New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-23
THE DRAMA.
MANSFIELD AS IVAN.
Russian Drama.

It is only little more than year ago since Mr..
Mansfield adopted into his repertory the character
Of the Russian despot. Ivan the Terrible. his nrst
performances OF that part in this city was given at
| the New Amsterdam Theatre on March !. 1904. and
since then he has acted it many times and in many
places. Last night he again presented It here. and
again his potent and splendid impersonaton of the
| savage ruthless. leonine selt-tormenting tyrant-
| brilliantly manifesting depth OF thought fire OF
genius. and felicity OF dramatic artdeeply thrilled
| and impressed a great assembage. The character
| OF Ivan IS in one respect kindred with that OF
! Richard uT-for 1t IS emblem OF the fierce and
| dreadful struggle forever going in this world
and in the human soul between the elemental forces
OF good and evil struggle in which sinful passion
| is always, at last. defeated by eternal law. The
life Of every great conqueror that looms upon the
page Of history tells this same old story. The life
OF Ivan vitality significant OF It, The play shows
him In the closing days OF his wicked nfe ravaged
with evil passions haunted with baeful memories OF
guilt tormented with remorse. inwardly affrighted
with superstitious dread yet ferooious and in
exorable with defiant vitality and malign purpose
grim and CHASTITY, yet imperial. embodiment Of
| colossal egotism and Internal Will Like all his
toric plays 0or the historic play only ilumine
salient epochs chosen out OF long reaches OF dme)
| this IS episodical and pictorial rather than
| huently active. The terrible Emperor who prizes
power above all other earthly things has incurred
the ennaity of a willy astute, specious formidable
| statesman, who purposes to accomplish his ruin,
and the substance Of the play Is the opposition of
| these two malignant spirits.-Ivan, self-poised.
| cruel Yndictive deadly forever yigilant against
treason and merciless In its punishment and Boris
| Godunoff calm. cold, nscrutable, who can murder
with a smile. The piece would bs sympathetic
! Chat Is to say, more pleasantly appreciable
work Of constructive literary art) If story
more coherently and continuously told. and If its
| movement were rapid; but IL is potent
tragedy, and. by its exposition OF representative
| self-conhict, in a great nature and upon great
scene. 1t causes the legitimate effect of tragedy
because 1t thrills the mind with terror, touches the
qDiY-t al
| condition of every auditor who think and feel.
MT Manshelds performance Of Ivan, framed in
| setting Of barbara spendor reaches a noble
altitude Of power and is fraught with overwhelming
| pathos. The part duplicates many moods and
admits of many changes, all Of which are assumed
with spontaneous and made with keen dra-
inatc effect, whether in the stately aspect Of i'm
perial dominion, the stealthy stiffness of furtive
suspicion and sinister design. the abject condition
Of pious humility. the fiery tunult OF impetuous
sef-assertion. The repose Of the character is that
/ OF settled misery; but this resembles the thun-
| der cloud black and STILL through which, at itful
intervals, the imprisoned tempest breaks, in darts
Of fire. The fierce spirit is at Corrosive
| d1sQuietude. speaking without words lives and
| burns in the wasted frame, the pallid face, the
| hollow voics,-conyeying terrible sense OF the
reality OF pain, and Of a ravaged enfeebled, break
ing body. terminated by indomitable internal
will. The highest single note Of tragic expression
| that Mr.. Mansfield has struck occurs, in the
Tent scene, in Richard III" in his magnificent
treatment OF the speech about conscience. with its
climax Of hystercal frenzy; he reaches nearly
| to the same height Of power, and he accompshes
a more difficult thing. when. in the long portrayal
| of VANS fluctuations OF torture and anguish, he
| lays bare by sustained minute exposition, the
| morsefuI self-confict of a soul. In stu-
alton, at once humorous with paradox and grim with
! unreason,-when the indomitable Gar on hearing OF
a defeat of his army, commands the performance of
| choral rites to celebrate Wctory,-hs acting pos
| sesses not only irresistible pathos but authentic
| grandeur. Here the essential ideal is body ind-
| cated-the ideal of a ruler who believes himself
to be the vice-regent Of Deity intrnsically
| egn. invincible and supreme 1t is in the death
| scene, however, that Mr.. Manshelds acting pro-
duces the startling effect Much that has been
| shown Of VANS life is but the slow preparation
for the awful picture OF his death. Magicians have
| prophesied that the Gar will die st. CyriFs
| Day. This day come, but Ivan, through force
Of WILL finds himself stronger rather thar weaker
| and thereupOn he dooms the false prophets to an
| ignominious and violent death, and he commands
GodunofT execute the sentence A game of
chess is opened between the despot and the traitor
| Ivan begins to sink Godunoff triumphs. The
pangs OF death seize upon Ivan, and, beneath the
gaze Of his victorious enemy, he totters and falls;
and a hideous rout of rbald testers comes surging
around him, and so he expires in horror, 'un-
houseed, disappointed, uDanealed." Nothing more
| impressive of its kind, has been seen stage.
There are twenty-eght parts In this tragedy. but.
| aside from that OF Ivan, only five Of them OF
any Importance. Mr.. Mansfield has strong COM
pany, but he overshadows it, and at present he Is
doing so much that observer bestow
thoughtful attention upon all the details of all the
achievement. Even the elaborate and splendid set
tngs have to be. a while, ignored Some Of the
stage pictures and costumes in Richard III'
| especially magnificent. Ivan" has been richly set.
| Tonight DIR. JekyH and Mr.. Hyde will be pre-
| scented. Richard III is announced for Friday
| night and Beau Brummel' for Saturday after
| noon. Saturday night will be devoted The
| Merchant Of Venice" On Monday, March q, "A
| Partisan Romance" will be acted, and Mr.. Mans
field will give his remarkable performance of
| Baron Chevrial-with which ne first captured
| the laurel in New-York. These plays will fill
the time till April 10. when Molere's Mis-
| anthrope' will be produced and Mr. Mansfield will
| act Alceste. The splendid intellectual effort and
| achievement involved in all this ought TO impress
| the public,-if anything impress it,-with
sense of this actors extraordinary power and
ing versatility Merely to memorize all these parts
| is an exceptional achievement To them. to
| supply the body the authors soul, to give the
| vitality discriminate the characters, create
the Illusion mpart the feeling. to direct, control
and manage the auxiliary forces. to be brilliant.
puisssnt adequate. neglecting any detail and
always rising the occasion-this 1t is to fulfil a
| great public duty in thorough and able and mag
| nifcent manner and If achievement like this does
deserve public recognition and such little reward
| as public approval bestow upon it. long OBJ
servation theatrical life is able TO discern
! anything that does merit these blessings. W w.
WITT hnDTAD TnTTu DID NTTADnT