Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-30
London Theater Gossip
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Special Correspondence of The Star.
LONDON. July 10, Is

LONDON, July 10, 1905.
Beerbohm Trees remarkable production
of "Olver Twist doesn't shed much light
on the subject of whether or not Dickens
can ever be dramatized, but 1t adds a mem
orable figure to the gallery of Tree Char
acters." He out-Fagins Fagin. A more
crafty. cruel slimp, snuff1ing, dirty object
than the Tree brand of Fagin could not be
imagined. He IS of closer kin to Mr.. Trees
"Caliban" than to human being. He and
Nancy and Bill Sykes are the whole show,
and poor little oliver, and the good Mr..
Brownlow, and the lay figures who supply
the pretty sentiment wherewith to offset
the villainies going on in Fagin's sphere Of
action are comparatively nowhere.
In discussing this point recently grand
daughter OF Charles Dickens expressed the
opinion that no dramatist, however skillfuI.
would ever be likely to make real play
out of a Dickens novel without building it
around some one group of characters. ruth
leSSy cutting out verifying that did not
pertain to one set of incidents and filing
In the gaps from his own imagination. Il
expect" she added, that we would all rise
yet 1t might be done without the sacrifice of
any of the real spirit of the novel"
X
Interesting. She believes that play OF
the sort outlined could be made from Our
Mutual Friend" a novel rarely, If ever,
dramatizad That novel consists OF two
stories which have scarcely anything to do
with each other. One of the two Is the
strong, simple, dramatic story of the love
OF Eugene Wrayburn and Bradley Head
stone for Lizzie Hexam; with Charlie
Hexam, Jennie Wren, Jennie's bad boy,
Rogue Riderhood, and perhaps the landlady
of the Six Jolly Fellowshp-Porters' for
the rest of the cast-in other words: Our
Mutual Friend" with the mutual friend
left out, and Noddy Bofiin and Silas Wegg
sacrificed.
Any American dramatist is welcome to
the idea, but he ought to print. acknowl-
edgments on his play bill to Miss Dickens.
He might enter into an arrangement like
the one made by J. M. Barrie with a small
boy friend of his who supplied one line in
Peter Pam" and to whom in consequence
the dramatist religiously paid a royalty Of
one penny night throughout the run OF
the piece.
Comyns Cars dramatization of "Oliver
Twist is probably as good a play as any
one could make out of a Dickens book in
the orthodox fashion, and 1t was received
with so much applause that Mr.. Tree an
nounced after that it would be put on for
a run next season.
Taking opera and concerts together this
season has probably been the biggest year
on record for American musicians in Lon
don. The latest and perhaps the most in
teresting item from this source is the an
nouncement that Whitney Tew, who comes
from jamestown, N. Y. but has been prom
inent among vocal soloists here for sew
eral years, is going to produce in October at
zone of the West End theaters an opera to
be called "Gwenevere,' for which the mu-
sic was written for him by Vincent Thomas,
and the book by Ernest Rhys, well-known
Weishman of letters, author of several ro-
mances and volumes of verse. Mr.. Tew
will take the part of Merlin in this version
OF the Arthurian legend.
Another notable musician who comes from
New York state, Miss Ethel Newconb, has
Just sailed for home for a brief holiday
from her work as concert pianist and as
sistant in Vienna to Leschetizky. She re-
turns in the autumn TO play with the