New-York tribune., 1905-02-14
THE DRAMA.
ADA REHAN AS LADY TEAZLE
Liberty Theatre.


.hs wss General Washingtcn's favorite comedy he.
an scarcely expect ind it now treated as .
rositive novelty. 1t has been read acted and dis
eussea in every quarter Of the world. and eyerv-
fosv has some acquaintance with IT. who Is az
ousiuted al all with the stage. As often as -
-ecurs therefore some people are interested IN je
f--tunes and something has TO be said about II
More than one hundred and twenty-seven wears
have passed since Ton NAY S. I777l, Sheridan
srst held up this brilliant mirror of social
re and manners. in which a scandalous So
riety might itself reflected, and upon a pros-
psct Of that spectacle. might perhaps be usefuIlv
admonished. The eradication Of vice. however
obviously was not his purpose and neither was il
RS conscious design disseminate noble ideals Of
ffe Sheridan not a moralist He used satire
hscause he loved il, and because It was natural TO
hin and al that he aimed 70 achieve was a
piouant and sparkling result He &as not didactic
snS except OF the world. taking broad
4 vfeu-s Of everything. he was not in earnest His
intention in The School for Scandal was to
.rtrzv ard satiTize certain manners Of his time
rot indeed. among the best people Of that time
tvhc were. the best people always are. pure,
simple unostentatious. genuine). but among people
n fsshion-the vain. giddya frivolous. shallow
snowy butterflies Of society. That intention he
t-srisnriv accomplished. He was twenty-six years
I'D wheu be wrote the comedy He had lived in
T17ti.n Bath and London and he had enjoyed
.r,rls opportuuitIes OF frequenting and observing
.Aa so-iery that ne aimed TO depict The natural
,-ooens5ty Of his mind was for dramatic expression.
er5 thar propensity (which. IL his case,
,ss,cia-ed with Extraordinary faculty,-he had
suire-tlv stimulated. by a study Of Etherege.
Trvcherley. Eanbrugh Farquhar and Congreve.
ron those writers he derived his style though.
!, sorne WAYS he bettered their instruction and
.-or, the Passing hour he derived his materials.
-Ts ShooI for Scandar' is the full fruition Of his
-.-,-s and although i is artificial and written in
1,e ir-ariahIe strain Of verbal wit, the like Of
,tirb has seldom been approXimated and although
q. contains scarcely individual who inspires af-
.a,+fo- The School for Scandal remains. not the
.s-szt nor lovelest but. aside from Shake
,sa-e the most fascinating comedy in the Eng
T-b language. II can never come amiss
..,s,-ive reader OF dramatic literature
.-.s N be apprised Of the merits and character
,ic qualities Of This play The particular point 10
- e-nphaszed now is the practical point that al
,boueh the custom Of initiating the artificial man
ps-s az English society in the eighteenth century
bas long declined upon the stage. pleasing rep
-ssentsrion Of The School for Scandal is not in
roSs5be old Comedy" seems 10 have had its
dav: YET there i no reason why the dramatic pro-
fssson should sink II despair before Congreve and
Sheridan, only because such actors as Murdoch,
Fsste- Blske Lester waIIaek and John Gilbert
are dead Actors who viii study Sheridan and re-
u-oduce his characters they exist in his page
rot striving read foreign attributes into them
and not needing arbitrary traditions.-cannot fail
70 schisve At lsas. good result In The School
for Scandal actual types Of character and actual
usagss Of speech delicately exaggerated The
manners OF frivolous people about the Court Of
George the Third copied, but also they are en-
5eIlshed. and thai method Of enphasis.-its chief
ingredient being afectatioE.-is as easy now as II
vas then. Artihce can be more readily initiated
t-zn nature Given certain typss OF character and
sbits OF speech. good actor. saturating his mind
With the epigran. raiIlery and pungeEcy OF the
text can add the embroidery and veneer. His OBJ
-ie.s course is 10 conform nearly as he can to
-hs particular temperament and mentality that are
indicated in each Of the persons and To the dress
snd department Of the period OF George the Third.
This IS 2 task but II is not one OF insuperable
difficulty. william Warren who was born in Phila-
dslPhis accomplished il. and did John Gilbert.
who vas born in Boston: and both those Americans
the silver shoe buckles Of Sir Peter Teazle
gracefully they by King. Nun
den. Fsrren. any other English actor that ever
pur them on And. as the venerable proverb re-
marks whatever man once HAS done man do
again.
Ths more complex characters in this comedy are
Jcssrh and Sir Peter: the former an accomplished
1ne gentleman. q or mind weight, gravity
and authority; crafty. plausible. knavish sensual
i=t,-the latter q slightly cynical, rather tired
kindly tolerant sapent OF the world, pune
rIo1s. iudcious, Hxorious testy, resentful of his
intatuatfon yet submissive 70 it. and not lacking in
either affection dignity. These parts difficult
FOR actors who truly know what they contain:
and al actors find it difficult win unqualified ap-
TToysl in tAis play. matter how well it may be
done Every who has frequented the theatre
1or many years has fayorite remembrance Of
characters in The School, and especially Of Sir
Peter and Lady Teazle. Piacide. Warrer. Blake
Gilbert. Fisher. Fanny Kembie. Ellen TTts Rose
TeIbin. Julia Barrow, Mrs. Hoey. Mrs. Bowers
LsErs Keene. Mrs Farren. and MrE Ponis. are
EoUe Of the names THAI veterans cherish, IN asso-
cation with these parts But ths presen- cannot
Dc much aided by rUsfG! TsEBeEnbEE-cs Of the pasS
and those ideals are fast drifJ-Sg into oblivion
with The gray survivors who cling to them. Not
many pIay-goers can even remember the beautfu.
LADY Teszle Of Adelaide Nelson. who has been
dead only about twenty-five years No actress
since that tine has played Lady Teaze with such
spirit snG feeling infused into the ernbodi-
H.eHt hy Ada Rehan,-wiIh such 4 buOyant, fas
cns ting ripple Of enticng levity. IN the lighter
E-enes with much Of the simple dignity Of
gTief and the gentle pathos Of conJrition, IN the
sUuerb screen-scene winch is the climax Of the
oensdy. There are two ways OF acting this part.
Ms. Arlington the original performer Of il. made
Lady Tssze. what she herself was, artificial fine
-aos- Mrs- Jordan. who followed Mrs Arlington
msds her artificial fine lady IN hom stin re-
mains zestful quality Of the country lass. The
latter Way the way pursued by Miss Rehan- By
tAia treatment the part is relieved Of a steady
EAtter OF fTysIty and is msloWel by an occasional
'lsen O sinoere feeIing.-Ihe spontaneous impulse
g native es-nesrness In Ada Rehau's ideal the
country glrl is merged. bat not lost in the arti-
hll2l me -sdy, and her free bright spirit gushes
ferth Ike the silver ripple of a brook in the spring
SUNSHINE An needful emphasis Is laid upon the
sSiii9 q this looming young beauty glHay with
ho1iaa applause and half-blinded with he sense OF
conquest but the instinct Of right remains un-
contaminated II her mind. and when, with
quick prompting OF vfrJuoBs sense, she breaks
through me web Of Joseph's specious sophstry'
tae listener is ware Of a simple girl from whose
decent II not deep. personality The veneer OF aru-
hcsi manners and degrading social custom VIII now
= completely washed away. In the Wheed4IHs oI
sr Peter and the subsequent quarrel Miss Rehah
creates q delightful suspense. during her transl-