The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1905-11-29
THE OLD PLAYGOER
SEES NANCE O. NELL
THINKS SHE Is MORE MATURE
IN HER ART THAN WHEN SUE
WAS HERE BEFORE

There has been question in my
mind whether one should take Nance
O'Neill seriously or not 1 saw her some
years ago, and then 1 think she ought
not to have been treated seriously !
saw her in an adaptation of Oliver
Twist, in which she played Nancy. 1t
was of course an unpleasant char
acter and Mckee Rankin, her present.
manager, and, as l understood then,
her tutor i'm the art of acting, put her
forward in such a role to show her
capabilities as a vigorous actress. And
she certainly showed that vigor some
years ago. Was it worth the physical
cost? To me it was horrible. I feel
sure she will never play Nancy Sykes
again.
But what is the use of thinking of the
past? What we have to deal with is
the Miss O'Neill of today. When one
first saw her she was crude in her stage
methods, now she has flashed through
the little capital in the mid-Pacific,
and she came to us as a thoroughly
| polished actress, who knew her capa-
| bilities and knew how to use them to
the best advantage, and that is all
that any audience can ask. Give us
of your best We can require no
more. And this Miss O'Nein and her
company gave us at their performance
on Tuesday.
Now what shall we take, the story of
the play, or the power of the players
1 think it may be worth while to con-
slider the play. 1t is well to under
stand that the stage is next to the
church, one of the most powerful in
fluences upon the world. 1t has beer
shown so many times. The church
touches the religious feeling innate il
all natures, whether civilized or as bar
barous as one could find in Contra
Africa or distant Borneo. The stag,
does not appeal to Central Africa OF
distant Borneo. 1t appeals to the hear
of civilized woman and man. The
stage is the heritage of civilization.
What did Miss Nance O'Neills' pla!
called 1.-THE Fires of St John" reall!
deal with? 1t was called in the ad
vertisements a problem" play. Why
1t was simply a setting forth of a yer!
old, old story. Man, as we know him
is generally a fool and frequently {
BLACKBOARD. One can take Warner
Hastings, Lord Give and others a!
examples. Woman gives her trust o
in this particular case her heart t.
the man. He marries the rich woman
and Nance O'Nein as Marie is lef
weeping on the stage as the last cur
tain goes down. After all that, is TIL
story. Accessories, yes. But bold!
put this play of Suderman's is NJ
problem. On the other hand one nigh
say it is an eternal problem. 1t is tn,
problem of right and wrong, and tina
none of us have been able to solve from
Bishop to layman.
1 read the other day of TIE death o
Irving. In my life 1 have known o
many actors who died on the stage
the most dramatic one that can re
member is that of Palmer who said il
his part, There is another and a bet
ter world" and so fell dead on tn,
stage. That is the story, true or no
l believe it true Sir Henry did no
die on the stage but few hour after
wards. He has been buried in West
minister Abbey among the great poets
and great playwrights of many cen
turtles past His monument will be side
by side with that of Shakespeare, Ber
Jonson, Cibber and others.
Looking over the pictures which gave
information about Irving, found thai
on one of the stones in that old abbey
was the name of Mrs. Bracegirdle
Alas, who knows, except a few ole
drivellers in past times who Mrs
Bracegirdle was. She was the mos
charming of her sex, the best actress
of her time, the most chaste in a mos
licentious period. Her body reposes
close to that of Sir Henry Irving Is
it not time that the United States
should honor those who teach the les.
son of humanity and morality from
the stage as well as from the pulpit
The lesson is well taught, and by NJ
one better than by Nance O'NeiIl.