The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1905-06-16

THE ROLEO HAMLET
MANY FAMOUS ACTRESSES EssAYED
IT And FAILED.
Ever the Gifted Sarah siddons and
h Brilliant Charlotte Cushman
Were Not Equal to the Task-Anna
Dickinson In the Part:
Although many of the cleverest ac-
tresses the world has known have es-
sayed the part, they have, with few
exceptions, failed in 1t.
Even Sarah Siddons. probably the
greatest tragic actress Of all time, was
a failure as Hamlet largely owing to
the ~nondescript nature of her garments,
which were neither masculine nor femi-
nine and which made 1t almost impos-
sible to forget that her Hamlet was a
woman and not a man, says London
Tit-Blts.
Charlotte Cushman was perhaps the
most brilliant player Of male parts Of
her or, indeed, Of any other generation.
She was equally brilliant and convinc-
ing as Romeo, Cardinal Wolsey or
Claude Melnotte, but when she made
the crucial experiment of playing the
melancholy Dane even she proved
unequal to the task. In fact, her Ham
let vas Sc badly received in Dublin
that she there and then made up her
mind to play it again.
And yet her Romeo was such a tri-
umph Of acting that James Sheridan
Knowles, the great dramatist and crit
ic, vas completely carried away by 1t.
OF her acting Of the passage where Ro-
meo filings himself upon the ground,
taking the al of an unmade
grave" he says: "It was a scene of top
most passion, not simulated passion;
no such thing-real, palpably real. The
genuine heart storm was on in its wild
est fullness of fury, and I listened and
gazed and held my breath, while my
blood ran hot and cold. I am sure it
must have been the case with every
one in the house, but I was all alb
sorbed In Romeo till a thunder Of ap-
plause recalled me to myself"
And of her assumption of the difficult
part Of Claude Melnotte in "The Lady
Of Lyons Justin Mccarthy says: II
have seen Claude Melnotte played by
many great actors, from Macready to
Irving, mt Miss Cushman eclipsed
them all. She created for me the only.
human, the only possible and the only
endurable Claude Melnotte I have aver
seen"
Miss Julia Seaman, q once popular
actress, was SO severely criticised when
she played Hamlet some years ago that
she turned round on her critics and as
sailed them in q very vigorous manner.
The late Miss Marriott, who had one Of
the most beautiful voices ever heard on
any stage, was more fortunate. al
though it was one of her least success
full assumptions, and In the ffties an
American actress, Miss Percy Knowles.
made such an unfortunate exhibition
Of herself Is the melancholy n that q
country manager actually issued . mo-
tice warning his patrons against going
to see her. 1 M
Ellen Tree Mrs. Charles Kean) was
the first to put on Hamlet's doublet
and hose; Mrs. Glover won Edmund
Kean's approval by her playing Of the
part, and Nine. Sarah Bernhardt gave
a picturesque and clever rendering Of
Hamlet, although 1t was not to be COM
pared with many Of her brilliant as
sumptions.
Charlotte Champion was noted for
her clever acting of masculine parts,
which would have been even more con-
vincing If she had not been such a tiny
woman. There Is q woman" Mac
ready once said, referring to her, "who
would startle the word IL she were but
two inches taller" She was such a
magnificent swordswoman that few
men cared to try their skill against her
on the stage, and she was undoubtedly
a genius In her way, with a courage
commensurate with her skill.
She was one of the finest personators
Of Richard III. ever e e on the stage,
her Shylock was among the most bril-
l1duI plcCc0 O1a 0CIlA6 IL y y N0JS 0AN
she was almost equally clever as Iago,
Romeo and Don Caesar de Bazan, and
yet when Charlotte Champion chal-
lenged criticism with Hamlet she fail
ed as signally as her rival, Charlotte
Cushman. had done.
Probably the most successful Of all
lady. Hamlets was Anna Dickinson,
who. made considerable reputation as
Macbeth and Claude Melnotte. "a
number Of women have tried Hamlet"
she said. "None. I believe, with any
success. Yet, in my opinion, the char
acter Of Hamlet 81 %erninently suited for
a woman's capabilities. Hamlet was
very .young-a mere college boy, In
fact. Besides. a fine actress is more
likely to bring out the wonderful wo-
manlike delicacy Of Hamlet's charac-
ter than a very young actor" And she
supported her views by giving o. at
tractive8and clever rendering Of the.
part.
Crinoline.
IN tho World Of Fashion OF 1890 10