Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1905-03-24
MISS O'NEIL IN "MAGDA. >
LAST EVENINGS PERFORM
ANCE AT COLONIAL.
Sudermann's Great Play Artistically
Produced-Star An Artist
And Genius.

| dramatization of nursery books and
marshmallow novels draw the crowds
| it is refreshing to find an actress with
ability allied to ideals and courage,
who deliberately plays Sudermann
and Shakespeare. 1t raises the hope
| that dramatic art may vet survive the
reign of the spectacular production
and the beauty charms.
The audience that greeted Miss
! O'Neil was, however, only fair-sized.
J Perhaps one reason why more did not
attend the performance .is that
/ " Magda'' is commonly described as
lone of those diasSreeable plays. It
| is disagreeable only in as far as it
deals with few disagreeable realities,
narrowness, hypocrisy, sin and their
more disagreeable consequences. No
play, however, could be more impress
sive or refined. and il is one OF the
few, modern plays that belong to liter
ature as well as to the boards
Briefly, it is the story of girl re-
bellious at the petty tyrannies of
home, disowned by an angry father
| and cast on her own resources, who
returns after ten years to her native
city, concert singer, with wealth
and fame. The play opens with the
return of the outcast TO her own home,
where the good pastor has prepared
the way for "A reconciliation. The old
father, while proud of his daughter 5
beauty and success, is tormented by
suspicious of her conduct during the
years of separation. AT last the pitt
able story comes TO light, of the faith
and love, the cowardly desertion-the
child. She persists that she will not
Sat Nf.nrtacc altsfl IN cax va a
family name, and at this her father
dies broken hearted and unforgiving.
AS heroine of the story, Miss O'Neil
had at the outset. the advantage of a
superb stage presence; she looked the
queenIy diva of the part, and voice
of great beauty and resonace which
made her airiest remarks audible with
out apparent effort, and developed a
full. powerful volume in the highly
emotional scenes. To these physical
advantages Miss O'Neil added a mag
uetic personality and exceptional
talent. There was also that intel.
lectual quality about the characteri-
zation, which bespoke the student, as
we'll as the actress.
In the impersonation of the unfor-
sunate Magda, she had TO cover the
entire range of emotional moods, in
difference, mockery, pity, love, grief,
scorn and despair; the changes from
one to the other were subtitle, and
through all, hand, lip, eye and voice,
acted together. A striking character
istic of Miss O'Neil's Magda was the
constant impression of reserve power.
and the consequent lack of anything
that suggested ranGing, even in her
most emotional scenes. This contrib
uted not a little TO the perfect natural
ness of the entire part. from her in
different, matter fact entrance III
the beginning, 10 the terrible scene
with her father at the end She is
given. perhaps, the best opportunity
for her powers in the third act, in the
scene with her faithless lover, where
she changes gradually from cynical in
difference to blasting scorn.
Her conception of Magda, we be-
lieve to be original. Not only in the
first scene, where she surprises us by
her Indifference to the old home
scenes. but also in the entire chRrac-
terization. Mrs. Patrick Campbell's IS
Magda is not unlike Miss O'Neils
in some respects. but there is sug-
gestion, always of settled hardness
or coarseness in the character that
forfeits sympathy. Miss O'NeiIs
Magda is always womanly.
The interest of the play as q play
centers wholly in the dialogue. There
is one scene throughout, simple in
terror. The prevailing seriousness of
the play is relieved only by a single
comedy character, the conventional
meddlesome aunt. OF action there is
practically nothing. That a play of
this tyne held the closest attention of
the audience is significant of the
quality of the acting.
Besides Miss ONeil two deserve
special praise. Mr.. Mckee Rankin,
a veteran actor, to whom Miss O'Neil
owes much of her present recognition,
and the English actor, Mr.. Charles
Dalton. another veteran, known best.
perhaps, as the star in the Sign of
the Cross. = Mr.. Rankin's impeIsona-
tion of the old, retired colonel, the
father of Magda, was remarkably
good. Mr. Dalton's part as the good
pastor, while not snowy, was power
tul and convincing in its reserve. The
work of the rest of the cast was good,
but hardly up to the level of these,
unless we make a possible exception
of Mr.. Millward, as Councillor Won
Keller.
1t is unfortunate that stage conven-
tion required the frequent repetition
of a languishing air from the orches
ira, an air associated always with the
sentimental scenes in melo-drama, par
ticularly the death of Little Eva in
Uncle Toms Cabin. Surely. an au
dience intelligent enough TO enjov
Sudermann S masterpiece might be al
lowed to feel the power OF his lines
without this
1t would also please a number OF
play lovers if Miss O'Neil followed the
custom of certain Shakesperean actors
who refuse to respond TO curtain calls
till the play is done, and then before
the curtain. Perhaps the day is not
TAR when it will seem bathos for the
actors to appear immediately after
scene of intense emotion, the dead hav-
ing scrambled to his feet. the villain
and the heroine with joined hands. all
bowing and smiling But we cannot
conclude with fault finding that ap-
plies to stage conventions rather than
to the single performance. This much
may be said without exaggeration.