The sun., 1905-11-19

Inc HuulenCe recognized IN MN tIle ldIIpoub
road aoent RdmdrreS, upon whose head a
fabulous price had been set and who was
even now bent on robbing the Polka,
The characters OF these two were romantic
and sentimental, II you will the one being
rough idyll OF pure womanhood, and the
other the sympathetic and noble ban nditfrom
wayback. But they were quite simply
and oonvncinGly drawn, and with touch
of genuine humor. As the love motive
STRENGTHENED the sense OF peril from tho
road aoent's band subsidized. Finally The
Girl was left alone and safe In n silent
and darkened room. "He eaid I had the
face Of an ANGEL, she soliloquized, with rapt
emotion; and then with quick chance
to her commonsense self she added; "Oh,
helll' The quality Of the whole act was In
that curtain"
1t is in the second act. which takes place
In The Girls cabin, UP the canon, that Be-
lasoo reaches into his sleeve for the three
aces. The first OF these is the heroine's
curtained bed in which RumdrreS is con-
cealed from the Sheriff and his posse Du
Barry had her rococo 10, 70 San her
Shoji. Kitty Bellairs her four poster. and
The Girl OF the Golden West has profited by
their example, The forbearS Of the soene
in which she Rambles a7ainst fate for the
life OF her lover are as the sands OF the sea.
The other ace Is said to be elso the result
Of picking (shall sayO choosing But
confess that 1t Ia "a new to me a,it proved
effected. The wounded hero has been
hidden In the attic Of The Girrs hut. and
she, with a glib little lie, has thrown his
oNt a. ooir Aek 10 linz
before the door. however, a drop Of the
wounded mans blood falls upon his hand.
He rauaes to reflect. and the house hangs
on his silence. It is a moment worthy OF
Sardou But at best it falls far short Of
redeeming the act. even from the point Of
view Of frank melodrama. That the inter-
est Of the no Sc as h 4, as II undouhte 'lv
was throughout, Ia due to the ex,il Grant
tally and variety Of Miss Bates's act
ing and the olaan and salient outlines,
the magnificently restrained force with
which Frank Keenan, embodied the Sheriff.
Both performances we're worthy Of far
better material
The third act fares worse, for the legiti-
mate interest in the story has ended. 1t is
composed on tie ore hand Of frank bur-
lesque and on the other of pretty obvious
device to revive the sense Of danger. The
road agent, having been nursed back to
life by The Girl, is caught and threatened
with hanging. But his fate is averted by
the entreaties Of the I'll powerful heroine.
Even here however, clever stage manage
ment and acting save the day. Many a
better rlay has had an ending that in effect
was weaker.
THE Girl Of the Golden West" takes rank
in short, among the very best OF the pieces
that bear Mr.. Belasco's name. and the first
act marks the summit Of his art in dramatic
writing. His ability has never been more
evident than in the manner in which he
has given life to these disinterred fgircs
Of pseudo Bret Harte, infused vitality into
long hackneyed situations, and breathed
about his conventional, even
scenes. And here as hereto
fore his genius in all the externals OF dra-
matte art is unrivalled-his sense for the
pictorial his inspiration in the
handling Of colors, his power Of suggesting
vivid reality by means OF the details of
stage business, and his ability to get what
he wants out Of his actors.
With Twelfth Night" at the Knicker-
booker and Macbeth" at the Garden Thea
tire and Mendelssohn Hall we have not been
destitute of classical nourishment CT
the Marlowe- -Sothern production 1t Ia a
pleasure to repeat that 1t shows these two
admirably ambitious, able and successful
actors in their happiest conjunction. Miss
Marlowe's Viola has long been familiar,
and while it still lacks something OF the
full measure OF poetic depth and sustained
emotional suggestion. it is uneXcelled in
the lighter phases Of this gracious and he
witching heroine, In personal charm, and in
correct and meodious reading Of the lines.
MIR. Sothern's Mdlrolio lies well outside |
the field of his previous achievements;
but his performance is so unaffeotedly |
simple and 80 dignified in it's intelligence |
that it takes rank among the best render !
ngs Of the part In living memory. Here |
is an actor who is growing steadily and |
surely in intelligence, scope and power.
Mr.. Mantell's Macbeth have not been |
able to see, owing to the pressure of the
weeks novelties; but it is said to be thor
oughly creditable. Mr.. Ben Greet's Eliza
Dethan production Of the play interested |
me, not only because Of the general COM
petence OF the players-the Macbeth was a
very able stock performance-but because
Of the problems Of Elizabethan stagecraft |
which 1t raises.
Much Of the stage business Is quite ad-
Bdnquo's ghost gains greatly in
yrisly horror, 1t seems to me, by appearing
n his habit as he lived. with only pale
ace and the trace Of blood to suggest
MS violent end and the manner in which
MS appearances and disappearanoes are
masked by the crowd Of dinner guests Is
most effective.
The first dance Of the three sisters is
admir- bly, wierd and grotesque.
The cauldron scene, with Macbeth stand
ng behind the guests as they rise, and
,ear enough to rub noses. is weak and
Ineffective. The introduction OF Hecdte and |
,er ballet of attendant witches is childish |
md unimaginative addition probably due to
Middleton; and In any case it lets down the
'cene Again am obliged to say that the
presence of the curtain hanging between the
wo pillars is very doubtful archaeology.
even the pillars, which were a structural
necessity in the Elizabethan theatre, are USE
ess here and are great hindrance to the
action, for which the stage Is at best pitiably