The San Francisco call., 1904-10-23
STAGE SETTING
A FAIR GARDEN
As You Like 1t" at Mills
College Is Enchantingly
Devised in Prologue
CONSPICUOUS FEATURES
Ben Greet Interests and
Miss Crawley Charms the
Enthusiastic Audience

Nay but pen and ink is poor stuff
10 paint an AS You Like It, like
yesterdays! Shakespeare himself
must have joyed in it-one hopes he
was there, Behind one of the waving
elms, or by the campaniIe that tow
ers over the lawn where Ben Greet
and his players walked as Rosalind
and Orlando yesterday. Mozart only.
in the morning of his genius, could
have sung the freshness, the fine sim
plieity, the delicate frolic humor of
the thing. 1t was the very spring.
toe of comedy. comedy in its clear
eyed, 9oyous-hearted youth, played
oithesomely by company of gay
lads and lassies headed by that gal
lant STRIPPING. Ben Greet
Nor less cunningly and enchanting
ly devised was the setting and nro-
logue. Here. for sober fact. the "As
You Like It. was given yesterday af-
ternoon at Mills College, on the lawn
afront Of the principal building and
for the benefit and endowment of thar
admirable institution. There was a
In the midst of the elms and feathered
pine trees. Boughs. leaves and grass
HID the boards and with the framing
uees made an ideal pictured Arden.
Everything cOnspired to illusion. One
leit the twentieth century at Twenty
third avenue station-the leisurelv
cars that run therefrom to Mills Col
iege only foretasted the ancientry.
spring was in the air. ia the sudden
green that ran into the uplands, in
the young blue of the sky. One stop
PED then in very forest of Arden.
sun-shot' fragrant dimly musical. and
quantity sweetly. as we wended our
way 10 the sylvan theater, chimed ont
from the campanile God Save Our
Gracious Queen" We were with the
zabethans.
Very cleverly the stage was ar
ranged. The trees backing it shaded
the audience from the sun. and every
word spoken could be heard at every
point Of the aUditorium The lenient
day permitted the removal of head
gear, and thus every one could also see
as well as hear. Mrs. Mills garland
OF girls" that sat in lowly state on
cushions below and in front of the
stage, was a conspicuously pretty
feature Of the scene. Two small Jap-
anese maidens among them, possibly
comparing the players with their own
great Danjuro, touched a picturesque
and piquant note. The Occidental au-
dience was large, delighted and wholly
sympathetic.
The play began with act II, and was
confined 10 the forest scenes. Imme-
ciateiy one was at one with the play
ers. The banished duke asked:
Now. my eo-mates and brothers in
exile.
Hath not old custom made this life
more sweet
Thsn that of painted pomp? Are not
these woods
More free from. peril than the envious
court ?"
And with him one felt it were easy
and sweet TO find:
tongues in trees, books in the run
ming brooks.
Sermons in stones and good in every-
thing"
i found early explanation in the
performance of something that had
4tlE DuILlcA me Last year Il saw
Ben Greet at and after the Nance
O'Neil AS You Like It. ait Sutro
Heights Then L had thought Mr.
Greet a little hard in his judgment
Of the presentation. Yesterday proved
him lenient and gave one a new ideal
Of the open air performance. 1t was
in fact, hardly short of perfection.
The casting of the players was ad-
mirable, the stage management ex-
cellent the detail of the production
delightfully."- correct. But most not
able was the quaint, delicious gayety
that pervaded the whole performance
from the sweet, willful mirth of Miss
Crawley's Rosalind to the dry wag-
gishness of Mr. Greet's Touchstone.
Better even than Miss Crawley's
Viola is her Rosalind. Her rather
heavy Beatrice left one unprepared
for this quick and fanciful picture of
Arden's heroine. Playful yet true
womanly, witty. tender. saucy, capri
cious, boyish and yet princess-Iike is
Miss Crawley here. AS a picture and
as q voice she is of course satisfying,
and wears her doubIet and hose most
calamity. But she reads here with
peculiar graciousness and point, and
her face fits every mood of the part
one remembers with particular pleas
ure her bewitching delivery of the
epilogue the quick pathos of the
swoon scene and the little mock mar