The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-03-09
In the Theaters Of Indianapolis


GRAND.-High-class vaudeville. 2:15 and
Welded and Parted" and
'EMPIRE.-Bu and p. m.
UNIQUE.-Variety. and D. N.
Irving i'm "Ihe Merchant of Venice"
Enriched by his extraordinary insight and
technical mastership. Sir Henry Irving's
impersonation of Shylock is the perfect
ideal that Shakespeare has drawn OF ma
lignant vitality and impiacabe revenge.
The great English actor closed his Indian
apolis engagement at a special matinee yes
terday afternoon with a memorable per-
Torrance OF "The Merchant of Venice"
and deeply impressed an audience of large
size with the finest embodiment of the old
Jewish money lender and the most elab-
crate revival OF the wonderful comedy that
this city has ever seen.
1t is little wonder that nearly every actor
possesses an intense desire TO succeed as
Shylock for a greater character part has
never been created. The main traits of
which the old Jew is representative are
malice. greed. hatred. religious fanaticism
and all-pOwerful resentment Of Christian
intolerance and injustice. 1t is a characte-
that offers endless opportunities to the
true artist and one that affords a supreme
test of the powers of its INTERPRETER To
make Shylock an interesting figure is no
extraordinary accomplishment for he
would indeed be a poor player who could
not hold the attention of an audience with
SO strong a part but to imprint upon ones
memory an inenaceable portrait of living
symbol requires the work of genius
Whether Irving's performance is the Gull
minatiOn of years OF study or simply an in
0f arr fhg -rrff fg he.
Tor his Shylock is a masterpiece of acting
that sways audience as the March wind
swayS the trees.
The reason for the intense, smoldering
passion of the bitter old man becomes
clearly comprehensive 10 the observer early
In the play and you forget, for the moment
what a monster ShyIock is, with his fero-
ciouS demands for his pound OF flesh
In the trial scene, when you catch that
terrible look In the eyes of the vengeful
hebrew, you Shudder 1nYOluntarlly as II in
the presence of the personifcatiOn of evil
While but short time before your heart
was melting into sympathy as you wit
messed the silent, sOrrOwful return of the
Jew TO his deserted home which had been
so cruelty despOiled in his absence. What
a sinister, solemn, treacherOus being is
Shylock-but what a grand old fellow he is
in his poetic isolation and what a tragedy
the comedy is after ALL Such are the con-
vlctiOns you carry away with you from Sir
chant OF Venice
Coleridge it was VINO said that seeing
Edmund Kean act Shylock was like reading
Shakspeare-'' not by penny dip, but by
flashes of u htning, because he was so
uneven, so d and so bad" for Kean, ac-
cOrding to hrs biogTa piers, could be as dull,
careless and tame as he could be magnih-
cent. To see Henry Irving enact the role
is far better than reading Shakespeare, for
Irving is consistently good in the part from
first TO last: Shylock, III his hands, is a
living, breathing human being, not a mere
puppet endowed with rare Evolutionary
not elo S e and his sOng portrayal p9l is
respect a of the shakspeaPean se6oar
while appealing, at the same time, TO the
less discriminating play-goer. There were
hundreds OF young people in yesterday
afternoons audience-students from the va
rious schools drawn To the theater through
their school readings of Shakspeare-and
il was noticeable that, while many of them
| applauded the play rather than the acting
| of il, they were deeply interested in the
| performance of the distinguished actor and
| appTeciative of his WONDERFUL art.
The supportln1g company as IN the pre- tie
! places. Mabel Hackney. who played the
| part of the French Dauphin with such
skill and grace in Louis Xi,D was hardly
| role of Portia. Her Portia displayed a
| young head as well as a young body and
was therefore not the Portia of Shakespeare
| head" Although presenting a very pretty
picture in the red robes of the learned
/ young she SeeIueu out OI pace III
| the Venetian court of justice. and her
| oratiOns were delivered in amateurish fash
| ion. On the other hand, Gerald Lawrence,
| whose acting in Louis XII too the
atric. was very much at home in the part
| of BassaniO, which he rendered admirably.
| Laurence Irving appeared as Antonio. 1T
| Is remarkable that son of Sir Henry
| could possess such an eXpreSsionlesS face,
| but the acting of the younger Irving was
| scholarly at all times Nora Lancaster
made effective Jessica, being well suited
/ To the mart of the Jewish maiden and the
| other roles of Importance were capably
filled by w Farren, jr.. T. Tyars. Ii. b.
| Stanford, w. LuSg, Lionel Belmore and
/ Laura Burt
The production was a thing Of beauty,
/ both in regard to scenery and the incidental
music. No Shakspearean play has ever
] been so attractively staged i'm indianapolis
| and il would be hard TO convince those who
| attended yesterdays performance that
| Shakspearean comedy. without scenery and
music. as Ben Greet and his London play
| ers have been Offering Twelfth Night
/ in the East. could prove half so interest
ing and Of half such artistic value.