Of his crafty
prime, minister to: to- surp the empire, that
his master is winning. The first Of these
motives proves entirely Inadequate and
unsatisfa Glory, because Of. the patent fact
that Alexander might easily win and wear
his love without giving. up his schemes of
conquest. 8 The hard facts of history are
the undoing Of 1.-THE authors in their eff
forts to elaborate the second motive. The
paottings sof ePerdiccas begin i'll the frs
act and an! form the substru ctures Of the en-
Perdfccas is newer quite ready to act and
his schemes go aWry SO. continually that
they become tfresdrne before they ffiad
final fruition in the fifth act. But, of
course, history forbids earlier success
and again is demonstrated the inherent
weakness of the. historical drama.
The story Is rather entertainingy told,
and there are occasional passages inspired
with noble sentiment and poetic feeling.
But this tone is not we'll sustained, and
the dfalog frequently slips into the mod
ern and commonplace. The scene shifts
frequently, ranging from Macedonia to
Egypt then to the. far east and to the
roof o., the world, where the mountains
stop Alexander's progress, then back to
Bapylonla, Whereathe catastrophe OCCURS
ME-. James plays the young condueror
with that youthful virility which he knows
so well how to assume. Alexander In his
Eeoneeptien-i is a great warrior. who, loves
battle , for Its own sake: who knows not
rear, and whose character is nOblBs:Xet
Epertectiy transparent N doubt there Is
warrant for this, conception. lin the play
itself. yet Alexander must have been
more much more. He must have been
g wonderful general, a born strategist, q
Keen judge OF men. So that Mr.: James
portrait a Eof s:the man does mot altogether
satisfy. =! - -: =, %:s:$'. -
| Mr.. Warde Is! well suited with the role
q the crafty ::Perdiccas, who, is q sort
or futile lago.s His guile and finesse Mr.
Warde makes plain to the. audience b1
MS marvellous control of. features, facility
OF gesture and expressiveness Of voice
It Is a. delight TO see Mr.: Warde, ever
I In so ineffective,a al role. ~ - i :
MISS Alma Kruger plays the Egyptiar
ent4 that was too much curbed IN esda.
mona. Miss Engei Sumner q g +I,a 6,I,,tt.s